Villa Football Club.[1] is an Irish association football club in Waterford, Ireland.

Villa FC
Full nameVilla Football Club
Nickname(s)The Villa; Villa
Founded1953
GroundConnor's Park
ManagerConor Coad
LeagueWaterford & District Junior League
Websitehttps://villafc.ie/

History

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Villa FC was founded in 1953[2][3] in Waterford City, Ireland. It has achieved a number of footballing successes[4] in Waterford since its founding. Villa FC's Premier team plays in the Waterford & District Junior League, and has won the competition[5] twice.[6][7] Villa FC also won the FAI Junior Cup in 2022,[8] winning 1:0 in the final, as well as a number of other honours[4] at levels from schoolboy to senior. Villa FC operates from their home ground at Connor's Park in Poleberry, Waterford City. A number of former Villa FC players have gone on to success in football leagues outside Ireland, including Kenny McEvoy (Tottenham Hotspur), Lee O'Connor (Manchester United), Jayson Molumby (Brighton), and Timi Sobowale (Manchester City).[9]

FAI Junior Cup Win, 2022

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In 2022 Villa won the FAI Junior Cup, defeating Pike Rovers from Limerick at Turners Cross in Cork with the winning goal scored by Conor Kilgannon. Speaking of the win after the match, Villa manager Conor Coad noted that it was "a historic day for us and it's been a massive season for us, we've never won our own local Premier League and to go and do that recently and back it up with this win is something we could have only dreamed of at the start of the year".[10]

The cup winning team on the day were: Craig Dunphy, James Kennedy (Sean O'Keefe, 90+1), Conor Signorelli (Eoghan Rea, 75), Dylan Walsh, Adam Heaslip (C), Luke Walsh (Mark Walsh, 72), Conor Kilgannon, Aaron O'Connor, Dean Walsh, Cian Browne, John Frederick Tamen (Adam Conway, 67), and the panel during the campaign and on final day also included Ravelli Kilonda, Niall McCabe, Ivan Homoki, Jeff Da Silva, Daniel Pender, Scott Searson, Bobby Drohan, Matas Grinius, Hugh Munro, Shane O'Brien, Ross Cashin, Conor Fennell and Callum McFadden. The management of the cup winning team were: Manager - Conor Coad, Assistant Manager - Paddy Byrne, Coaches - Devan Morrissey, Paul Morrissey, Physio - John Butler.[11]

Current Premier Squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   IRL Craig Dunphy
GK   IRL Dylan Nolan
GK   IRL Kieran Doheny
DF   IRL Eoghan Rea
DF   IRL Adam Heaslip
DF   IRL Dylan Walsh
DF   IRL Conor Signorelli
DF   IRL John Tamen (Irish/Cameroonian)
DF   IRL James Kennedy
DF   IRL Ravelli Kilonda
DF   IRL Dylan Stickel
DF   IRL Shane O'Brien
DF   IRL Nils Lukaku
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   IRL Aaron O'Connor
MF   IRL Luke Walsh
MF   IRL Conor Whittle
MF   IRL Adam Conway
MF   IRL Conor Kilgannon
MF   IRL Evan Ryan
MF   IRL Stephen Imiren
FW   IRL Dean Walsh
FW   COD Regix Madika
FW   IRL Shane O'Brien
FW   IRL Alex Phelan
FW   IRL Dylan Butler

Source:[12]

Capped Players

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Republic of Ireland Senior Internationals

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   IRL Jayson Molumby (Plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion)
DF   IRL Lee O'Connor (Plays as a defender for EFL League Two club Tranmere Rovers)

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   IRL Kenny McEvoy (Retired. Played for Tottenham Hotspur and other English league clubs.)
DF   IRL Timi Sobowale (Plays as a defender, for Norwegian Third Division club Florø SK)

Club Honours

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Waterford and District Premier League

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  • Winners: 2021-22,[6] 2022-23[7]

Ardagh Cup

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  • Winners: 1969-70, 1970-71, 2007-08
  • Winners: 2021-22[8]

All-Ireland President's Junior Cup

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  • Winners: 2022-23[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Villa FC | Football Club in Waterford | Lifetimes of Football". villafc.ie. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
  2. ^ "Club History - Villa FC: Lifetimes of Football". Villa FC.
  3. ^ "Villa FC". PlayMakerStats.
  4. ^ a b "Villa Football Club Honours | Junior League | Schoolboy League". villafc.ie.
  5. ^ https://wjl.leaguerepublic.com/index.html
  6. ^ a b "Villa crowned Waterford Premier Division champions". Waterford Local Radio - WLRFM. 11 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Villa retain Premier crown to Coad's delight". Waterford Local Radio - WLRFM. 25 April 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Villa FC win FAI Centenary Junior Cup against Pike Rovers". Football Association of Ireland.
  9. ^ "Villa Football Club History | Waterford Football League | Villa Stories". villafc.ie. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  10. ^ "Kilgallon nets winner as Villa FC claim first FAI Junior Cup title". Irish Examiner. 22 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Villa FC win FAI Centenary Junior Cup against Pike Rovers | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie.
  12. ^ "Villa FC Premier Squad 2023-24". Villa FC.
  13. ^ "Coalisland Athletic pipped by Villa in Presidents' Junior Cup final". Irish Football Association of Northern Ireland.
  14. ^ a b "Roll of Honour - Munster Youths Cup". Munster Football Association.
  15. ^ "Villa end 61 year wait to land Munster Youth title". Waterford News & Star. 15 August 2020.