Abi Ticehurst rounds up all of the action as the top two went head to head in the latest round of FAI Women’s National League action and the rest of the league concentrated on closing the gap.
In the Spotlight: Shels on top in seven goal thriller
Crowds were allowed back in for the first time since the league kicked off and the 300 who turned up for the battle of the top two were not disappointed. Both sides headed in the game level on points, but Peamount United had the upper hand having played one game less. Shelbourne looked to build on their previous performance with the same starting XI as the previous five whilst Peamount kicked off their return with this game and sought to blow away the cobwebs of the mid-season break.
Barely 30 seconds from the whistle and Emily Whelan was in with a chance but could not to get the ball quite under the right control in order to put Shelbourne in front. Moments later and a looping free kick from Jessie Stapleton was able to find the head of Saoirse Noonan (pictured celebrating above via @Shelsfc) and the Shels were 1-0 up.
The Peamount defence looked unsettled for much of the first half with panic passes played. Their first real attempt was a ball struck into the bottom corner but it lacked pace and was easily collected by Amanda Budden. Some slick passing up field by Shelbourne saw the ball land with Ziu who was able to turn Peamount which opened up space for Noonan and the home side were 2-0 up inside 15 minutes. The Peas continued to struggle with the rhythm of the game, losing possession in easy build up points and from set pieces. They seemed to find form towards the end of the half as Sadhbh Doyle caught the crossbar, however Jess Gargan was able to clear. Just ten minutes before the break, a Peamount penalty was converted into the bottom right corner by an assured Doyle. 2-1 going into the break.
Pace certainly picked up from the whistle and a feisty second half ensued. A Noelle Murray free kick found Jamie Finn but to no avail, but little time was wasted before a previously limping Whelan fizzed a ball across the box and it smashed in the back of the net. Worldie. 3-1 to Shelbourne.
Noonan was able to run amok in midfield, cut inside the box and shot from a tight angle before she was denied by a Peamount block. Peas followed up on the attack and Gorman noticed Budden off her line and lobbed her to make it 3-2.
A pacey final 10 minutes saw Shels denied a penalty, which was a very questionable decision by the referee indeed. One minute into stoppage time at the end of the game and Karen Duggan dramatically equalised for Peamount in what was assumed to be the last goal of the game, however in true Murray style, she was able to latch on the end of a long ball and secure the three points for Shelbourne in the final moments, all whilst manager Noel King had been sent to the stands by the referee. What a game.
Noonan has seen a fair amount of pressure in front of goal having made the step up from Cork City, but she didn’t disappoint in this game. Honourable mentions to Budden who had a sterling game to deny Peamount scoring more goals. She now has eight clean sheets to her name so far this season. Sadhbh Doyle the standout for Peamount.
FT Shelbourne 4-3 Peamount United
Above: Game faces on for Cork City. Photo: @Becky_Cassin
A huge result for Cork City who secured their first win of the season and moved up the table from the bottom spot as a result. Captain Becky Cassin capitalised on an off-guard Bohemians as a free-kick swung in. No let up for Bohemians as they face Peamount next.
Above: Eyes on the prize – DLR Waves and Galway battle for possession. Photo From: Peter Minogue Photography.
A smart passing game played by DLR Waves ensured that they would secure the win away from home at Galway. Shauna Fox with the first of DLR’s goals. Katie Malone followed suit and secured the second from inside the six yard box. An impressive performance up top for Impetus’ own Carla McManus once again, she’ll be keen to be back on the scoresheet for the Waves when they play Cork City at home. A debut appearance between the sticks for Galway’s Leah Hayes-Cohen and she’ll no doubt want to keep building on that experience.
FT Galway WFC 0-2 DLR Waves
Deadlock for the first 65 minutes in the tightly fought contest, Sinead Taylor was able to put that right for WexfordYouths. A point a piece looked likely when Gillian Keenan nabbed one for Treaty United, however Aoibheann Clancy snuck a late goal for Wexford to clinch the victory.
FT Wexford Youths 2-1 Treaty United
Pos
Team
Pld
Pts
GD +/-
GF
W
1
Shelbourne
11
28
+23
29
9
2
Peamount United
10
25
+21
29
8
3
Wexford Youths
11
24
+22
31
7
4
DLR Waves
10
19
+6
15
6
5
Galway
11
11
-11
17
3
6
Bohemians
11
8
-10
16
2
7
Treaty United
10
8
-25
15
2
8
Cork City
11
6
-11
13
1
9
Athlone Town
10
6
-15
13
1
Next Fixtures:
Saturday 10th July:
DLR Waves v Cork City (4pm)
Peamount United v Bohemians (4pm)
Athlone Town v Wexford Youths (7pm)
Sunday 11th July:
Treaty United v Galway (2pm)
Above: Impetus sponsored Carla McManus races towards goal for DLR Waves at Galway at the weekend. Photo From: Peter Minogue Photography.
Catherine Paquette casts her expert eye over Round Seven of the NWSL and highlights all the moments that mattered.
This past NWSL weekend was a foresight, arguably of things to come. It was the first weekend where some of the internationally selected Olympic players were absent on national team preparation duty.
The remaining Olympians departed this week and will be gone for at least the next month. In total more than three starting line-ups worth of NWSL players will be heading to Tokyo. The only team unaffected is Racing Louisville.
Teams are allowed to temporarily bolster their squads during this loss. Some, the OL Reign for example, have planned ahead and arranged loans which will last through the expected Olympic period. Others have signed replacement players on short term contracts.
The weekend gave us a first glimpse though of teams without some of their most skilled talent.
Friday had six teams meet in three fixtures. The first of the long weekend saw the Chicago Red Stars get their third win of the year, on the road, against the Washington Spirit. The winning goal was poked in by Kayla Sharples in the 33rd minute of the match off a corner.
Chicago’s striker Kealia Watt, who looked significantly more offensive this match than any other all season, should have been given the second of the match. It was erroneously not called as a goal after the ball bounced back into play from inside the net and was missed by the touchline referee.
Above: Washington Spirit’s Ashley Sanchez goes for goal . Photo: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Overall though, it was not a great match for either team. The Red Stars have had an erratic start to the beginning of the season, playing a dull brand of football often littered with mistakes and a lack of creativity. While there were moments of respite from that during the last match, suffice to say that overall the Red Stars’ Friday performance was not much of an improvement. Luckily for them most of their Olympic players had already departed. The same occurred with the Washington Spirit.
Washington for their part do pass the ball well. Sadly, that seems to be all they are currently capable of doing. Their coach Richie Burke has been quoted as saying he wants his team to make 600 passes minimum each game. While the idea of having a successfully passing team is a good one, if they are hardly hitting the back of the net and are consistently conceding then passing ideals are worthless.
The Spirit have conceded in every match of the year bar one and have yet to play a regular season game this year where their winning margin was greater than one. They are not the worst performing team in the league by far but they still have a ways to go to improve in order to become a dominant, consistent team.
The second match of the weekend was between the Houston Dash and the OL Reign. Houston still had some Olympic talent who had yet to depart. The Reign entered the match without their head coach Farid Benstiti, who had resigned the day prior after an abysmal year and a half in charge of the team. Sam Laity, who has been with the Reign since their inception, took over as interim coach.
