'A beautiful occasion' - Diane Caldwell savours her century

Diane Caldwell has been around long enough to know that in football, you're only as good as your last game.

But after notching her 100th Republic of Ireland cap in Friday's 5-1 defeat of Albania, the 35-year-old allowed herself a few moments of reflection.

She becomes the seventh centurion for the Girls in Green, following Emma Byrne (134), Áine O'Gorman (119), Niamh Fahey (111), Louise Quinn (110), Denise O'Sullivan (107) and Ciara Grant (105) into the record books.

The concession of a soft Albanian goal irritated the veteran, who was given the captain's armband for the occasion. Overall though, this was a good night at the office as Caldwell took to the field flanked by her niece and nephew, with players from her hometown club Balbriggan FC dotted around the touchline as ball kids.

"It's so special to join that prestigious club," said Caldwell.

"It was a lovely gesture by Katie to give me the armband. Luckily it was a home game as well because I was talking to the girls and for a lot of them, their 100th cap fell on an away game.

"That was extra special to be at home in Tallaght in front of all of our fans, and obviously my family were there. I don't know if you noticed but my niece and nephew came out with me as well. It was a beautiful occasion.

"It's overwhelming but uplifting at the same time. You've been there through the whole journey, at the development of the women's game as a whole. It's something that I'm really proud of, what this team has achieved."

Caldwell has been a crucial presence on and off the pitch during her lengthy international career.

In September she delievered a scathing assessment of Vera Pauw's time in charge, claiming the team's achievements were "in spite" of the manager and criticising her overall