Rachel Graham: Injury absentee Tara O'Hanlon the long-term option to help unleash Katie McCabe away from defensive berth

Former Republic of Ireland international Rachel Graham says a return from injury for young defender Tara O'Hanlon could be the key to giving Carla Ward the option to play Katie McCabe in a more advanced role in the future.

The Girls in Green moved to a back four in Ward's first game in charge as they beat Turkey 1-0 at Tallaght Stadium in Friday's UEFA Women's Nations League opener.

Captain McCabe started at left back, flanking Megan Campbell who enjoyed out a positive outing next to her at centre-back.

Left back is a position that McCabe excels at for Arsenal but given her status as a world class operator within the international set-up, there have been hopes that other candidates could emerge for Ireland that would allow the 29-year-old to start further forward on that flank.

One of those could be 19-year-old O'Hanlon who joined Manchester City from Peamount United last year and has two senior caps to her name.

However, having overcome a previous hamstring issue, the Dubliner is now sidelined with a minor knee injury which saw her miss the current international window - although she is expected back in the next few weeks.

But when O'Hanlon recovers and gets back into the Irish squad, Shelbourne midfielder Graham is confident that she has the ability to work her way into the starting line-up and allow McCabe to then be unleashed on the left wing.

"(The Turkey match) probably wasn't Katie's best game but I do think if you're looking at the squad and the options that we would have had, Katie probably is the best option there for left back at the moment," Graham said on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast.

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