The resignation did not change the 2021 form of the Reign. They succumbed to a 2-0 loss to the Dash at home. The OL Reign were able to show creativity in their build up, as they have done this year, but as always were not able to find space and convert in the final third. A lot of credit has to go to the Dash’s Jane Campbell, who made a number of great saves.
The Dash for their part slowly built from the back but often looked predictable in their attack. The Reign, to their credit, were able to keep the Dash contained in their own half for the earlier part of the match.
Above: Jas Spencer celebrates a goal to remember after returning from injury. Photo: Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle
However, a great pass from Shea Groom to Jas Spencer led to the Dash’s first goal of the night. The goal was especially emotional for Spencer who had just made a two year comeback from injury. She had had an ACL tear at Houston while playing for the Reign in 2019. Seeing her joy after scoring in the stadium where her career nearly ended was lovely.
The Dash were also able to capitalize later on in the game off a set play. A great ball in from Sophie Schmidt was headed twice before finding the back of the net. This is the second assist in two matches for Schmidt who will now depart for Olympic duty with Canada.
The final match of the first day of play actually stretched over two days. Gotham FC’s game against Kansas City was delayed for more than three hours due to weather conditions and started at 10:20 PM on Friday night.
A goal from NJ/NY in the middle of the first half by Ifeoma Onumonu resulted in a Gotham lead for most of the game. Onumonu received the ball in front of goal off a great Midge Purce pass and sent a low curler into the corner of the net.
KC continued to show the struggles they are encountering as an expansion side. Some sloppy passing and mistakes under pressure plagued many of their attacking chances. However, one cannot fault them for continuing to persevere and not giving up, especially against a Gotham squad that gave a lot of forward pressure and did not leave KC much room to operate.
This perseverance led to what is so far the goal of the season. KC’s Mariana Larroquette received the ball just inside Gotham’s half. She then proceeded to pass to herself and then charge towards the goal. She finished it off with an incredible curling strike after 38 minutes into the top of the net. There was nothing Gotham’s goalkeeper Didi Haracic could do about it.
The match ended tied in the early hours of Saturday with a score of 1-1.
And Larroquette evens it up with an amazing 38 yard goal.
— Her Beautiful Game (@HerBeautifulGam) July 3, 2021
The next match occurred later on Saturday. PortlandThorns were at RacingLouisville without all their American and Canadian internationals. It was the two sides’ second encounter of the year. The Thorns had bested Racing 3-0 in the earlier match in June.
The scoreline for this game would be quite similar. An unlikely foul by Racing’s Yuki Nagasato in the first half led to a converted Raquel Rodriguez penalty for the Thorns. A second goal, off a clearly well rehearsed set play, was headed home by Simone Charley.
Louisville are still learning a lot as an expansion franchise. While mistakes are still being made by the side and there are a lot of passes to nowhere, they showed they have a lot of good ideas to develop play and are able to follow through with tactical plans. In this match Louisville were able to keep the Thorns compact with a high defensive line for many parts of the match. As they are not losing any internationals to the Olympics this should keep Louisville more stable over the next month of play.
And the youngest player ever to play in the @NWSL, @olivia_moultrie, enters the field.
— Her Beautiful Game (@HerBeautifulGam) July 4, 2021
The big story of this game though was the debut of 15-year-old Olivia Moultrie. Moultrie, with the support of the Thorns whom she has been training with for the last few years, sued the NWSL for discrimination due to the league’s age restriction. A judge sided with Moultrie and ordered the league to allow her to sign.
After a bit of drama with regards to discovery rights, which were allocated to the OL Reign after the court injunction and required the Thorns to trade a draft pick to get Moultrie’s rights back, Moultrie signed a professional contract earlier this week.
A lot had been written about this young player, often described as a prodigy. She was offered a college scholarship at 11 and decided to turn professional at age 13. Her debut was therefore hotly anticipated. While she was on the field for only the last 10 minutes of the game, her few touches and runs showed signs of why Portland have been in agreement to allow one so young to turn professional.
The final match of the weekend was between the Orlando Pride and the North Carolina Courage. While the Pride have been performing very well for most of the season, this match was not their best. They are both currently missing significant parts of their squads to international Olympic duty. The beginning of their match started with severe pressure from the Courage and saw the Pride make many mistakes.
A big one, a bad pass back by Dougherty-Howard in the third minute of play, was well-read by the Courage’s Debinha who picked up the ball and slotted it home. Things did not improve performance-wise for the Pride who looked very one-dimensional during most of the match.
Their goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris was the one reason that the scoreline did not finish off worse than it was. Harris made a number of world class saves throughout the match including a penalty save in the 35th minute.
However, Harris’ heroics could only go so far. A wonderful Courage team goal occurred in the 66th minute. Angharad James crossed to Lynn Williams who in turn passed it in front of the net for Jessica MacDonald to make a short pass to Havana Solaun who kicked it into the net.
The Pride did try to fight back, with a number of attempts on goal but were unsuccessful in their comeback. The Courage won the match 2-0 and were propelled to the top of the table. Whether they will be able to keep this position after the remainder of their Olympians leave will be seen.
There are five more matches this upcoming weekend spread over Friday to Sunday.
Don’t miss Catherine‘s round up each Tuesday from the NWSLand keep an eye out for her special articles for Impetus.
Impetus are hugely excited to announce that we are sponsoring Ashford Town (Middx) striker Ashley Cheatley, one of the most prolific goal scorers in the fifth tier of the sport. Ben Gilby spoke to Ashley to launch the sponsorship which is just one element of our partnership with Ashford Town (Middx) for the new season.
Ashley Cheatley (pictured above in a photo she supplied Impetus with) has a quite phenomenal record at Ashford Town (Middx). Despite playing as high as Championship football earlier in her career, she is clear that opting to play in the tangerine and white it is the best footballing decision that she has ever made.
“Moving to Ashford Town was one of the best moves for me as an individual and for me to grow as a player. I can remember the first day I got the call from chairman and head coach Will Boye saying he was starting up at Ashford and wanted me to be part of it. To be honest, I wasn’t keen because it meant starting from the bottom, and I was already comfortable at my previous club, Brentford.
“However, in my first season, I scored 77 goals in a season, 11 in one game once, and I believe that I’ve topped the goal scoring table in all the seasons that I’ve been there apart from one!
“I got a call up to represent Middlesex County and after three years representing, we managed to win our first cup within the Southern Counties.
“Within my playing career at Ashford, I’ve loaned to Enfield in the FAWNL where I scored three goals in three games, and signed for Millwall Lionesses during the Spring Series.
“Ashford Town have been such a big part of my life and career and to this day, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been at a football club.
“Life at Ashford is amazing. I’ve never been so happy and content at a club in my whole career and I don’t think you can find a club quite like Ashford, from the players to the coaching staff to even the locals at Ashford everyone is one big family. My teammates are amazing both as players and individuals. Everyone’s vibe is the same, the energy levels are up there. Come onnnnnnn thennnnn!”
Ashley is full of gratitude for the support that her family have given her since her earliest days kicking a ball around.
“My parents and grandparents used to take me to a field back when I was roughly 18 months old, to kick a ball around, this weirdly is only about two to three minutes from Ashford, and they always believed in my ability and pushed me to do what I want to do always.
