Hayley Nolan focused on defence in quest to impress

Nineteen months on from her Republic of Ireland debut, Hayley Nolan is desperate to earn a second cap against Morrocco in next week's international friendly.

The Kildare native is part of a London City Lionesses side that are going about business in the right way to get promotion from the Championship to the Women’s Super League, but the 25-year-old is desperate to showcase her talents to Vera Pauw and move up the international pecking order.

The Girls in Green take on Morocco twice - a behind-closed-doors encounter this week before a full international friendly against their fellow World Cup finalists on 14 November – and it allows Pauw the opportunity to add depth to her squad.

Erin McLaughlin and Katie Keane are the uncapped players in the 26-woman squad, yet Nolan has just a single cap to her name.

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Introduced as a 73rd-minute substitute for Megan Connolly in last year’s 1-0 defeat to Belgium, hopes of maintaining the upward curve were scuppered shortly after.

Surgery on a dislocated shoulder, an injury picked up in an aerial challenge in training, put her out of the game for seven months.

"It was a big blow for me," she told RTÉ Sport. "After making my debut I had big aspirations to push on within the squad, and at club level. To miss half the season with London City was devastating."

Nolan is no stranger to the long and winding road.

The former Peamount United player was recruited to the US by the University of Hartford the following year, undertaking a four-year scholarship which