Women made swift impact
Fourth and third place finishes in first two campaigns
WEXFORD YOUTHS Women have left an indelible imprint on the football landscape in Ireland since coming into existence in late 2011.
Eddie Cullen has enjoyed a long involvement with the club behind the scenes and, in the first of a series of articles on their proud history to date, he starts by recalling their first two campaigns.
2011-’12
Sunday, November 13, 2011, saw the beginning of the Bus Eireann Women’s National League and the emergence of Wexford Youths Women to compete on the national stage.
The league was formed to give the growing women’s soccer population in Ireland the opportunity to showcase their talents on a weekly basis at the highest level.
Manager John Flood stated in his message in the first match day programme: ‘Our players have been with our coaching staff, management team and committee working extremely hard over the past six weeks since we completed our trials to build a unit that will be strong, competitive, committed and united, to be the best that we can be.’
Strong, competitive, committed and united would go on to be the motto of Wexford Youths Women.
Joining John on his management team was Lizzy Kent, along with Billy Donnelly, Bobby Murphy, William Doyle, Tom Elmes and Dylan Mernagh as important components of a strong backroom crew.
The first game was a home fixture in Ferrycarrig Park in front of a crowd of 870.
The match finished in a 2-2 draw, with Fiona Bennett and Rianna Jarrett the maiden goalscorers for the Youths, while Emma Mullen replied twice for Castlebar.
Wexford Youths Women went on to finish fourth out of six teams that competed in the very first Bus Eireann National League, with Peamount taking the honours just ahead of Raheny, and Cork in third spot.
The other two teams that made up the league that year were the first opponents, Castlebar Celtic, and Shamrock Rovers.
Youths’ record in that first season was: won five, drew five, and lost five.
Their top goalscorers were captain Kylie Murphy and Cherelle Khassel on four apiece, while Maria Delahunty and Edel Kennedy registered three apiece.
Rianna Jarrett was nominated for the Under-17 international player of the year, having played in the World Cup at that level in 2010, and also featuring in two friendlies in Austria, scoring in one of the matches.
Jessica Gleeson and Ciara O’Brien were also in that Ireland squad.
Cherelle Khassel, who joined the club in December, 2011, from L.A. Strikers, collected the Bus Eireann player of the month award for March, 2012.
Cherelle, a former Republic of Ireland Under-19 international player, was nominated for the international player of the year at that grade in early 2011. Nikki Dunphy was named on the first Bus Eireann team of the year.
All in all, the season 2011-’12 proved to be a very solid start by the Wexford Youths Women.
2012-’13
The Bus Eireann Women’s National League’s second season saw the introduction of DLR Waves, bringing the number of teams in the competition up to seven.
Goalkeeper Charlotte McCormack and centre-half Ciara O’ Brien left the club, having secured full-time soccer scholarships in America.
The closed season saw a big turnaround of players, with Celine Slye, Sadie Murphy, Fiona Bennett and Amy Devereux being among a large number that departed, while Cherelle Khassel moved on in November, having signed for English side Brighton & Hove Albion.
On a very positive note, Youths added an impressive array of new talent to their ranks.
In came goalkeepers Mary Rose Kelly and Tamara Furlong, and the squad was further strengthened with the introduction of Lauren Dwyer, Ciara Rossiter, Aisling Frawley, Aoibhín Webb, Amy Walsh, Lucy Sherwin, Aideen Egan and Krista Minto.
Showing the potential of some of the new signings, Lauren Dwyer, Ciara Rossiter and Aisling Frawley were all part of the Irish Under-17 squad that qualified for the elite phase of the UEFA European Championship.
All three played in the final game against Finland, with Aisling scoring the winning goal.
It proved to be a very successful season for Lauren Dwyer, the Bus Eireann player of the month for March. She also won the Under-17 Irish international player of the year award.
She was deservedly named on the Bus Eireann team of the year along with Wexford colleagues Mary Rose Kelly and Rianna Jarrett, with the latter recognised further for her individual ability.
As well as her place on the team of the year, she was also named as the Bus Eireann National League young player of the year, as well as winning January’s player of the month.
On the international scene, Rianna was a member of the Irish Under-19 squad that qualified for the elite stage of the UEFA European Championship, getting on the scoresheet in a 3-0 victory over Cyprus.
She went on to score again in the first elite qualifying game against Italy that Ireland won 1-0.
Unfortunately, Rianna picked up a serious ACL injury in that game which kept her out of action for the rest of the season.
Even so, she still finished as Youths’ leading goalscorer for the campaign with 15 league goals.
Jess Gleeson - sister of Austin, the Waterford hurling star - travelled to Cyprus
with the Senior Irish squad, gaining great experience.
Wexford Youths Women improved on their first season’s league position, finishing in third place behind Raheny United who overcame the reigning champions, Peamount, who filled second spot.
Youths’ record for the season saw them win an impressive nine games, drawing four and losing only five of their 18 league games.
Under the strong leadership of John Flood and Lizzy Kent and their backroom team, Wexford Youths Women - in only the second season in the Bus Eireann National League - were already looking like strong contenders to become one of the leading lights in the top echelons of women’s senior soccer in Ireland.
TO BE CONTINUED