“My grandad was one of my biggest fans. Every time he came to watch he would say to me ‘I’ll tell you what you are, you’re bloody brilliant’ – I’ll never forget that! Unfortunately my grandad has passed away but my family still come to this day or watch on streams when they can.
“Will Boye at Ashford has had the most influence on me, he’s always allowed me to do what I want to do on the pitch and to help my development. He is so understanding and shows care and respect. You don’t find that often.”
Above: Ashley (right) in action for Ashford Town against Wycombe Wanderers. Photo supplied by: Ashley Cheatley.
Ashley’s goal scoring record goes before her and banging the ball in the back of the net is something that she absolutely loves.
“I actually don’t like to speak about me and how I play, I don’t want anyone to think I’m bragging or even worse lying. How can you tell someone you’ve scored 77 goals in a season and expect them to believe it? I would say I’m quite skilful, quick and direct. I like to run at defenders and finish every time. Ideally!
“To be honest, since I joined my first team at age 11, I’d just been a goal scorer, double figures every season until about I was about 13, when I came out of football as I fell out of love with the game and returned at 16.
“My first season back wasn’t great, but from about age 17+ I’d just had a natural goal scoring ability which has obviously grown over the years through training and development.”
With Ashley having played Championship level football with Millwall in the past, she still has desires to play higher up the leagues again.
“I would love to play higher. I’m 26 this year so I’m almost running out of time to be able to get a look in at the top clubs. However, tier two football is what I would like to be involved within again for sure.”
As we are gradually heading towards light at the end of the covid tunnel, Ashley can see some positives for her game as a result of lockdown.
“To be honest, the first lockdown improved my ball control. I kept in the garden practising new skills, ball control, kick-ups, the lot. I’d spend hours outside trying to master certain skills like kick ups on the floor with a round the world, and only went back into the house once I’d done it!
“It has definitely helped me a lot because I like the feeling of accomplishment in football, mostly get that feeling through scoring or a successful dribble.”
With the new season rapidly approaching, Ashley revealed the goals that she has set herself for the campaign. “It’s to win promotion by finishing top which would give us FAWNL status, to be the top goal scorer in all competitions and to finish the season the best player that I can be.
“In terms of Ashford’s aims for the season, they are promotion to the FAWNL and cup wins, plus continual team and player development.”
@DandalBs brings us our weekly wrap of the goings on in Swedish women’s football with the Olympic squad announcement, the latest round of Damallsvenskan and Elitettan action plus all the latest transfer news.
Sweden have announced their Olympic squad. Goalkeepers: Jennifer Falk, Hedvig Lindahl. Defenders: Jonna Andersson, Nathalie Björn, Magdalena Eriksson (pictured above via Chelsea FC Women), Hanna Glas, Amanda Ilestedt, Emma Kullberg. Midfield/forwards: Filippa Angeldahl, Kosovare Asllani, Hanna Bennison, Stina Blackstenius, Lina Hurtig, Sofia Jakobsson, Madelen Janogy, Fridolina Rolfö, Olivia Schough, Caroline Seger. Also called up: Zecira Musovic, Julia Roddar, Anna Anvegård, Rebecka Blomqvist. The Swedes have been drawn in the Games’ ‘Group of Death’ alongside World champions USA plus Australia and New Zealand.
DAMALLSVENSKAN:
Kristianstad demolished Piteå 6-1 thanks to goals from Anna Welin (2), Alice Nilsson (2), Miranda Nild and Sveindis Jane Jonsdottir. Astrid Larsson gave Piteå the lead but Kristianstad equalised within a minute and became more dominant the longer the match went.
Hammarby saw off Växjö 2-1 with goals from Emilia Larsson and Matilda Vinberg either side of a goal from Elin Nilsson for Växjö – only their third goal this season after ten matches.
Above: Hanna Bennison’s goal put Rosengård ahead in their top of the table clash with BK Häcken. Photo: Peter Sonander/SPP
In undoubtedly the most important match of the season so far, the top two went head to head. Rosengård extended their lead to eight points at the top – a major step towards taking the title – after a 2-0 win over BK Häcken. Hannah Bennison (54) and Stefanie Sanders (88) were on target. It was an intense and high paced match. However things will now prove to be very interesting after head coach Jonas Eidevall departing to take over as Arsenal head coach in the FAWSL. Renée Slegers, Sweden’s U23 manager and coach of Rosengård’s third tier team steps up to become the new head coach of the senior side.
AIK suffered another defeat, with Eskilstuna United claiming a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Fanny Andersson and Loreta Kullashi.
Vittsjö suffered a surprising 1-0 loss to Djurgården as the result of a long distance free kick from Fanny Lång.
Linköping eased to a 4-1 win over KIF Örebro. Cornelia Kapocs (2), Frida Maanum and Uchenna Grace Kanu were on the scoresheet. Örebro’s goal came via an own goal in stoppage time at the end of the game. It was a fitting farewell from captain Maanum, scoring a nice goal in a clear win. Maanum has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in the FAWSL.
Table From: svenskfotboll.se
Round Ten Fixtures:
Piteå v AIK
Växjö v Eskilstuna United
BK Häcken v Kristianstads
KIF Örebro v Rosengård
Hammarby v Vittsjö
Djurgården v Linköping
ELITETTAN
Above: Henna-Riikka Honkanen, who scored five of Umeå’s seven goals against IFKNorrköping to extend her lead at the top of the goal scoring chart. Photo: Bildbyrån.
The battle of the top two ended with a 2-1 win for IK Uppsala away to Morön BK who now drop to third. Marika Bergman Lundin gave Uppsala an early lead which Isabella Matsson doubled after 22 minutes. Morön profited from an own goal at the death but it was too late. Umeå took advantage to jump into second spot, two points behind the leaders after demolishing IFK Norrköping 7-1. Five goals from Henna-Riikka Honkanen, which takes her tally for the season to 13 (seven clear at the top of the goalscoring chart), plus one each from Monica Jusu Bah, Lisa Bjork sealed the win. Irma Cajlakovic got Norrköping’s sole reply. IK Kalmar are two points adrift in fourth after a 3-2 win over struggling Bollstanäs SK. Minnie Asperot, Tabby Tindell and Jenny Stadin earned them the win. Sanna Ohlund and an own goal were responsible for Bollstanäs’ strikes. Älvsjö AIK FF boosted their promotion hopes ahead of next week’s big clash away to Umeå with a 4-0 thrashing of Mallbackens IF Sunne. Alice Bergstrom, Jennie Hallstrom, Alice Ahlberg and Maria Poli were on target.
Latest Results: Sundsvalls DFF 1-0 IF Brommapojkarna, IFK Kalmar 3-2 Bollstanäs SK, Älvsjö AIK FF 4-0 Mallbackens IF Sunne, Lidköpings FK 2-1 Alingsås FC United, MorönBK 1-2 IK Uppsala, IFK Norrköping 1-7 Umeå IK, Jitex Mölndal 2-0 Borgeby FK
This Week’s Fixtures: IK Uppsala v IFK Kalmar, Umeå IK v Älvsjö AIK FF, Alingsås FC United v Sundsvalls DFF, Bollstanäs SK v Lidköpings FK, Mallbackens IF Sunne v Jitex Mölndal, IF Brommapojkarna v Morön BK, Borgeby FK v IFK Norrköping
Table From svenskfotboll.se
NEWS ROUND-UP:
Sofia Jakobsson has left Real Madrid after two years. Negotiations broke down, as far as I understand over the size of the contract. Olympique Lyonnais and Bayern Munich have been mentioned as potential new clubs.
