Latest news with #Women'sPremierDivision
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
RTÉ Soccer Podcast: Ireland positives, Ryan Manning insights and COYBIG youth tournament nostalgia
Former Republic of Ireland and Tottenham Hotspur defender Stephen Kelly and ex-Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers and Ireland youth international Richie Towell join Raf Diallo on this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast to analyse the Boys in Green's draw with Senegal on Friday and put the microscope over some of the individual displays including Ryan Manning, while also getting nostalgic about their major tournament experiences at underage level, while Shelbourne's Rachel Graham talks takeaways from the Girls in Green's win over Slovenia and she is also getting ready to face Athlone in a SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division top-of-the-table clash on Saturday. TIMESTAMPS 00:45 Stephen and Richie reminisce about their times at Rotherham United, including the Irish players on the books at the time. 04:30 Richie and Stephen analyse Ireland's performance against Senegal, focusing particularly on Ryan Manning's intriguing tactical role, Killian Phillips debut, Bosun Lawal's long-term potential to give the Boys in Green a new dimension in midfield and Kasey McAteer's Player of the Match display. 30:45 Stephen gives his take on Caoimhin Kelleher's move to Brentford in the context of the Bees' manager Thomas Frank being linked with a move to his former club Spurs. 34:30 Richie and Stephen recall their experiences playing for the Irish underage teams at major tournaments, facing future superstars like Thiago Alcantara. 45:30 Richie reacts to the Sports Direct Men's FAI Cup second round draw and looks ahead to this Friday's clash between Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers. 48:30 Rachel reacts to the Women's FAI Cup first round draw which pits her Shelbourne team against Galway United. 50:30 Rachel reflects on Ireland's win over Slovenia in the Women's Nations League encounter in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the Girls in Green's trajectory ahead of upcoming friendlies against the USA and October's promotion/relegation play-off against Belgium. 1:00.30 Rachel talks Shelbourne's dominant win over Sligo Rovers in the Avenir Sport All-Island Cup final group game and looks ahead to the blockbuster league fixture against Athlone Town at Tolka Park this Saturday. Watch Luxembourg v Republic of Ireland on Tuesday from 7.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on and the RTÉ News app.
The 42
17-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Gibson stars as Athlone Town continue impressive start to title defence
Women's Premier Division – Results Sligo Rovers 0-4 Athlone Town Bohemians 0-1 Shamrock Rovers DLR Waves 1-1 Cork City Waterford 0-1 Peamount United Galway United 1-3 Treaty United Wexford 1-6 Shelbourne Advertisement ******** DEFENDING CHAMPIONS ATHLONE Town continued their unbeaten start to the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division season with a 4-0 win away to Sligo Rovers. Colin Fortune's side are the only side not to suffer defeat after nine games, with eight wins and a draw under their belt. They extended their winning run to seven games at The Showgrounds this afternoon, easing past the Bit O'Red, who before this, impressively accrued four points from Peamount United and Shamrock Rovers. Madie Gibson scored two goals and provided two assists as Athlone's US star continues to enjoy a rich vein of form. Roisin Molloy put the Midlanders 1-0 up in the first half, before goal-hungry Kelly Brady doubled their lead in the 67th minute. Gibson turned provider to scorer in the endgame, bagging a brilliant brace as the clock read 83 and 90+14. Madie Gibson 😳 It's 3 for Athlone! — LOI Women (@LoiWomen) May 17, 2025 Shelbourne, meanwhile, had an emphatic win in their second versus third showdown with Wexford FC. the Dublin side ran out 6-1 winners. Kate Mooney put the Reds 1-0 up on nine minutes. Aoibheann Clancy added a second five minutes later. Mooney got her second on 67 minutes. Mooney's on fire! It's 3-0 for Shels as their title push continues! — LOI Women (@LoiWomen) May 17, 2025 Noelle Murray found the net to stretch the gap to 4-0 before Ellen Murray got one back for the hosts. Peal Slattery and Jessica Gargan both struck late to make it six for Shels. Shamrock Rovers got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory against Bohemians at Dalymount Park that moves them up to fourth in the table. A 75th-minute own goal from Fiona Donnelly ultimately settled the Dublin Derby. They are ahead of Treaty on goal difference, the Limerick side beating Galway United 3-1 thanks to a brace from Isabella Marie Flocchini, and a penalty converted by Madison McGuane. Eve Dossen was on target for Galway. Peamount United also enjoyed a narrow away win, beating Waterford 1-0 at the RSC. Former Ireland international and captain Karen Duggan scored the decisive second-half goal against the league newcomers. And DLR Waves and Cork City shared the spoils at the UCD Bowl. Aisling Meehan struck first for the hosts in the 24th minute, before Christina Dring levelled matters on the stroke of half time. That 1-1 scoreline would remain, as DLR Waves secured their first point of the campaign.
