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]
| Season | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 5 March 2022 – 29 October 2022 |
| Champions | Shelbourne 3rd title |
| Matches played | 135 |
| Goals scored | 457 (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 → | |
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
edit
Dublin
Locations of Women's National League teams
Locations of Dublin Women's National League teams
| Team | Home town/suburb | Stadium | 2021 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
editNote: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town |  Tommy Hewitt
|
Laurie Ryan
|
Umbro | Palfinger |
| Bohemians | Sean Byrne
|
Sinéad Taylor
|
O'Neills | Premier Property Group |
| Cork City | Paul Farrell
|
Becky Cassin
|
Adidas | Jackie Lennox Chip Shop |
| DLR Waves | Graham Kelly
|
Jessica Gleeson
|
Jako | CDS - Clare Distribution Services |
| Galway | Alan Murphy
|
Savannah McCarthy
|
Acerbis | Só Hotels |
| Peamount United | James O'Callaghan
|
Áine O'Gorman
|
O'Neills | SPAR Kelly's Newcastle |
| Shelbourne | Noel King
|
Pearl Slattery
|
Umbro | Technological University Dublin |
| Sligo Rovers | Steve Feeney
|
Emma Hansberry
|
Joma | Avant Money |
| Treaty United | Don O'Riordan
|
 Michaela Mitchell
|
Umbro | None |
| Wexford Youths | Stephen Quinn
|
Kylie Murphy
|
Jako | Energia |
Managerial changes
edit| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure |
Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galway | Stephen Lally
|
Redeployed | 12 December 2021 | Pre-season | Alan Murphy
|
12 December 2021[5] |
| Sligo Rovers | Pre-season | Steve Feeney
|
15 December 2021[6] | |||
| Treaty United | Pre-season | Don O'Riordan
|
29 December 2021[7] | |||
| Cork City | Paul Farrell
|
Resignation[8] | 9 May 2022 | 9th | Jess Lawton (interim)
|
10 May 2022[9] |
| Cork City | Jess Lawton (interim)
|
End of interim period | 31 May 2022 | 9th | Danny Murphy
|
31 May 2022[10] |
| Treaty United | Don O'Riordan
|
Resignation[11] | 7 November 2022 | 10th |
Format
editThe ten teams played each other three times, with a mid-season break from 12 June to 1 July 2022.[12]
League table
editStandings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shelbourne | 27 | 19 | 3 | 5 | 66 | 13 | +53 | 60 | Qualification for the UEFA Women's Champions League |
| 2 | Athlone Town | 27 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 53 | 24 | +29 | 58 | |
| 3 | Peamount United | 27 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 80 | 26 | +54 | 56 | |
| 4 | Wexford Youths | 27 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 61 | 33 | +28 | 56 | |
| 5 | DLR Waves | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 51 | 30 | +21 | 40 | |
| 6 | Galway | 27 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 48 | 38 | +10 | 39 | |
| 7 | Bohemians | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 36 | |
| 8 | Sligo Rovers | 27 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 32 | 66 | −34 | 20 | |
| 9 | Cork City | 27 | 6 | 0 | 21 | 25 | 82 | −57 | 18 | |
| 10 | Treaty United | 27 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 5 | 110 | −105 | 2 |
Updated to match(es) played on 30 October 2022. Source: FAI Women’s National League, Soccerway, Extratime.com
Positions by round
editThe 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.
Results
editMatches 1–24
edit
Teams play each other twice.
Matches 19–27
editTeams play each other once.
Statistics
editTop scorers
editAs of 30 October 2022.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Áine O'Gorman
|
Peamount United | 22 |
| 2 | Emily Corbet
|
Athlone Town | 20 |
| 3 | Stephanie Roche
|
Peamount United | 16 |
| 4 | Ellen Molloy
|
Wexford Youths | 16 |
| 5 | Kylie Murphy
|
Wexford Youths | 15 |
Source: Women's National League
Awards
editMonthly awards
edit| Month | Player of the Month | References | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Club | ||
| 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
edit| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 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 League | Stephen 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
editIn 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
editNotes
edit- ^ 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]
References
edit- ^ "SSE Airtricity extends title sponsorship of League of Ireland". The Irish Times. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Shelbourne sink Wexford to retain Women's National League crown". rte.ie. 29 October 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Corcoran, Paul (12 December 2021). "Galway appoint Alan Murphy as manager". Extra Time. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "Back home! Steve Feeney appointed manager of first ever Sligo Rovers WNL senior team". The Sligo Champion. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ Fallon, John (29 December 2021). "Don O'Riordan appointed as Treaty's WNL team manager". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ "Paul Farrell Steps Down". Cork City F.C. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "Jess Lawton appointed caretaker manager of women's first team". Cork City F.C. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Kinsella, Colm (7 November 2022). "Treaty United begins search for new women's senior manager". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "SSE Airtricity Women's National League 2022 Season Fixture List" (PDF). Football Association of Ireland. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ Donnelly, David (3 April 2022). "Peamount United accept award of walkover to Sligo Rovers for fielding ineligible player". Dublin Live. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ Nolan, Hazel (7 April 2022). "Roche lands WNL Player of the Month award". fm104.ie. FM104.
- ^ "Athlone Town skipper Laurie Ryan named WNL April Player of the Month". RTÉ Sport. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "Jessica Ziu lands May player of the month award". RTÉ Sport. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Doherty wins SSE Airtricity WNL Player of the Month". Football Association of Ireland. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Rossiter crowned WNL Player of the Month". RTÉ Sport. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Alex Kavanagh scoops Player of the Month award". RTÉ Sport. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Double delight for Athlone at WNL awards". RTÉ Sport. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ "FAI announces new broadcast deals". Football Association of Ireland. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ @LoiWomen (9 February 2022). "CONFIRMED | @SportTG4 is back for 2022 9️⃣ #WNL games will be broadcast live 📺 this year" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.