Above: Kosovare Asllani – renewed her deal with Real Madrid. Photo: AS
Kosovare Asllani has agreed a new contract with Real Madrid. Asllani, a self confessed Madridista, has according to the report been more willing to negotiate salary than Sofia Jakobsson was.
Amanda Ilestedt has left Bayern München after two years. She has several offers from clubs with UEFA Champions League winning potential, according to her agent..
There are unconfirmed reports that Rosengård are persuing Eskilstuna’s 22 year-old star forward Loreta Kullashi. There is also interest from French and Italian clubs, but Rosengård is closest to a deal.
Above: Nora Rönnfors’ injury is another major blow for AIK. Photo: AIK Fotboll.
AIK‘s 21 year-old forward Nora Rönnfors, who has scored three goals so far this season, has suffered a torn ACL and won’t play any more this season. A tangible loss for AIK, who has a fairly long injury list even without Rönnfors and they are beginning to get dragged into a dog fight at the bottom.
Växjö have signed Finland forward Adelina Engman, most recently with Montpellier. The 26 year-old has 74 caps for her country and has previously played for Göteborg and Chelsea. She will replace Danish forward, Signe Holt Andersen, their leading 2020 goal scorer who has announced on her Instagram page that she has left the club
Linköping‘s Elin Landström will leave the club at the summer break. The 29 year-old wingback will leave for a club in a foreign league.
After such a promising start to her first W-League season with Perth Glory, English-bornstriker Gemma Craine (pictured above by Tom McCarthy) suffered a season-ending injury in her first home game for the club. This week, the club announced that they had re-signed her for the 2021/22 W-League campaign. As well as detailing the whole story, Ben Gilby spoke EXCLUSIVELY to Gemma about the announcementand hears about the Western Australian club’s acquisition of exciting Young Matildas star Susan Phonsongkham from Western Sydney Wanderers.
Perth Glory have confirmed that exciting forward Gemma Craine has re-signed with the club for the Westfield W-League 2021/22 Season.
The 26-year-old impressed during her first two games in purple last year, only for her maiden W-League campaign to be cruelly ended by a serious hamstring injury sustained against Adelaide United in Round Four.
Speaking exclusively to Impetus editor Ben Gilby, Gemma told him: I’m a player that always gives 100%, I’ll put my body on the line for the team. I know the team comes first and I’ll be whatever the team needs me needs to be. The injury only enhanced my focus.
“Obviously it was tough being out with injury and it was always hard to watch when you just want to be out there helping the team out.
“My rehab has only made me fall in love with the game even more. Injuries can be pretty horrible to go through but they also help to give you perspective and a chance to really appreciate the game and how lucky we are to play it. If I could go back I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Having now made a full recovery, Craine has been playing in the NPLW WA this season for Perth SC and is relishing the prospect of resuming her W-League career later this year.
Perth Glory head coach Alex Epakis, meanwhile, is confident that the former San Diego State University representative has what it takes to make a major impact in 2021/22.
Photo: Perth Glory FC.
“Gemma playing for Glory next season is something myself and all our Members and fans should be excited about,” he said.
“She showed very clear signs of her ability and attacking threat last year, despite having her season cut very short by injury and I believe she certainly would have played a big part in helping us last season.
“We are now really focused on ensuring she is fit and healthy for the season and I really believe she will come back stronger mentally and physically than she was prior to her injury.
“She is a mature player, a winner and a very hard worker who has the ability to play in multiple positions across the forward line or in midfield and is yet another strong addition to our squad.”
Glory CEO Tony Pignata is equally confident that Craine can help drive the W-League side forward next term.
“Gemma is another exciting addition to a squad that is really taking shape,” he said.
“Alex Epakis is looking to recruit players who combine talent and flair with a willingness to work hard for the team and even during the short time she played for us last season, it was clear to see that Gemma definitely ticked those boxes.”
Meanwhile, the club have also announced the signing of Young Matildas forward Susan Phonsongkham. The 20-year-old arrives having spent the past four seasons with Western Sydney Wanderers for whom she made a total of 19 W-League appearances and scored one goal.
A mobile and versatile forward, Phonsongkham claimed the NPL NSW Golden Boot while playing for Sydney Olympic in 2019 and is now looking to make a similar impact for Glory next season.
“I’m really looking forward to experiencing a new environment and working under Alex Epakis,” she said. “I like the way he wants the club to be going, it’s definitely heading in the right direction and I really want to be a part of that.”
Epakis, meanwhile, believes that the Thailand-born attacker has the potential to become a real favourite with the Glory faithful.
“Susan playing for Perth Glory next season will be a sight that all our supporters should be really excited about,” he said.
“She is a very good player who has so many technical and positional qualities.
Photo: Perth Glory FC
“There are not many players in the country who have Susan’s attacking quality and she will certainly bring another level to our attack.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to coach her and I know that she is coming to Perth Glory to work very hard, improve and help the club achieve its goals.”
Glory CEO Tony Pignata feels that Phonsongkham is another high-quality addition to what is an exciting squad being assembled at the club.
“Alex has secured the services of some of the brightest young talents in the country over the last few weeks,” he said, “and Susan also fits into the category.
“I’m sure she will have an important role to play in what promises to be an exciting W-League campaign for the club in 2021/22.”
Ben Gilby writes for Beyond90, Australia’s leading independent women’s football platform. Visit https://beyond90.com.au/
Impetus’ coverage of Australian Women’s Football is supported by The Chicken Salt Co. They are offering every Impetus reader 5% off all orders of Chicken Salt from their website. Go to https://www.chickensalt.co.uk/?mate=impetus and place your order – 5% will automatically be taken off of the cost. The coupon code is impetus.
Ben Gilby spoke to Perth SC’s head coach DanielleBrogan, (pictured above) about the development of women’s football at the club, to review their inaugural NPL Women’s campaign and look ahead at their aims for 2021.
Danielle Brogan is a former Matilda who has played for Sydney FC, Adelaide United and Perth Glory in addition to spending time in the top flight of English women’s football with Notts County who appeared in the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium during her year there. She was appointed as head coach ahead of the club’s entry into 2020’s first season of NPL women’s football in Western Australia.
The NPL is a competition which is immediately below W-League standard in Australia with different states running their own NPL leagues. There is no promotion and relegation between the NPL and the W-League, but it offers Australian women an opportunity to play a longer season and a number of players go straight into the NPL at the end of the W-League season.
Danielle highlighted the importance of Western Australia finally launching their own NPL competition for women last year: “For many years our young female players had been playing amongst boys teams until we were able to fulfil junior girls’ teams in competition. We began the process for application into the women’s league in Perth approximately four or five years ago as an expression of interest. Our proposal came to fruition with the restructure of the NPLW, which was a great achievement by all involved to have a successful outcome.”
