Payne one of Ireland's history makers in Hampden

Heather Payne was part of the Ireland women's soccer team which made history last night (Tuesday) by securing qualification for the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Scotland at Hampden Park.

Payne, from Creagh, near Ballinasloe, started up front in the Republic of Ireland's crunch play-off against the Scots and did plenty of selfless running for the team in this role.

Generally ploughing a lone furrow in attack, Payne had few opportunities to score though but she did fire a shot over the bar in the first half, following a long throw from Megan Campbell.

Having run herself into the ground, the hard-working Payne was replaced by Amber Barrett on 65 minutes. And it was Barrett who became the hero on a famous night in Glasgow, scoring the winning goal in the 72nd minute.

A native of Donegal, Barrett dedicated her goal to the ten people who lost their lives in last week's devastating Creeslough tragedy which shocked the entire nation.

Payne currently plays in the United States for Florida State University, having previously played with Dublin club Peamount United. As a youngster, Heather represented the Athlone District Schoolboy/Girl League with distinction on many occasions.

Heather is a past pupil of Creagh National School and Ardscoil Mhuire, Ballinasloe. She represented Padraig Pearses and Roscommon at underage level in Gaelic football, and her brother Conor has won two Roscommon SFC medals with Pearses.

The 2023 World Cup finals will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20 of next year.

The draw for the World Cup will take place on Saturday, October 22 in Auckland. Ireland will be one of 32 competing teams who will be drawn into eight groups of four based on FIFA rankings.