The 2011–12 Women's National League season was the inaugural season of the Women's National League. The season was sponsored by Bus Éireann. Originally seven clubs were invited to join the league.[1][2] However shortly before the start of the season Bray Wanderers/St. Joseph's pulled out due to a lack of competitive players. This left six teams – Peamount United, Castlebar Celtic, Cork Women's F.C., Raheny United, Shamrock Rovers and Wexford Youths – to play the inaugural season.[3]
| Season | 2011–12 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Peamount United |
| UEFA Women's Champions League | Peamount United |
| Top goalscorer | Stephanie Roche (Peamount United): 24 |
| Biggest home win | Peamount United 13–0 Castlebar Celtic |
| Biggest away win | Castlebar Celtic 0–9 Peamount United |
| Highest scoring | Peamount United 13–0 Castlebar Celtic |
2012–13 → | |
The season began on 13 November 2011 with Wexford Youths and Castlebar Celtic drawing 2–2, Raheny United defeating Shamrock Rovers 5–0 and Stephanie Roche scoring a hat-trick as Peamount United defeated Cork Women's F.C. 6–1. On 12 February 2012 Roche scored six goals as Peamount United defeated Castlebar Celtic 13–0 at home. The return fixture on 15 April saw Peamount United win 9–0 with Roche scoring another hat-trick. The final round of games was played on 22 April 2012.[4]
Peamount United were the inaugural champions, finishing three points clear of second placed Raheny United. They also completed a league double by winning the WNL Cup, defeating Shamrock Rovers 1–0 in the final on 6 May 2012.[5] Roche was the league's top goalscorer with 24 goals in the league itself plus two in the WNL Cup.[6] She scored the winner in the WNL Cup final.[7] Roche formed a "devastating" strike partnership with Sara Lawlor who contributed 15 goals to Peamount United's league success. Lawlor was named Player of the Season at the inaugural end of season awards ceremony, while Emma Hansberry of Castlebar Celtic won the Young Player of the Season.[8]
Final table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peamount United (C) | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 66 | 17 | +49 | 36 | 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League |
| 2 | Raheny United | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 39 | 18 | +21 | 33 | |
| 3 | Cork Women's F.C. | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 29 | −7 | 20 | |
| 4 | Wexford Youths | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 32 | −11 | 20 | |
| 5 | Castlebar Celtic | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 30 | 57 | −27 | 13 | |
| 6 | Shamrock Rovers | 15 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 13 | 38 | −25 | 5 |
Top goalscorers
edit
| Goals | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Stephanie Roche | Peamount United |
| 15 | Sara Lawlor | Peamount United |
| 13 | Emma Mullin | Castlebar Celtic |
| 8 | Rebecca Creagh | Raheny United |
| 8 | Siobhán Killeen | Raheny United |
Team of the Season
edit| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Linda Meehan | Peamount United | ||
| 2 | DF | Seana Cooke | Raheny United | ||
| 3 | DF | Louise Quinn | Peamount United | ||
| 4 | DF | Emma Farmer | Cork Women's F.C. | ||
| 5 | DF | Nicola Dunphy | Wexford Youths | ||
| 6 | MF | Rebecca Creagh | Raheny United | ||
| 7 | MF | Denise O'Sullivan | Cork Women's F.C. | ||
| 8 | MF | Emma Hansberry | Castlebar Celtic | ||
| 9 | FW | Sara Lawlor | Peamount United | ||
| 10 | FW | Rachel Jenkins | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 11 | FW | Stephanie Roche | Peamount United |
References
edit- ^ "Line-up for new Women's National League confirmed". fai.ie. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ "Expressions of interest sought for Women's National League". fai.ie. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- ^ "UEFA funding helps women's national football league launch in Republic of Ireland". UEFA. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ wnl.fai.ie
- ^ "Peamount are crowned Bus Eireann Women's League Cup Final Winners". wnl.fai.ie. 6 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 July 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- ^ Farrell, Niall (16 June 2012). "Roche hopes for big step toward Euros". Extratime.ie. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ Dowling, Paul (25 May 2012). "Keeping family loyalty at Bray; BRAY W v SHELBOURNE, 7.45". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Sara Lawlor named as National League Player of the Year". www.rte.ie. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- ^ 2011–12 Women's National League, Rsssf "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b "Statistics 2011/12 - Continental Tyres Womens National League". wnl.fai.ie. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ "WNL Award Winners Announced". wnl.fai.ie. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2016.