2022 Women's National League (Ireland)

Last updated

Women's National League
Season2022
Dates5 March 2022 – 29 October 2022
Champions Shelbourne
3rd title
Matches played135
Goals scored457 (3.39 per match)
Top goalscorer Áine O'Gorman (22 goals)
Biggest home win Peamount United 8–1 Cork City
(23 April 2022)
Biggest away win Treaty United 0–10 Shelbourne
(2 July 2022)
Highest scoring Treaty United 0–10 Shelbourne
(2 July 2022)
← 2021
2023 →

The 2022 Women's National League known as the SSE Airtricity WNL for sponsorship reasons, [1] was the 12th season of the Women's National League, the highest women's association football league in the Republic of Ireland since its establishment in 2011. Expansion team Sligo Rovers competed for the first time, bringing the league up to ten clubs. [2] Shelbourne, as defending champions from the previous season, won the 2022 league by defeating Wexford Youths on the final day of the season. [3]

Contents

In July 2022 Shelbourne announced the signing of highly-decorated United States international player Heather O'Reilly, who emerged from retirement after two years. The transfer brought substantial publicity and increased the profile of the league. [4]

Teams

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Dublin
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Locations of Women's National League teams
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Locations of Dublin Women's National League teams
TeamHome town/suburbStadium2021 finish
Athlone Town Athlone Athlone Town Stadium 7th
Bohemians Dublin (Phibsborough) Dalymount Park 6th
Cork City Cork Turners Cross 8th
DLR Waves Dún Laoghaire UCD Bowl 4th
Galway Galway Eamonn Deacy Park 5th
Peamount United Newcastle, South Dublin Greenogue 2nd
Shelbourne Dublin (Drumcondra) Tolka Park 1st
Sligo Rovers Sligo The Showgrounds NA
Treaty United Limerick Markets Field 9th
Wexford Youths Crossabeg Ferrycarrig Park 3rd

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Athlone Town Flag of Ireland.svg Tommy Hewitt Flag of Ireland.svg Laurie Ryan Umbro Palfinger
Bohemians Flag of Ireland.svg Sean Byrne Flag of Ireland.svg Sinéad Taylor O'Neills Premier Property Group
Cork City Flag of Ireland.svg Paul Farrell Flag of Ireland.svg Becky Cassin Adidas Jackie Lennox Chip Shop
DLR Waves Flag of Ireland.svg Graham Kelly Flag of Ireland.svg Jessica Gleeson Jako CDS - Clare Distribution Services
Galway Flag of Ireland.svg Alan Murphy Flag of Ireland.svg Savannah McCarthy AcerbisSó Hotels
Peamount United Flag of Ireland.svg James O'Callaghan Flag of Ireland.svg Áine O'Gorman O'Neills SPAR Kelly's Newcastle
Shelbourne Flag of Ireland.svg Noel King Flag of Ireland.svg Pearl Slattery Umbro Technological University Dublin
Sligo Rovers Flag of Ireland.svg Steve Feeney Flag of Ireland.svg Emma Hansberry Joma Avant Money
Treaty United Flag of Ireland.svg Don O'Riordan Flag of the United States.svg Michaela Mitchell Umbro None
Wexford Youths Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen Quinn Flag of Ireland.svg Kylie Murphy Jako Energia

Managerial changes

TeamOutgoing managerManner of
departure		Date of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of
appointment
Galway Flag of Ireland.svg Stephen LallyRedeployed12 December 2021Pre-season Flag of Ireland.svg Alan Murphy12 December 2021 [5]
Sligo Rovers Pre-season Flag of Ireland.svg Steve Feeney15 December 2021 [6]
Treaty United Pre-season Flag of Ireland.svg Don O'Riordan 29 December 2021 [7]
Cork City Flag of Ireland.svg Paul FarrellResignation [8] 9 May 20229th Flag of Ireland.svg Jess Lawton (interim)10 May 2022 [9]
Cork City Flag of Ireland.svg Jess Lawton (interim)End of interim period31 May 20229th Flag of Ireland.svg Danny Murphy 31 May 2022 [10]
Treaty United Flag of Ireland.svg Don O'Riordan Resignation [11] 7 November 202210th

