All-Island Cup fans were at the edge of their seats as they witnessed a set of exceptional games last weekend.
Indeed, the talent that has been taking the pitch by storm has become more apparent by the week. Dubliners in particular were in for a treat as Shamrock Rovers got their first win of the season across all competitions combined with two new debuts for Peamount United.
A Promising Player for Rovers
Rovers kicked off the weekend with 6-0 win in a Dublin Derby against DLR Waves at Tallaght Stadium.
Besides the huge point difference, one of the most exciting talking points of the game was the emergence of Ella Kelly as the youngest goal scorer in League of Ireland (LOI) history. At just 15 years old, Kelly has already made an impact on the pitch with the senior side. The player may have even caught the eye of Ireland Women's National Team (WNT) manager, Eileen Gleeson, who attended the match.
𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟑𝟎 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡:
First Senior Appearance at Tallaght Stadium ✅
𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥:
First Senior Goal at Tallaght Stadium ✅
Academy star Ella Kelly becomes the youngest goalscorer in League of Ireland history - age 15 years, 6 months, 2 days 💚 pic.twitter.com/GQd1Y1oEeb— Shamrock Rovers Women (@RoversWomen) April 21, 2024
Gleeson herself previously told Balls.ie and the Irish media of her intention to look to Ireland’s domestic leagues for new international players.
“We’ll always look to our domestic league so it has to be a source of our future players and current players and yeah so we’ll always look there as well as look to the WSL and the other leagues that the girls play in”, Gleeson told an Irish press conference in February.
Judging by her recent performances, Kelly has a bright future ahead of her in football.
Peamount Emerge Victorious
Another big success that came over the weekend was Peamount United’s 6-0 victory against Lisburn Ladies. Ireland international and Peamount midfielder Erin McLaughlin bagged two goals for her side with other points coming from Louise Masterson, Avril Brierley, and Ellen Dolan.
The match also featured two players making their debut with the first team. These were Keelin Dermody and Lily Noonan.
Debut delight! 🤩🟢⚫️
Congratulations to Keelin Dermody and Lily Noonan, who both came on to make their first-team debuts yesterday! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/N4FI7Ww1ZG— Peamount United Women (@PeamountWomen) April 22, 2024
The Prodigal Son Returns
Former Ireland WNT Manager Noel King made headlines when he announced he would be retiring from coaching professional football last year. His last match as Shelbourne coach came as they took a 4-3 defeat to Athlone Town AFC at Tallaght Stadium in November. It has thus come as a surprise that King said he would be coaching Dundalk following the departure of Stephen O’Donnell.
Since January, King has been coaching the Senior Women’s Team at Home Farm FC, a club renowned for its youth development system with past players including the likes of Australia international Mary Fowler and Ireland’s Abbie Larkin.
Dundalk FC can confirm that Noel King has been appointed as the club's new first-team manager.
The 67-year-old former Republic of Ireland WNT and U21 manager had two spells at Dundalk as a player.
Welcome back to Oriel Park, Noel!— Dundalk FC (@DundalkFC) April 20, 2024
Next weekend will see Peamount go head to head with Galway United in the Women's Premier Division. These were two of the three teams that were covered in RTE’s new Irish language documentary, “Pass it on”. The coming set of games are shaping up to be a high stakes one for DLR Waves who, after a drastic Rovers defeat, are set to go against current WFAI title holders Athlone.
