World Cup hero Bonner tells Barrett and Grant: ‘Be ready for the moment’

Packie Bonner has urged Amber Barrett and Ciara Grant to be ‘ready for the moment’.

Milford native Barrett and Grant, who hails from Letterkenny, are part of the Republic off Ireland squad that will create history this week by playing in the Women’s World Cup for the first time.

Before a sell-out 82,000 at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Thursday morning, Ireland face Australia in their World Cup opener.

Bonner played 80 times for Ireland between 1981 and 1996, featuring appearances at the World Cup in 1990 and 1994.

The most important thing for any footballer is to play games’ - Tony McNamee

“The truth is… I read an interview last week with Stephen Doherty and he said he never wanted to leave Finn Harps. My only reason for leaving was that I wasn’t playing"

At the Stadio Luigi Farraris in Genoa at Italia ’90, Bonner provided the ‘nation holds its breath moment’. Bonner’s penalty save from Daniel Timofte earned Ireland a penalty shoot-out win over Romania to seal a place at the quarter-finals.

Bonner, now an independent director of the FAI, will watch on with pride as Barrett and Grant take their spots Down Under.

“It is fantastic for them to be in the squad, first of all,” Bonner told Donegal Live.

“It will be a great experience for them. They should take every experience in along the way. Sometimes it can go past very quickly and you look back and say: ‘Wow, what happened there?’

“They should savour every moment and enjoy it. They will get huge support from the Irish community in Australia. They can certainly enjoy themselves.”

Like Ireland were during Bonner’s career, Vera Pauw’s Girls in Green will be big underdogs.

Barrett, who recently signed with Standard Liege in Belgium, has already provided her own iconic moment, scoring the only goal of the game in a play-off against Scotland last October to seal the passage to the finals.

Bonner said: “I remember that fantastic goal in Hamden so well. Everyone was jumping up and down like mad. It was great for a girl from Donegal to have that impact.”

Hearts midfielder Grant featured at the Under-17 World Cup in 2010, when the Noel King-managed squad reached the quarter-finals.

Grant, Denise O’Sullivan and Grace Maloney are on Pauw’s World Cup squad having played in 2010 in Trinidad and Tobago.

Bonner said: “I would just say to them to do their best and be ready for the moment if it happens.

“Girls football is alive and growing. We have to keep doing what we can to try and support its improvement.”