There was a stirring moment at the weekend in the National Women’s Soccer League game between Gotham FC and OL Reign at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
With 70 minutes on the clock, Gotham made a substitution, the crowd of 7,534 rising to cheer the arrival on the pitch of Sinead Farrelly.
It was her first competitive appearance in football since September 2015.
As if it wasn’t already a memorable enough spell in the 33-year-old’s life, she was invited by manager Vera Pauw to train with the Republic of Ireland squad in Texas this week, where they are preparing for the first of two friendlies against the United States.
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Born in Pennsylvania, Farrelly remains eligible to play for Ireland, having only represented the States up to under-23 level, although she was once included in a senior US camp, making the unusual decision to decline a call-up for the next gathering because she hadn’t enjoyed the first experience.
All Pauw has said so far about the midfielder is that she will be assessed this week, that she hadn’t been included in the official squad because of how little football she has been playing.
Farrelly retired from the game in December 2016, at the age of just 27, having struggled with injuries, some of them sustained in a car crash. Her retirement statement detailed the mental health battles she had endured as she tried to recover.
But it was in 2021 that she revealed the more sinister reasons that had contributed to her decision to walk away from football, accusing her former Philadelphia Independence and Portland Thorns coach Paul Riley of sexual coercion and harassment.
Her former Portland team-mate Mana Shim made similar allegations against Riley, all of which he denied. Last January he was given a lifetime ban from the NWSL after an investigation that unearthed widespread sexual abuse and misconduct by coaches in the league.
Farrelly was hailed for her courage in speaking out about her experiences, which she first shared with The Athletic. That accounted for the warm reception she received on her return to football last weekend.
That reappearance came out of the blue, the assumption being that she was done with the game, but she joined Gotham’s preseason squad in February as an ‘invitee’, and impressed the club enough for them to offer her a one-year contract, with an option for an added year.
“Sinead is not only an outstanding athlete, but one of the most admired people in our sport,” said Gotham’s general manager Yael Averbuch West. “She came into camp and earned a contract with her outstanding play. I know she sees this as just a first step, but we are incredibly proud to be part of her journey, and excited about all of the great qualities she brings to our team.”
Her cameo at the weekend suggested she’s lost none of the qualities that once made her one of the most highly rated young players in the States. A measure of that was, after a successful college career with the University of Virginia, she was second only to United States legend Alex Morgan in the 2011 draft for the Women’s Professional Soccer league, the precursor to the NWSL – and ahead of two more subsequent World Cup winners, Meghan Klingenberg and Christen Press.
When she came on for Gotham, she instantly took on a leadership role, barking instructions at the players around her, demanding the ball, looking to drive her team forward to chase a 2-0 deficit. No shortage of silky touches, either. Pauw possibly purred.
Still, it’s a stretch to imagine that Farrelly can do enough in such a short window to persuade the Irish manager that she merits a place in the 23-player squad that heads for the World Cup this summer. But who knows? It would be just another twist in her remarkable story.