With Western Australia’s NPL competition for women being launched in 2020, Danielle is very clear in what, for her the key benefits of the new structure are.
“I believe it has brought structure and accountability for clubs to support the women’s competition. It has also brought in a much larger competitive platform with teams only having access to a capped number of W-League players.
Above: Perth SC looking to strike their way towards another Finals campaign. Photo: Rob Lizzi via Perth SC
“The standard has improved drastically. Every team had a loss at some stage throughout the inaugural season last year and the top four positions in the table came down to results relied upon within the last few rounds. The quality of the game and football played was also noticeable.
“As a club we have had tried to promote Super Saturdays where our men’s and women’s teams play back to back games throughout the day. This has generated a few hundred people to the games.”
In terms of Perth SC’s own inaugural campaign, they finished in second spot with only four losses. For Danielle, this was an excellent achievement.
“2020 exceeded our expectations immensely. We set out to create a great culture and environment within the team with the vision to also help create dynamic footballers. We couldn’t have asked anymore from the players and staff involved.
Danielle has an experienced staff around her at the club, being assisted by Katie Holtham, who was an inaugural player in 2020 and also played for several top clubs in England including Chelsea, Doncaster Rovers Belles and Notts County. David Dal Busco is the under 23’s coach who also acts as a first team assistant. Our goalkeepers are assisted by the club goalkeeper coach with integrated sessions with the men’s players.
In reviewing last season, Danielle identified some of the club’s key performers.
Above: Emily Henderson, pictured playing for Perth Glory in the 2015 W-League, had a magnificent campaign for Perth SC in 2020. Photo: Zimbio
“Emily Henderson and Zoee Spadano were also some of the hardest and most consistent players throughout the year. Rebecca Bennett as goalkeeper was also outstanding and earned a call to Perth Glory for the W-League.”
The presence of a strong pathway in place at Perth SC is key to building long term sustainability and success. Danielle outlines the present status of girls’ football by revealing that “Currently we have junior girls’ teams up to the age of 16s. We’re hopefully to add an Under 18s team in the near future to bridge the gap to Under 23’s which is hugely positive.”
Another huge positive at the club is the strength of the relationship between the men’s and women’s teams.
“We have a fantastic relationship. We have fortnightly club dinners with the members and our respective coaches have very good relationships where they share their football knowledge. Some of our female players also get the opportunity to train with the men’s youth teams.”
With Perth Glory being the state’s representative side in the W-League, the NPL women’s clubs play a major part in the development of players to play top level club football in Australia and this is something that Danielle highlights is an ongoing relationship.
Above: Action from Perth SC’s game against reigning champions the Northern Redbacks. Photo: Rob Lizzi via Perth SC
“During the W-League, we attempt to keep communications with the Glory coaching staff regarding players. In 2020 we saw Perth Glory’s head coach Alex Epakis spectate at games and he is in touch with us about player discussions leading into the 2021/22 W-League campaign.”
Going into the new Western Australia NPL season, clubs had to negotiate the various obstacles caused by coronavirus. Danielle’s experience from the club’s perspective is generally positive.
“The snap lockdowns have caused rescheduling issues, however we have to be thankful for the position we are in compared to the rest of the world. We still get the ability to exercise and socialise and rescheduling a few games or training sessions is not a huge disruption.”
The club’s successes in 2020 had a positive impact on recruitment for the new season as Danielle highlights. “It was an exciting experience for 2021 roster. We wanted to keep the bulk of our squad and managed to strengthen in a few areas too. Our aims are to go one better in the league by finishing top and then end up in the final of the top four cup.”
Perth SC are presently in sixth place in the eight team WA NPLW, but only two points outside of the top four, who qualify for the Finals at the end of the season. We’ll be checking in with Danielle and the club later in the season.
Ben Gilby writes for Beyond90, Australia’s leading independent women’s football platform. Visit https://beyond90.com.au/
Impetus’ coverage of Australian Women’s Football is supported by The Chicken Salt Co. They are offering every Impetus reader 5% off all orders of Chicken Salt from their website. Go to https://www.chickensalt.co.uk/?mate=impetus and place your order – 5% will automatically be taken off of the cost. The coupon code is impetus.
Australia announced their squad for the Olympic Games early this morning, and it is one filled with players plying their trade in some of the biggest clubs in women’s football including FA Women’s Super League title and Golden Boot winner Sam Kerr (pictured above, supplied by Football Australia), Lyon star defender Ellie Carpenter, UEFA Women’s Champions League bound Arsenal trio, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Lydia Williams, as well as W-League Grand Final match winner Kyra Cooney-Cross.
The 18 players selected are a mix of youth and experience, with three players recording over 100 international appearances for Australia. Teenagers Cooney-Cross and Mary Fowler join Teagan Micah, Emily Gielnik, Hayley Raso and veteran Aivi Luik as the six Olympic debutants.
The squad, which looks very strong on paper does not come without a few potentially risky selections.
Tony Gustavsson has called up both Elise Kellond-Knight and Chloe Logarzo, both of whom have been side-lined for injuries for a lengthy period, and who have not played for the Matildas since the pandemic. First choice goalkeeper Lydia Williams has been out for much of last season with Arsenal. Teagan Micah has also come in as goalkeeper after impressive against Sweden in the Matildas’ most recent friendly with long time second choice goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold of West Ham United named as a travelling reserve. Another of the travelling reserves is young South Australian star Charli Grant, who has yet to make her international debut despite being called up for the most recent friendlies.
Whilst the return of Logarzo and Kellond-Knight is a risk, it is not a surprise. Speaking at his press conference prior to the friendlies with Denmark and Sweden, head coach Tony Gustavsson told me that, although Logarzo was not ready for those two games he was in “constant contact with her” in order for there to be an opportunity to take the former Bristol City player to Tokyo, such is her massive importance to the Matildas. Equally, Gustavsson admitted selecting Kellond-Knight for the Scandinavian friendlies despite knowing she wasn’t yet fit to play as he wanted to have a good look at her in training.
The Matildas qualified for the Olympics in March 2020, with Emily van Egmond and Sam Kerr leading the Australian charge during the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifiers. They eventually clinched their their ticket to Tokyo away from home with victory in against Vietnam just prior to the outbreak of coronavirus.
The Matildas open their campaign on 21 July against New Zealand before meeting world number five and reigning Olympic silver medallists Sweden, and finishing the group stage against reigning World Champions and world number one USA.
Captain Sam Kerr explained that leading the team at an Olympics is a special feeling.
“It’s a massive honour,” Kerr said. “Any time I pull on the jumper, I feel really proud, but to call yourself an Olympian is something special. Not many people get to do it so I’m really proud to be an Olympian and to represent Australia. I can’t wait!
“It’s different to say a World Cup just for the fact that it is the Olympics. It’s a little bit prestigious, it’s just overwhelming. I grew up watching the Olympics like everyone else so to be here, for my second time, is a dream come true.
“The Matildas are a really, really exciting team. We’re fast, we’re strong, we’re fit, and I feel like the rest of the world knows that about us. It’s really about using our strengths to the best of our abilities. Off the field what people don’t see is we’re a really close-knit family. We all have each other’s back and we can’t wait to go and represent Australia in the best way possible.
