2009/10 Women’s Season Preview

ASHTON

Last Season: 7th
Coach: George Treacy
Captain: Cliodhna Murphy
Players In: Ciara O’Connell, Emily Alice Daly (UCC)
Players Out: None
First three games: UCC (a), Catholic Institute (h), C of I (h)

It’s out with the old and in with the new on the Blackrock Road this term, as Ashton’s squad has undergone some serious surgery during the close season.

Karen Treacy and Yvonne Mangan are the few experienced heads left in a squad that will be very heavily reliant on youth, having seen a lot of their more experienced members decide to drop down the divisions. Ashton have one of the best underage setups in the province, but Division One will provide a serious baptism of fire for some of the new girls.

Former Munster U18 Emer Murphy and St Angelas’ centre forward Kate Harvey are the pick of the bunch, while Emma Harrington’s pace will once again cause defenders problems all year.

Of course, the biggest risk with putting faith in youth is the lack of wisdom and physicality that comes with it, and whether George Treacy can mesh the raw talent at his disposal together will surely prove their biggest conundrum.

Ashton have been treading water for the past few seasons, and were fortunate not to be relegated in 2008; they will need to be streetwise and target games to avoid a worse fate this time around, though hopes are high within the club that they can surprise a few people along the way.

BANDON

Last Season: 5th
Coach: Eddie Kirwan
Captain: TBA
Players In: Emma Peters (UCC)
Players Out: Olivia Roycroft, Nikki Kingston, Kate Murphy (UCC)
First three games: Quins (TBC), UCC (h), Catholic Institute (a)

Like C of I and UCC, Bandon must figure out what to do next having lost a couple of their taliswomen. College were the beneficiaries of Kate Murphy, Nikki Kingston and Olivia Roycroft finishing secondary school, but Bandon are familiar with the trend; now they must think about replacing them.

The west Cork side had a productive year last term, shocking Quins en route to a novel Munster Senior Cup final match-up with UCC, in which they put up a brilliant fight before losing 3-1, a result that might have been oh so different had Thelma Kingston’s strike stood when they were already a goal up.

They were somewhat scrappier in the league, recording just four wins, but whether they can improve on that kind of form is debatable; they will once again have to promote youngsters into the squad, though Bandon Grammar’s double win last term bodes well in that regard.

Thelma Kingston and Ciara Harte will again ensure teams won’t find it easy to score against Bandon, while the mercurial Síle Johnson is a new-age dribbler in the mould of Áine Connery and almost impossible to defend against

Having Emma Peters, who returned from UCC in the middle of last season, back to full fitness will also help their forward options, but as with C of I and Ashton, much will depend on how well their young guns settle in.

CATHOLIC INSTITUTE

Last Season: 4th
Coach: Ger O’Carroll
Captain: Ali English
Players In: Elaine Bromell (Bray), Nikki Sterritt, Claire Mulcahy (UL)
Players Out: Jane Bourke (Quins)
First three games: UL (h), Ashton (a), Bandon (h)

There is plenty of cause for optimism in Institute’s corner of Limerick this season, as they look to build on an improved showing last term that saw them reach the finals of Irish Trophy and Examiner Cup.

Although they ended up empty-handed, Ger O’Carroll has helped the Rosbrien outfit develop a winning mentality in recent seasons, and they are becoming increasingly difficult to beat.

The return of the mercurial Elaine Bromell from Bray is great news for the club, while their underage internationals Rebecca Barry and Naomi Carroll are also continuing to develop nicely. Quins-bound Jane Bourke is a big loss, but Kym Daly is still around to cause havoc.

Nikki Sterritt and Claire Mulcahy are also useful additions, and will greatly improve the squad’s depth as they bid to build on last season’s fourth-placed finish under new skipper Alison English.

The key question for Institute is whether they can improve enough in both red zones to make a genuine challenge for a top three slot – they had the third worst defence in the league last term and were about 15 goals short of what the top teams were putting away at the other end.

CORK CHURCH OF IRELAND

Last Season: 3rd
Coach: Phil Oakley
Captain: TBA
Players In: Cathy Kenefick (Railway Union), Suzanne O’Connor (Old Alex)
Players Out: Michaela Mihailou (Australia), Deirdre Casey (travelling), Suzy Herbert (England), Jenny Kenefick (Canada), Laura McSweeney (Quins)
First three games: Waterford (h), UL (a), Ashton (a)

Having been usurped from their top two haven for the first time in years by UCC last term, C of I could be facing into another tough season, having lost a number of key players over the summer.

Deirdre Casey, Michaela Mihailou, Suzy Herbert and Jenny Kenefick have all headed for foreign pastures, concurrently robbing coach Phil Oakley of the spine of his side and bags of experience.

The departures are somewhat offset by the arrivals of former Leinster interpro stars Cathy Kenefick and Suzanne O’Connor, and the impending return of long-term injury victim Sandra Hackett. All three are classy operators, but Oakley is still likely to have to rely on young talent more than he’d like – Irish U16 Amy Kate Trevor is the pick of the bunch.

While an experimental side looked largely out of sorts in last weekend’s pre-season tournament, they are fortunate to be facing the league’s three weakest sides on paper first up, allowing them to build confidence ahead of their IHL campaign.

Third place and an IHL wildcard playoff slot are still likely to be the minimum requirements; but they will need to be less wasteful in front of goal to keep pace at the business end of the table.