RTÉ News
13-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Football boots issues 'definitely something I've struggled with' - Rachel Graham on a persistent problem impacting female players
The ongoing fallout from the issue around the wearing of skorts in camogie has resonated far beyond that particular sporting code. Indeed, Republic of Ireland women's football manager Carla Ward had her say on the matter on Monday when she said that "it's absolutely mental to be even having these conversations in 2025" and that it appeared symptomatic of "an old mentality towards women". While the skort issue does not impact soccer directly, other issues around sportswear do continue to affect female footballers disproportionately and one of those is in the area of footwear. Two years ago, European Clubs Association found that more than 80% of female players surveyed endured regular discomfort due to the football boots they were wearing and that is in light of most boots traditionally being designed with male players in mind. Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast this week, Shelbourne midfielder and former Republic of Ireland international Rachel Graham highlighted how she and many of her peers have always struggled with that very issue. "Definitely growing up, it was never a thing where you would see women's boots and (I) probably just never really thought of it," said the 35-year-old, who provided the pinpoint assist for Shels' winner in their Women's Premier Division victory over Galway United on Saturday. Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. "But I always kind of struggled to find boots that are narrow enough for my feet. And because a lot of the boots are made for men's feet, (they) just have naturally wider feet than us. "And there have been times I've had boots and you're trying to play and you're running and your feet are kind of moving around when in the boot and it's just so uncomfortable." However, the issue goes beyond comfort and into the potential impact not-fit-for-purpose boots can have in terms of causing serious injuries to female players, Graham added. "It's not even the comfort of it, it's (for example if) someone comes in and pushes you into the side or like we see all these ACL injuries, if your foot is not stable in your boot, you might twist your knee the wrong way," she said. "So I know they do have boots in the women's sections on websites, but I don't know if they're definitely specifically designed for women. "I don't know if it's just they're kind of different colours and stuff like that, but it's definitely an area that I know my team-mates struggle with as well. "Often players have to buy insoles to kind of get their feet to be more snug within a boot. "But it's definitely something I've struggled with and I know they've kind of said that recently where it's possibly down to the reasons we see all these ACL injuries a lot. "For a long time they just said it was our hips and the weight that goes to our knees. But I think there kind of maybe has to be a bit more to it than that. "And even if that is the case, can we help it somehow and I think if you can get a boot that fits perfectly and it's made for a smaller, narrower women's foot, it'd be a lot more comfortable to play in and you might see a reduction in these ACL injuries. "We only spoke to Jess Ziu two weeks ago, who's coming back from her second ACL injury and she's one of our most high potential players and we're without her now for nearly two years. So it's a killer."
RTÉ News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
RTÉ Soccer Podcast: Moose on the loose, Clancy's Cork exit, Emily Whelan chat and boot issues
Richie Towell, Paul Corry and Shelbourne's Rachel Graham join Raf Diallo this week to talk League of Ireland, Heimir Hallgrimsson's next squad and footwear issues for women's footballers, while Anthony Pyne chats in depth to Ireland and Glasgow City striker Emily Whelan. TIMESTAMPS 01:00 Paul and Richie discuss Heimir Hallgrimsson's squad selection as the Republic of Ireland manager prepares to name his squad early for the June friendlies against Senegal and Luxembourg. 05:40 Richie and Paul review the weekend's SSE Airtricity League action including Shamrock Rovers going top, Tim Clancy parting ways with Cork City, Lys Mousset finding the net as Bohemians scored yet another late goal and John Coleman making an impact since taking charge at Waterford, among other topics. 51:00 Rachel chats about Saturday's Women's Premier Division matches including her own visionary assist for Shelbourne's winner against Galway United 01:50.30 With the skort issue making headlines in camogie, Rachel discusses football boots and why they have been a long-standing issue in the women's soccer. 01:12.00 Emily Whelan talks about her time at Glasgow City, her hopes of getting back into the Ireland squad and the legacy of retiring veterans with Anthony.