“I’m really proud and really excited for this opportunity, it’s something I definitely don’t take for granted.”
Above: 18 year-old Mary Fowler – a dream call up for the Olympic Games. Photo Supplied By: Football Australia
At just 18, debutant Mary Fowler is the youngest on the team.
“It feels absolutely amazing to be selected for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics,” Fowler said. “As a kid, it’s the one dream I had in sports so it feels amazing.
“The moment I found out I was going to Tokyo; I was in a meeting with the coaches, and I don’t really expect myself to react overly over the top, to be so emotional.
“But when I got told, and I got handed a piece of paper saying I’m going, everything just clicked. And then I just started tearing up. I was a bit taken aback because this doesn’t usually happen, but it was just a really good feeling.”
Coach Tony Gustavsson said the strength of the squad made today’s selection very difficult.
“First I want to thank every single player out there that fought to get a spot, and they’ve done it so that I had a difficult decision to make,” Gustavsson said. “That’s how it should be for a head coach and that’s also how we get better.
“The players that have been selected, it’s a team with a lot of passion and pride to now represent the country. It’s a spirit within the team that I love.
“It’s a team and a roster that is very attacking balanced, but also with a lot of versatility. There’s a lot of players in this roster that can play multiple positions with which is exactly what you need in an Olympic tournament.
On the pitch you are definitely going to see a brave team that’s going to take a step forward. It’s going to be an attacking mindset on the field. Off the field, this team is always going to represent in the best way possible. It’s an authentic team that is really true to who they are and very, very proud to represent their country.”
Name
Position
Age
Olympic Games
Lydia Williams
Goalkeeper
33
2nd (2016)
Teagan Micah
Goalkeeper
23
Debut
Alanna Kennedy
Defender
26
2nd (2016)
Steph Catley
Defender
27
2nd (2016)
Clare Polkinghorne
Defender
32
2nd (2016)
Ellie Carpenter
Defender
21
2nd (2016)
Aivi Luik
Defender
36
Debut
Emily van Egmond
Midfielder
27
2nd (2016)
Elise Kellond-Knight
Midfielder
30
2nd (2016)
Tameka Yallop
Midfielder
30
2nd (2016)
Chloe Logarzo
Midfielder
26
2nd (2016)
Kyra Cooney-Cross
Midfielder
19
Debut
Sam Kerr
Forward
27
2nd (2016)
Hayley Raso
Forward
26
Debut
Caitlin Foord
Forward
26
2nd (2016)
Emily Gielnik
Forward
29
Debut
Kyah Simon
Forward
30
2nd (2016)
Mary Fowler
Forward
18
Debut
Mackenzie Arnold, Laura Brock, Charlotte Grant and Courtney Nevin have been named as the travelling reserves. If called up to the team due to injury or other circumstances, they would be selected to the Australian Olympic Team at that time.
Ben Gilby writes for Beyond90, Australia’s leading independent women’s football platform. Visit https://beyond90.com.au/
Impetus’ coverage of Australian Women’s Football is supported by The Chicken Salt Co. They are offering every Impetus reader 5% off all orders of Chicken Salt from their website. Go to https://www.chickensalt.co.uk/?mate=impetus and place your order – 5% will automatically be taken off of the cost. The coupon code is impetus.
Abi Ticehurst rounds up all of the action as the FAI Women’s National League returned from its early summer break. Pictured above – DLR Waves‘ Carla McManus, sponsored by Impetus, slots home a penalty against WexfordYouths. Photo supplied by Peter Minogue Photography.
In the Spotlight: Wexford open up the gap in the race for top three
A game with plenty of action from both sides, Wexford Youths looked to settle much quicker than DLR Waves as they dominated the first fifteen, however it was evident that both teams were getting back into the rhythm of play after the pause at the end of the first part of the campaign.
A soaring set piece looked initially like it was on course to go over, but it dipped just in the right fashion for Lynn Marie Grant and she headed home to put Youths 1-0 up. Half time and Waves looked considerably more comfortable as the second forty-five kicked off. Niamh Barnes really showed her strength against a pacey Blessing Kingsley to deny her multiple chances down the right wing.
An opportunity then fell for Aoife Brophy as she fizzed one into the box, for Impetus’ very own Carla McManus just unable to connect to put DLR on the score sheet. The final twenty minutes proved fairly intense with no more than two to three passes for either side before possession switched.
However, another corner was swung in and Orlaith Conlon was on the end of it to make it 2-0 to Youths. A handball in the box by Nicola Sinnott meant Carla McManus was able to notch another on her record for DLR (pictured) to make it six in eight games and deny Wexford the clean sheet, as she coolly slotted one home from the spot after.
Just moments later, Youths counter-attack was explosive and Ellen Molloy’s shot took an unfortunate deflection off Niamh Barnes to make it three for Wexford. A final DLR attempt as McManus attempted to hook a goal in but was unable to get any real power on it as the ball swung in too high.
Above: Freya de Mange on her debut for Wexford Youths against DLR Waves on Saturday. Photo: @YouthsWomen
Aoibheann Clancy was the standout player, for me, during the game, she was able to utilise all the difficult gaps to push the offense forward for Wexford whilst putting in important and well timed tackles, as well as making accurate and effortless turns on the ball. Honourable mentions for both keepers, Ciamh Dollard and Eve Badana, as they did sterling jobs to shot-stop chances from both sides as the strikers and Jess Gleeson who looked dangerous in the air at every opportunity.
FT Wexford Youths 3-1 DLR Waves
Mid-table match up ends in draw
Galway continue a positive re-start under new boss Stephen Lally with a draw against Bohemians. Lally was appointed just over a month ago. A former Galway United player, he replaced Billy Cleary who stepped down at the end of May. A Sinead Donovan goal put Galway 1-0 up to maintain the lead for much of the game. However an 86th minute free-kick from midfielder Chloe Darby was to spoil the fun and secure a point for Bohemians. The pair sit sixth and fifth in the table respectively.
FT Bohemians 1-1 Galway
Sensational Murray strike puts Shels joint top
Above: Noelle Murray – Shelbourne’s match winner. Photo: Shelbourne FC.
In classic Noelle Murray fashion, a long range attempt from the striker put Shelbourne 1-0 up. Murray took a chance from 30 yards out and was able to lob Abby McCarthy and all in front of a home crowd for the first time this season. A stealthy performance by Becky Cassin and Éabha O’Mahony in midfield for Cork, but not enough to pick up points to take them off the bottom spot in the table. The result hots things up at the top, as the Shels go level on points with league leaders Peamount United.
FT Shelbourne 1-0 Cork City
Cronin does the double in a draw
A busy, feisty game between Treaty United and Athlone Town saw them both take a point at Jackman Park with Aoife Cronin hitting the back of the net twice for Treaty, which put the forward joint top scorer with fellow namesake Aoife Horgan, both with 4 each. Katelyn Keogh nabbed Athlone’s first just before the break with Melissa O’Kane getting in on the act. Athlone held on for twenty minutes but Cronin secured the brace to make it 2-2 in the 82nd minute. Athlone remain in 8th whilst Treaty are in lucky 7th.