Format

The ten teams played each other three times, with a mid-season break from 12 June to 1 July 2022. [12]

League table

Standings

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification or relegation
1 Shelbourne 2719356613+5360Qualification for the UEFA Women's Champions League
2 Athlone Town 2718455324+2958
3 Peamount United 2717558026+5456
4 Wexford Youths 2717556133+2856
5 DLR Waves 2711795130+2140
6 Galway 27116104838+1039
7 Bohemians 27106113635+136
8 Sligo Rovers 2762193266−3420
9 Cork City 2760212582−5718
10 Treaty United 2702255110−1052
Updated to match(es) played on 30 October 2022. Source: FAI Women’s National League, Soccerway, Extratime.com

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627
Athlone Town 667578554433343233333444432
Bohemians 778687987787887777777767777
Cork City 889999899999999999999999999
DLR Waves 222445445566666666666676665
Galway 335756666654555555555555556
Peamount United 111111122345434444444333343
Shelbourne 553222211111111111111222211
Sligo Rovers 10106864778878778888888888888
Treaty United 9910101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010
Wexford Youths 444333333222222322222111124
Source: Extratime.com, Soccerway.com
  = Leader and UEFA Women's Champions League ;   = Second;   = Third

Results

Matches 1–24

Shelbourne playing Cork City at Tolka Park Shelbourne v Cork City Women 2022 2.jpg
Shelbourne playing Cork City at Tolka Park

Teams play each other twice.

Home \ Away ATH BOH COR DLR GAL PEA SHE SLI TRE WEX
Athlone Town —2–11–02–13–11–20–25–04–11–2
Bohemians 1–1—3–10–00–32–10–32–13–00–3
Cork City 1–42–1—0–30–30–70–41–22–11–2
DLR Waves 0–10–06–0—0–11–11–03–25–00–0
Galway 0–01–15–11–1—0–40–25–23–02–2
Peamount United 0–11–18–13–22–1—0–40–3 [lower-alpha 1] 5–14–0
Shelbourne 1–11–07–04–01–11–0—1–05–00–1
Sligo Rovers 1–21–32–00–31–20–53–2—3–11–0
Treaty United 0–20–40–40–40–20–70–100–0—0–3
Wexford 2–13–15–12–01–13–30–22–03–1—
Source: Extratime.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 19–27

Teams play each other once.

Home \ Away ATH BOH COR DLR GAL PEA SHE SLI TRE WEX
Athlone Town ————1–00–22–04–2—2–1
Bohemians 1–2——2–11–2————2–5
Cork City 1–20–1——1–00–5—3–2——
DLR Waves 1–1—1–0——1–11–2—7–0—
Galway ———2–3—0–61–2——0–1
Peamount United —1–0—————2–06–03–3
Shelbourne —0–02–1——0–1—2–04–0—
Sligo Rovers —0–2—1–52–5———1–1—
Treaty United 0–70–40–3—0–6—————
Wexford ——5–14–1——0–45–23–0—
Source: Extratime.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Statistics

Top scorers

As of 30 October 2022.

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Flag of Ireland.svg Áine O'Gorman Peamount United 22
2 Flag of Ireland.svg Emily Corbet Athlone Town 20
3 Flag of Ireland.svg Stephanie Roche Peamount United 16
4 Flag of Ireland.svg Ellen Molloy Wexford Youths 16
5 Flag of Ireland.svg Kylie Murphy Wexford Youths 15

Source: Women's National League

Awards

Monthly awards

MonthPlayer of the MonthReferences
PlayerClub
March Stephanie Roche Peamount United [14]
April Laurie Ryan Athlone Town [15]
May Jessica Ziu Shelbourne [16]
June/July Emma Doherty Sligo Rovers [17]
August/September Ciara Rossiter Wexford Youths [18]
October Alex Kavanagh Shelbourne [19]

Annual awards

[20]

