Sophie Perry - It's an honour to represent Ireland

In March of 2012, Brighton born Sophie Perry donned the green of Ireland for the first time in the Algarve Cup after the then 25 year old switched her international allegiance from her country of birth having previously represented England at under 19 and under 23.

Having played in the Nordic Cup and competitions in La Manga for England under 23’s, Perry explained that after evaluating the England squad at the time the defender made the decision to switch to Ireland and she hasn’t looked back.

“At the time, I was playing for Chelsea and wanted to progress myself at International level. The England senior team seemed very settled and there was very little movement of players under Hope Powell.” She told Extratime.ie

“I spoke to my manager who was Matt Beard at the time, the current Boston Breakers manager and he was fully supportive and helped me massively with the move. Looking back, I am very happy with my decision, It’s an honour to play for Ireland and I am proud every time I put on the shirt.”

When asked about her Ireland debut, Perry revealed that while she was nervous about the game having played against several of her international teammates before but that it ultimately made the experience a lot easier.

“I remember I was excited and nervous as it was my first competition at senior level, I knew some of the players such as: Emma Byrne, Niamh Fahey, Aine O’Gorman and Julie-Ann Russell, as they were all playing in England at the time, so I had played against them.

“Playing against Wales in my first senior game was a great experience and one I still remember clearly. The Welsh team consisted of some Chelsea teammates and players that were playing in the WSL, so I felt less anxious as I had played against the players, which was an advantage for me as I knew their style of play.”

At the 2012 Algarve Cup, Perry was not the only player to have made the switch to Ireland as Ruesha Littlejohn, a prolific underage international from Scotland had also made the move to Ireland and Perry explained to Extratime.ie that the squad were very welcoming to both herself and Littlejohn.

“The team was very welcoming, so it didn't feel daunting at all. It was nice for me and Ruesha to both join the team at the same time.”

After making just three starts in the 2015 World Cup qualifying campaign, Perry was forced to work extremely hard to earn her starting place and the full-back who has amassed 30 caps explains that her club form and the help from her club coaches played a big part in the defender becoming a regular during the 2017 qualifying campaign. 

“I would say club form helped” She said when asked how she forced her way into Sue Ronan’s starting 11.

“If you are playing with confidence at your club you tend to continue this into international. I also had a lot of support at Brighton from previous manager James Marrs and the video analysis team, they would analyse my international games and provide me with the stats and, from that James would give me targets that I needed to work on in preparation for the next international game.

“I am delighted that I have started every game, but you can’t take that for granted as we have a strong squad and young talent coming through. I will continue the hard work leading into the our next campaign.”

Despite plying her trade in England, Perry, unlike several of her teammate playing in the Women’s Super League, is not a full-time footballer and the defender is often forced to juggle work commitments as the Head of PE in the school she works in along with her football commitments and she explained that she is lucky to have supportive work colleagues, but sometimes she is forced to miss games due to exams.

“I have been lucky, as my school are very supportive of my football and they allow me the time off to play and vice versa, Sue [Ronan] is very understanding of my position at work. It is difficult at times as I am Head of Department so I need to ensure that everything is in place whilst I am away.

“Some trips last longer than others. So when I am away, I sometimes have to work in my free time or send emails to ensure everything's running smoothly in the PE department. There has been times when I have had to miss a trip or leave early due to my classes having important exams. Although it can be difficult juggling football and teaching I do love what I do.”

Despite Ireland failing to qualify for a major tournament for the 18th consecutive campaign. Perry did however find success at club level with Brighton and Hove Albion after the South-East side earned promotion to WSL 2 thanks to play-off success against Sporting Club Albion.

“This year has been unbelievable, it still hasn't sunk in. The players and coaching staff have worked so hard and we fully deserve to be in the super league next season. I started playing for Brighton when I was 12 [before a six year spell with Chelsea between 2005 and 2011], so I have seen the club grow.

“The super league is where every player wants to be playing, and Brighton is a club that is set up for WSL football. We are lucky as the club are fully integrating their support of the women’s side into the men’s club. I am excited to see what the future holds for us and I feel we can compete and be successful in WSL2.”

After the victory against Tottenham Hotspurs LFC in March secured the Premier League South crown for Perry’s side, the Seagulls were then forced to wait six weeks before their play-off with Sporting Club Albion and the defender revealed it was a hard period after manager James Marrs was relieved of his duties.

“This season has felt never ending and full of emotions. After winning the league at Tottenham and being on cloud 9 and then we had to deal with a big change to management, which can be unsettling especially with a big game around the corner. Since the first game of the season we had one target and that was to get to the Super League.

“I think the 6 weeks in the lead up to the play-off showed the resilience and strength of our team, we had a lot of changes and a lot of upsets but we got our heads down and focused on what we needed to do and that was to win the play-off. It was a tough time for everyone but we got through it together and that's the sign of champions.”

Promotion for Brighton will see Perry and her teammates swapping from the traditional season of September to April to Summer football, thus meaning the Seagulls next competitive outing will not commence until next March and the defender revealed that a loan move could be an option, but there's also the opportunity to train with the club's development squad for players who are looking to keep fit during their off season.

“Loan is an option, as we have Portugal in September so it's important that I am in good condition and ideally playing competitive games. I haven't made any decisions just yet but it is likely.

“Our development squad team are back in training from July as their season runs through the winter, so I'm sure players that want to go into training and do extra sessions can do and some may even play a part in the development squad league.

“This season has been our longest yet, so I am looking forward to the rest and recovery. I'm sure I will get bored soon enough, and will want to get straight back into training.”