Jo Potter believes Abbie Larkin has the qualities to become one of Ireland’s leading players after an impressive period for club and country.
Speaking ahead of Crystal Palace Women’s Barclays Women’s Super League meeting with West Ham, Potter highlighted Larkin’s performances during Ireland’s aggregate victory over Kazakhstan. The 21-year-old provided assists in the two matches and, according to her manager, showed both the directness and technical ability to influence games in different ways.
Potter also praised Larkin’s attitude and desire to improve, saying Palace are continually challenging her to develop further. She added that the forward had returned from international duty with confidence and described her as a player with a major future in the game.
Larkin was one of three Palace players to start Ireland’s final match of the break, alongside Hayley Nolan and Shanade Hopcroft. Potter was particularly pleased for Hopcroft, who scored with her first touch for Ireland before making enough of an impression to start the subsequent game. All three players returned to Palace without injury and were reported to have trained well.
Palace go into Sunday’s fixture in eighth place in the WSL after a positive opening block of matches, although Potter felt the team could have collected more from their final two games before the break. She expects a difficult test against a well-organised West Ham side, who she believes have shown they can compete with any opponent.
Kick-off is scheduled for 12:00 at The 360 Engage Stadium, with Larkin in contention to feature for Palace.
