Tyler Toland sees room for improvement

Tyler Toland does not dwell on the past and that is why she wants the Republic of Ireland Women’s Under 17s to fix their sights on their next game.
A 1-0 win over Serbia propelled Dave Bell’s squad to the top of Group 4, however midfield ace Toland sees more benefit in working harder rather than basking in the glory of an opening win. As far as she is concerned, there is work to do.
The objective for this squad is to make it out of these Elite Round qualifiers – which are being hosted by Serbia – and book a place in this summer’s UEFA European Championship finals in Czech Republic. One step at a time though as they still have two games to play.
“We are really happy that we got the three points against Serbia. It was what we wanted from the game and it gives us a great start. But we rushed things a little too much and didn’t play good football at times,” said Toland.
Ever the perfectionist, Toland has focused in on the areas where she and her team-mates can improve ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Scotland. It is that type of professional mindset that Bell – and his coaching staff – has worked hard to instil into this squad.
Sure, they want to win at all costs, but Toland knows that there is another level within the players that they can bring out. And if they do then it could trigger their exciting attackers into full flow at just the right time.
“We are top of the group, which is great, but we want to win the next game and see where we are after that,” stated Toland, who plays her club football with Maiden City.
“We know that we can pass the ball around better, relax more and get the ball into girls like Heather (Payne), Carla (McManus) and Alannah (McEvoy) who can put it in the back of the net.
“There is more still to come from us and we are confident that we can improve again. That is what we want to do in the next game and if we do it then we should have the quality to win.”
Toland is not one to be caught up in distractions; she confessed to not thinking much about her nomination for Under 16 Women’s Player of the Year because of these qualifiers. And it’s that kind of attitude that has put Ireland into such a good position in Group 4.