FT Treaty United 2-2 Athlone Town
Pos
Team
Pld
Pts
GD +/-
GF
W
1
Peamount United
9
25
+22
26
8
2
Shelbourne
10
25
+22
25
8
3
Wexford Youths
10
21
+21
29
6
4
DLR Waves
9
16
+4
13
5
5
Galway
10
11
-9
17
3
6
Bohemians
10
8
-9
16
2
7
Treaty United
9
7
-24
12
2
8
Athlone Town
9
5
-15
11
1
9
Cork City
10
3
-12
12
0
Next Fixtures:
Saturday 3rd July
Shelbourne v Peamount United (14:00)
Cork City v Bohemians (14:00)
Galway v DLR Waves (16:00)
Wexford Youths v Treaty United (18:30)
Abi Ticehurst will be rounding-up all the action from the FAI Women’s National League every Wednesday from next week.
Impetus is delighted to welcome Catherine Paquette, of Her Beautiful Game as our newest writer. Catherine will be producing weekly round ups of the NWSL as well as playing a leading role in our coverage of next season’s FAWSL, international football and many other aspects of women’s football. Here, Catherine gives us all the background to the NWSL.
Nine years. It is a big number for professional women’s soccer in the United States. It is big because it represents the National Women’s Soccer League’s current duration. This number is three times as long as the two other previous professional leagues have lasted.
This did not happen by chance. The NWSL was designed to be cost effective, very conservative and originally was supported by the national footballing associations of Mexico, Canada and the United States of America. These national associations supported it through direct funding and the subsidization of national player salaries allocated to the league.
A lot has changed since the 2013 debut season though. Mexico pulled out of the agreement and established its own league in 2017. Of the eight original franchises, five remain. Three teams folded, one was sold to another market and six new franchises were created.
The league currently has ten franchises playing: the Chicago Red Stars, the Houston Dash, Kansas City, NJ/NY Gotham FC, the North Carolina Courage, the OL Reign, the Portland Thorns, Racing Louisville FC and the Washington Spirit. Two other new franchises, Angel City FC in Los Angeles and San Diego’s NWSL team are set to join the league in 2022.
The NWSL has not just grown in franchises but also in visibility. In its inaugural year teams averaged 4,270 spectators a match. In 2019, when stadiums were last allowed at full capacity, this number had nearly doubled. The Portland Thorns had an average attendance of 20,098 people, with a season high of 25,218 their stadium’s capacity.
While the first year of the NWSL had nearly every game broadcast for free on YouTube with sometimes very low resolution, one can now watch nearly every game on CBS or Paramount+ in the US and on Twitch internationally with relatively good resolution.
Much still needs to happen though. The salary cap has more than tripled, from $200,000 to the 2021 cap of $685,500 per team, as has the minimum salary from $6,000 to $22,000 a year. While salaries have increased, the NWSL like many other women’s leagues around the world thrives on the backs of its lowest salaried players.
The same can be said of the NWSL’s current infrastructure. Playing and practicing conditions have greatly changed for the better. However, again, like many women’s leagues around the world the NWSL suffers from an infrastructure gap with the men, unable to always find adequate and affordable soccer specific stadiums.
At present two teams, the OL Reign and KC, play their games on temporarily converted baseball fields. One team, the Washington Spirit, has an agreement to split its home matches between three different stadiums located in two different states as well as Audi Field in DC.
Above: Portland Thorns players in front of another packed house. Photo: Soccer Stadium Digest
The NWSL has come a long way, but is still striving to improve. This improvement is supported by players, the league and also by fans, many of whom were drawn to the league due to the success of the United States Women’s National Team and the 2015 Women’s World Cup held in Canada.
It is this fan support, and the NWSL’s desire to ensure that it grows into the best women’s league in the world, that lead it last year to perhaps it’s greatest coup so far.
While most women’s football leagues around the world were severely hit by COVID, with many originally not returning to play, the NWSL was able to organize a new competition and become the first league in North America to return to play.
The NWSL Challenge Cup, held in June and July of last year, led to record viewing numbers and a fantastic display of the quality of play within America’s only pro women’s soccer league. The NWSL followed this up with a fall series where its then nine teams were separated into three groups and played a four match series each.
Due to the original uncertainty with regards to stadium attendance and the continued COVID-19 pandemic, the NWSL decided to start its 2021 season with its second iteration of the Challenge Cup. The Portland Thorns, one of the league’s consistent high performers since the inception of the league, won the cup in a final played against NJ/NY Gotham FC.
Which leads us to the current 2021 NWSL season. Like previous season, each team will play a 24-match regular season, with at least one home-and-away against each team. The season started on May 15th and is set to conclude October 30th.
Eight teams will make the play-offs, with the top two seeded teams skipping the quarter-finals and progressing directly to the playoff semi-finals. The NWSL Championship is set for November 20th and the competition will not take an Olympic break.
A number of big signings entered the league, many from the English FAWSL. Several Americans internationals who had gone to play overseas during the 2020-21 season, chose to return and sign for NWSL clubs. There are also a number of short term loans, ranging from leagues such as the French Division 1 to the Mexican Liga MX Femenil.
Above: Portland Thorns goalkeeper Adrianna “AD” Franch clears in the game between the Thorns and North Carolina Courage last night. Photo: Andy Mead/ISI PhotosAndy Mead/ISI Photos
The beginning of the season has seen some expected results and a few surprise ones. This past Saturday was the league’s first Super Saturday, where all ten teams met in five matchups. So far teams have played between six and eight matches.
Like in most seasons, the Portland Thorns and the North Carolina Courage have had relatively strong starts to the season. They met each other on Super Saturday with the Courage winning 2-0. The win propelled the Courage to second in the league with the Thorns falling to third.
New expansion teams Kansas City and Racing Louisville have experienced some growing pains. KC received the bulk of its players from the now defunct Utah Royals while Louisville built from its team scratch.
Both clubs are less than seven months old and are still trying to find their feet. Racing has fared much better than KC, who has yet to record a single win.
A 3-0 win this weekend by Louisville over the Chicago Red Stars showed that they have the playing ability to develop attacks and score goals. While questions still remain about their defence, the win placed them sixth in the league.
KC on the other hand suffered yet another defeat. While they scored early, through a wonderful goal by Amy Rodriguez, and looked like they may register their first franchise win despite a more dominant Washington performance, the team once again broke down in the final third of the match. They let in one goal in the 78th minute and a second deep into injury time. They remain last in the league.
The Washington Spirit and Gotham FC have continued their increase in form, after several difficult seasons. Both teams are composed of relatively young squads supported by a number of seasoned veterans.
Gotham’s pre-season went exceptionally well with an appearance in the Challenge Cup final. Through good strategic counter attacking play they were able to beat the OL Reign on the road 3-0 on Super Saturday.
The Washington Spirit have also had a good early season. Bolstered by new recruits and the maturation of young talent drafted over the years they have shown a more disciplined and attacking minded team than in previous years. They also recorded a win on Super Saturday, described above. The Spirit and Gotham currently sit fourth and fifth in the league respectively.
The Houston Dash, which has never qualified for the NWSL Playoffs, have had an inconsistent start. This is surprising considering the 2020 form the team had which lead to their win of the Challenge Cup. They have since had little change in the team’s squad.
This inconsistency saw them loose to NWSL newbies Louisville last week, yet beat the Orlando Pride 2-1 on Super Saturday. The win took them from ninth to seventh in the league.