RTÉ News
10-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Shelbourne show their grit in thrilling win over Galway
Shelbourne emerged victorious in a thrilling battle of two heavyweight contenders in an end-to-end SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division clash at a sun-soaked Tolka Park. Goals from player of the match Rebecca Cooke and Galway United's Rola Olusola had the game finely balanced at the break, before Cooke got her second just after the break to earn a huge three points. The visitors, who looked to continue the form displayed in the second half of last week's first defeat of the season to champions Athlone Town, knew that defeat would open a less than favourable gap to their title rivals and potentially kick off a two-horse race - although Phil Trill's charges do have a game in hand. And it was Galway who tried to land the first blow with Emily Fitzgerald going close with a back post header that narrowly missed the bottom corner. Eoin Wearen's side overcame a tricky Treaty trip seven days previous and looked determined to retake top spot - for a few hours at least - and responded with a free flowing move down the right ending with a drilled low cross by the energetic Aoibheann Clancy that was well held by Jayne Merren. And just after the quarter of an hour mark the hosts got their noses in front following a move of the highest quality. Cooke picked up a loose ball just outside the box slightly to the right and reversed the ball to Alex Kavanagh. And the Finglas native, who was included in Carla Ward's most recent squad, played an exquisite return ball in behind to the in-form Cooke who finished brilliantly into the far post to open the scoring, just as she did last week. Undeterred, the powerful away side levelled just 10 minutes later when Emma Doherty broke the offside trap down the left. The pacey forward showed great composure to cut back inside, past Keeva Keenan and unleash a stinging effort that was too hot to handle for Amanda McQuillan, with the ball falling straight at the feet of Olusola, who tapped home. Despite the heat, both sides continued at relentless pace and just as United finished celebrating, they could have found themselves behind again. Cooke was looking unstoppable and delivered another dangerous low cross picked up by Pearl Slattery, who had stayed up from an earlier setpiece. But the Shels skipper was denied by a sharp low save by Merren to keep it level. On the stroke of half-time Galway were dealt a major blow when they lost Jayne Merren to injury. A long ball over the top held up in the corridor of uncertainty thanks to the dry surface and both Kate Mooney and Merren collided, with the former Wexford stopper coming off worse and she needed to be carried off. Following a well-earned 15-minute break both Mackenzie Anthony and Amanda Smith spurned good chances after the restart, before Cooke put her side back in front, racing on to yet another incredible through ball, this time by Rachel Graham, and finished coolly past substitute Nicole Nix. Shels' strength off the bench looked to keep them in the ascendancy with the likes of Roma McLoughlin and Noelle Murray being introduced as they looked to get a third and kill the game off. It didn't quite arrive as they hoped and with just the one goal in it entering the dying embers, a nervy finish was incoming and the home fans had their hearts in their mouths when Olusola raced onto a long ball and almost found an equaliser, but just over ran the ball giving herself no angle to strike back across goal. But The Reds' experience just saw them over the line to open up a five point gap on their title rivals. Shelbourne: Amanda McQuillan; Lucy O'Rourke (Jess Gargan, 69'), Keeva Keenan, Pearl Slattery, Leah Doyle; Rebecca Cooke, Alex Kavanagh (Gabriella Del Pico, 76'), Rachel Graham (Noelle Murray, 62'), Aoibheann Clancy; Mackenzie Anthony, Kate Mooney (Roma McLoughlin, 69') Subs not used: Nia Hannon, Aoife Sheridan, Maeve Wollmer Galway United: Jayne Merren (Nicole Nix, 45+3); Therese Kinnevey, Eve Dossen, Lucy Grant, Aoibheann Costello; Kate Thompson, Isabella Beletic, Amanda Smith (Niamh Farrelly, 74'); Rola Olusola, Emily Fitzgerald (Ava Mullins, 62'), Emma Doherty Earlier, close by in Phibsborough, Bohemians recorded a 3-1 win over DLR Waves at Dalymount Park. Shauna Carroll got the hosts off the mark in the 36th minute after Abbie Brophy had given the visitors the lead after 18 minutes. Katie McCarn put the Gypsies in front just before the break but it wasn't until the 88th minute that substitute Hannah Healy put the result beyond doubt for Bohs.