CORK HARLEQUINS

Last Season: Joint 1st (won title via playoff)
Coach: Eddie Gash
Captain: Cliodhna Sargent/Rachel McSharry
Players In: Sinead McCarthy (Poynton, England), Jane Bourke (Catholic Institute), Lesley Ann Daunt (Belvedere), Edwina McGrath (Thurles), Antonia McGrath (Thurles), Laura McSweeney (C of I), Acacia Taylor (Kinsale)
Players Out: None
First three games: Waterford (h), Bandon (TBC), UCC (TBC)

Could this be the year Quins finally loosen their vice-like grip on the Munster league title? The trophy has been resident at Harlequin Park for 14 seasons now, but the combination of Father Time and a glut of new arrivals has shown some chinks in the champions’ armour.

UCC shattered Quins’ aura of invincibility by doing the double over them in the league last term, only for the latter’s big-game experience to shine through when it really mattered, winning the title playoff 3-2.

But international commitments are again likely to curtail the involvement of Eimear Cregan and Cliodhna Sargent, while the unavailability of Rachael Kohler, Cliona O’Connor, Jane Chapple and Jan Dillon for some or all of the campaign would hurt even the best of the squads.

As a result, new coach Eddie Gash has been the busiest in Munster in the recruitment stakes this summer, with seven new faces coming in. The pick of them is Sinead McCarthy, a talented centre-back and former skipper of top English side Poynton.

But stretching as far out of their catchment area as Thurles to sign players suggests there isn’t enough talent coming through within the club, outside of fine prospects Leanne Mullins, Emily O’Leary and Yvonne O’Byrne.

So the question remains – can the youngest Quins side in recent memory come out on top in the most competitive-looking women’s league in years? Alan Hansen wouldn’t think so, but it would be folly to write off the only team in the province that knows what it takes to win a league title.

UCC

Last Season: Joint 1st (lost title on playoff)
Coaches: Denis Pritchard & Paidi Hartnett
Captain: Audrey O’Flynn
Players In: Olivia Roycroft, Nikki Kingston, Kate Murphy (Bandon), Rosie Shanahan (Thurles)
Players Out: Hollie Moffett (England), Emma Peters (Bandon), Ciara O’Connell (Ashton)
First three games: Ashton (h), Bandon (a), Quins (TBC)

One sensed last season that it was now or never for UCC, but the combination of a surprisingly small turnover of players at The Mardyke compared to their title rivals Quins and C of I means they are well-placed to give it another crack this term.

Hollie Moffett’s departure and the limited availability of Áine Connery will certainly leave Irish international-sizedholes to fill, but otherwise the possible break-up of the most successful College team in over a decade hasn’t happened.

Fellow girls in green Julia O’Halloran and Audrey O’Flynn are still around to run the midfield and defence respectively, while Kate Murphy and Rosie Shanahan are excellent additions at the back.

But their biggest coup was persuading former Ireland U18 Olivia Roycroft to leave Bandon, and she will be tasked with reprising Moffett’s former playmaker role.

Question marks remain over the big-game temperament of a team frequently on the wrong side of umpires, though they will surely have learned from coming so close to a title last term. In addition, they also have an IHL campaign to contend with this time around.

However, with Fiona O’Connell and Vicky O’Sullivan maturing in front of goal – and one of the country’s best drag-flickers in O’Flynn available at set-piece time – they will surely have a big say in the destination of the title one way or another.

UL

Last Season: 6th
Coach: TBA
Captain: TBA
Players In: TBA
Players Out: Nikki Sterritt, Claire Mulcahy (Catholic Institute), Laura Peters (travel)
First three games: Catholic Institute (a), C of I (h), Waterford (h)

Uncertainty tends to surround university teams at this time of year, and while UCC can boast a relatively settled squad, there’s likely to be no such luck for UL.

The Limerick students have lost three of their most effective players during the close season, with Laura Peters off to Europe for the year, while Nikki Sterritt and Claire Mulcahy have moved on to Institute.

Sterritt’s solidarity and consistency in midfield, Mulcahy’s attacking instincts and Peters’ finishing prowess will be sorely missed. However, retaining Munster star Jen O’Loughlin will be a significant relief in terms of their offensive ambitions, given they found the net just 14 times last term.

Coming from 2-0 and 3-1 down away to Ashton to draw 3-3 last term suggests they are made of stronger stuff than the majority of college sides, and they also pushed UCC very close at the Mardyke.

But mental fortitude is one thing, quality on the pitch quite another; a two-team club is always likely to struggle for depth, and they look destined to be stuck at the wrong end of the table, although relegation is unlikely.

WATERFORD

Last Season: 1st in Div 2
Coaches: Jonathan Fletcher, Cormac Johnson
Captain: Shirley Moore
Players In: Fiona O’Regan, Elaine Breen, Siobhan Murphy
Players Out: Kristen Farrell, Laura Cassin
First three games: C of I (a), Quins (a), UL (a)

The established top-level sides will also have a new foe this season, with Waterford gaining promotion at Belvedere’s expense. As a relatively unknown quantity, the Déise girls will have the element of surprise on their side.

South Easy U18 interpro Faye Loughnane is their great young hope and complements the side’s midfield pivot Siobhan Murphy, with Catherine Murphy, Paula Guiry and skipper Shirley Moore  providing the creativity from the wings.

Barbara Johnson, Jenny White and Karen Power proved to be a near-impregnable defence in Division Two last term, but they will surely be tested a lot more this term.

And therein lies the  conundrum for Waterford; it’s difficult to tell how big the jump is between divisions, given the lack of promtion and relegation in recent seasons.

The south easterners’ primary aim will certainly be survival, and they will target the home clashes with UL and Ashton for points. They also travelled well last season, a geographical necessity and a habit that they’ll be hoping to continue for the new season.