FLEXING MUSCLES

Barrett sends finals message to boss as her double gets the Girls In Green tournament prep off to a winning start

- MARK MCCADDEN

IRELAND WOMEN 3
Barrett pen 48, 71, O'Riordan 64,

ZAMBIA WOMEN 2
Brosnan (og) 16, Kundananji 79

AMBER BARRETT stamped her passport to Australia last night with her first goals for club or country since her famous play-off winner last October.

Barrett scored from the spot just four minutes after her half-time introduction and then added Ireland's third with a clever finish on 72 minutes.

Those strikes bookended Claire O'Riordan's first international goal (inset), as an experimental Girls in Green side held on for a morale-boosting win.

Few doubted Barrett would make the cut. But her woes at club level, which included a spell on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, had the Hampden Park hero refusing to take her spot for granted.

She can sleep easy over the next week now that she has brought her Ireland tally to seven goals.

Vera Pauw started with five players who would be expected to  feature in her XI for Ireland's opener against Australia in Sydney.

Courtney Brosnan, Louise Quinn, Niamh Fahey, Megan Connolly and Heather Payne aside, the team was made up of those nervously counting down the days until next Thursday's squad announcement.