AwardWinnerClub
WNL Player of the Year Emily Corbet Athlone Town
Young Player of the Year Jessie Stapleton Shelbourne
Manager of the Year Tommy Hewitt Athlone Town
Bank of Ireland Golden Gloves Amanda Budden Shelbourne
Buy4Pets Online Goal of the Year Aoife Brennan Sligo Rovers
Services to the Women's National LeagueStephen Moran and Mick O'Shea
WNL Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Rachael Kelly (Bohemians)
Defenders Jessica Gargan (Shelbourne) Jessica Hennessy (Athlone Town) Shauna Fox (Shelbourne)
Midfielders Áine O'Gorman (Peamount United) Ellen Molloy (Wexford Youths) Muireann Devaney (Athlone Town) Jessie Stapleton (Shelbourne) Ciara Rossiter (Wexford Youths)
Forwards Emma Doherty (Sligo Rovers) Emily Corbet (Athlone Town)

Broadcasting

In February 2021 the Football Association of Ireland announced that all WNL matches would be streamed free of charge on the new LOITV platform. [21] In February 2022 the TG4 Irish language television network confirmed an intention to broadcast nine WNL matches in 2022. [22] Ultimately 10 games were broadcast live, [23] which attracted over 500,000 viewers. [24]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Football Association of Ireland awarded a 3–0 win to Sligo Rovers after Peamount United fielded an unregistered player. The original score was 6–0 to Peamount United. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ "SSE Airtricity extends title sponsorship of League of Ireland". The Irish Times. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  2. ↑ McDonnell, Daniel (10 December 2021). "Sligo Rovers to make step up to Women's National League for 2022 season". Irish Independent . Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Shelbourne sink Wexford to retain Women's National League crown". rte.ie. 29 October 2022.
  4. ↑ Scully, Michael (4 November 2022). "Madie Gibson on coming face to face with her hero Heather O'Reilly in the Women's FAI Cup final". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  5. ↑ Corcoran, Paul (12 December 2021). "Galway appoint Alan Murphy as manager". Extra Time. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "Back home! Steve Feeney appointed manager of first ever Sligo Rovers WNL senior team". The Sligo Champion. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  7. ↑ Fallon, John (29 December 2021). "Don O'Riordan appointed as Treaty's WNL team manager". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  8. ↑ "Paul Farrell Steps Down". Cork City F.C. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "Jess Lawton appointed caretaker manager of women's first team". Cork City F.C. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  10. ↑ O'Connell, Barbara (30 May 2022). "Former Cork City star Danny Murphy is the new manager of the Cork City women's team". The Echo (Cork newspaper) . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  11. ↑ Kinsella, Colm (7 November 2022). "Treaty United begins search for new women's senior manager". Limerick Leader . Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "SSE Airtricity Women's National League 2022 Season Fixture List" (PDF). Football Association of Ireland . Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  13. ↑ Donnelly, David (3 April 2022). "Peamount United accept award of walkover to Sligo Rovers for fielding ineligible player". Dublin Live. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  14. ↑ Nolan, Hazel (7 April 2022). "Roche lands WNL Player of the Month award". fm104.ie. FM104.
  15. ↑ "Athlone Town skipper Laurie Ryan named WNL April Player of the Month". RTÉ Sport. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "Jessica Ziu lands May player of the month award". RTÉ Sport. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  17. ↑ "Doherty wins SSE Airtricity WNL Player of the Month". Football Association of Ireland. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  18. ↑ "Rossiter crowned WNL Player of the Month". RTÉ Sport. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Alex Kavanagh scoops Player of the Month award". RTÉ Sport. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  20. ↑ "Double delight for Athlone at WNL awards". RTÉ Sport. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  21. ↑ "FAI announces new broadcast deals". Football Association of Ireland. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  22. ↑ @LoiWomen (9 February 2022). "CONFIRMED | @SportTG4 is back for 2022 9️⃣ #WNL games will be broadcast live 📺 this year" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ↑ Casey, Gavan (20 July 2022). "TG4 to broadcast 10 live games from the Women's National League this season". The42.ie. TheJournal.ie . Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  24. ↑ Scully, Michael (29 October 2022). "TG4 viewing figures for Sacar na mBan to break through the half million mark tonight". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 5 November 2022.