The Chicago Red Stars have also had an inconsistent start despite also having little change in their squad. While they are missing a few top players due to injury, and have never been able to replace Sam Kerr scoring-wise, the team started this season with lacklustre performances.
Above: Danielle Colaprico of Chicago Red Stars (24) battles with Ashley Sanchez of the Washington Spirit last season. Photo: Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images).
This lacklustre run kept up on Super Saturday when they were beaten by Louisville at home 3-0. After the loss the Red Stars have fallen to eight place.
The OL Reign, who were bought at the end of 2019 by French perennial winners Olympique Lyonnais, are one of the surprising teams so far. Despite having an impressive squad bolstered by French Lyonnais loans, Manchester City’s Karen Bardsley and a number of world class international players, the team has suffered four defeats.
The Reign have shown strong performances but they are not living up to its quality. While they often seem to pass the ball with creativity and ease, they are not able to finish, registering no goals in the majority of their regular season games.
Moreover, mistakes made by several players in vulnerable positions have led to easy goals against as have a number of counter attacking plays. This arguably happened in their 3-0 loss to Gotham on Super Saturday. The Reign currently sit in ninth placed.
Perhaps the biggest shock though in 2021 is the Orlando Pride. The Pride have long been a team packed with talent, including two of the top women’s scorers ever: Alex Morgan and Marta. Despite this talent the Pride have been perennial under performers, both from individual players and from the capability expected of such a team.
This has changed in 2021. The Pride were the only undefeated team in the league prior to Super Saturday, and had won four matches and drawn three. Individually its players, including Morgan and Marta, are finally finding club form.
The early lead this success gave them helped with their standing. Despite a 2-1 loss on Super Saturday to the Houston Dash, the Pride currently still lead the NWSL.
The league, which does not have a consistent schedule and often has matches on weekend and mid-week days, next plays Friday, July 2nd. Matches will also be held on July 3 & 4. Internationally games are free to watch on Twitch. The full schedule and match links can be found at nwslsoccer.com.
Catherine’s weekly articles on the NWSL will appear every Tuesday on Impetus starting on 6th July. For more information on Catherine and all of our contributors, visit About our Contributors (wordpress.com)
Ciarán Duffy of Post to Post Sport sets the scene in the FAI WNL ahead of the beginning of the second stage of the season.
With the return to action following the mid-season break, with most sides having played nine games, the league is heating up.
Peamount United
Unbeaten with a near-perfect record. Having interviewed multiple Peamount players and coaches over the past 3 seasons the word near will bother them. Their most recent game was a 2-2 draw against Wexford, who are the only team to have taken points off them throughout the last two seasons and were the last team to beat Peamount in a competitive game.
Eleanor Ryan-Doyle has been a sensation and is clear as top scorer in the league. The fact an Ireland call-up hasn’t come along yet is bewildering. She scores when she wants, and the evidence suggests she wants to score a lot. I witnessed first-hand an immaculate diving header against DLR Waves at the UCD Bowl, she should be an international player.
They haven’t been short on goals elsewhere, they’ve scored 26 in total with Aine O’Gorman chipping in with five. They also have the second-best defence in the league having only conceded four goals.
Peamount are clear favourites to go on to win the league as the simply do not tend to lose games. They aren’t runaway leaders, as they are just three points clear, but have taken ten points from four games against their fellow top four sides. They won’t walk the league but it will take a lot to stop them.
Shelbourne
The closest challengers in the two previous seasons, Shels sit three points behind the leaders. Last year the league was decided in a game between Peas and Shels, the previous season we came close to needing a play-off as the title race went to the final day.
Shelbourne have been impressive this season, with a narrow loss to Peamount and a scoreless draw with Wexford the only blots on their copy book. Noelle Murray, Saoirse Noonan, and Emily Whelan have all contributed goals, and they can expect to have Ireland international Chloe Mustaki, formerly of Charlton Athletic, back from injury at some in the season as she has returned from training.
They have been solid defensively only conceding three goals, two of which were against Peamount, and look set to run the champions close once again.
Above: Wexford Youths’ Ellen Molloy. Photo: Kilkenny People.
Wexford Youths
A stuttering start gave way to a winning run. They’ve recently got two draws against Peamount and Shelbourne, and the only points they have dropped have been to the other sides in the top four.
They are the joint top scorers in the league. Captain Kylie Murphy has been instrumental in their success with Ireland’s newest sensation Ellen Molloy also contributing goals. Ciara Rossiter has proven herself to be the one of the best left backs Ireland has on offer and should surely be in the mix for an Ireland call-up ahead of the world cup qualifiers.
Their most recent result was a thrilling comeback against Peamount having been 2-0 down. They’ve gone unbeaten since the opening and have only conceded more than one goal on one occasion.
Tom Elmes left his post as head coach to take on a lead role with the U16’s team. We wish Tom all the best in the future.
DLR Waves
The Waves are having their best ever season. They’ve played eight games and have only dropped points in games against the top three.
Despite being the lowest scorers in the FAI WNL, they boast one of the league’s top scorers in Carla McManus, who is sponsored by Impetus.
DLR have played some of their best football this season. They are a young team but have drastically matured over the past three seasons since Graham Kelly took over. They’ve been led by captain Catherine Cronin and vice-captain Rachel Doyle, two experienced players in the league. They boast arguably the best goalkeeper in the league in Eve Badana, and their centre-back pairing of Jess Gleeson and Niamh Barnes have been solid throughout the season.
We’ve been covering their home games at the UCD Bowl, with post-match reaction from players and coaches. You can get our videos on YouTube here. We also have a dedicated page to the team on our site.
Galway
It’s been a difficult season for Galway with head coach Billy Clery stepping away due to family commitments. Rachel Kearns has been their stand out player throughout the season. Galway have shipped heavy defeats to some of the top teams but have also picked up wins against teams below them to keep them in the top five. A break may have done them good after picking up their first win in five games.
Bohemians
Have put it up to most teams in the league when they’ve played them. A 6-2 win over Treaty on the opening day looked to have set the season up promisingly, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing. They were only narrowly beaten by Shelbourne and DLR Waves. Their top scorer is Erica Burke with four goals.
Treaty United
Head coach Niall Connolly admitted when we spoke to him on the show that the coaching staff had possibly tried to change too much in their first season in charge. They got their first win of the season last month against Cork, and before the break they beat Bohemians. It looks like things may start clicking a bit more in the latter part of the season. Rebecca Horgan is their top scorer with four goals.
Above: Katelyn Keogh, Athlone Town’s top scorer. Photo: Final Whistle
Athlone Town
It’s been a difficult season for Athlone but they finally got their first win of the campaign at the end of May against Galway. They have had the most players sent off this season with four players being shown red cards. Katelyn Keogh is their top scorer with three goals.
Cork City
After a successful season last year things haven’t gone to plan for Cork, who are yet to win a game. The highlight of their year has been Lauren Egbuloniu’s form after she returned from injury late last year.
This marks my final article for Impetus. I have enjoyed my time here and appreciate the opportunity given to me by Ben and the site.
Our coverage of the FAI WNL will continue every Wednesday with a round-up of all the previous weekend’s action.
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