Thorpe picks up April Player of the Month Award

Raheny United midfielder Caroline Thorpe has been named as the Bus Éireann Player of the Month for April for her role in guiding Sean Byrne’s side to within touching distance of the League title.

“I am thrilled to receive the award. There are so many good players in this League it’s nice to be recognised. I’ve put in a lot of effort this season so it’s nice to be rewarded for that,” said Thorpe.

During the month of April Raheny picked 10 points out of a possible 12 with wins over DLR Waves (twice) and Castlebar Celtic as well as drawing 2-2 with Peamount United in their top of the table clash at Morton Stadium.

“I think that result against Peamount was the stand-out one in April for me. I thought we were the better team in the first half but they were in the second half and it was very hard to see how we were going to avoid losing when they went 2-1 up. But Megan (Campbell) got the equaliser and I just knew that was the turning point in our season. That was the first time we actually believed that we could win the League this season,” said Thorpe, who is a former senior international with 24 caps and six goals to her credit.

One more win, at home to Wexford Youths Women on Sunday, will guarantee Raheny the League title and give Thorpe her second medal as she was a member of the Peamount side which won the inaugural Bus Éireann Women’s National League in 2011-12

At 31, Thorpe is one of the most experienced players in the Raheny United squad and her influence was shown in her nomination earlier today for the Bus Éireann Player of the Season and her selection in the 2012-13 Bus Éireann Women’s National League Team of the Season. 

With five older brothers and a young sister, it was inevitable that Thorpe, who hails from Clondalkin, would end up playing football and after starting with schoolboys side Greenfort United she moved to girls’ side Rollagh before joining St Catherine’s. There followed spells abroad at Arsenal, Memphis Mercury and Leeds United before a return home to UCD where she was part of their FAI Women’s Cup winning sides and played in Europe. She then had a six year period out of football before returning to the game and a member of the St Catherine’s team which won the FAI Women’s Cup in 2011.

When the Bus Éireann Women’s National League started she joined Shamrock Rovers but only played one game before making a mid-season switch to Peamount United where she helped them win the title and now her close season move to Raheny has left her on the verge of becoming the first player to win two national league titles.

“It’s great to be in this position but we still have to go out and beat Wexford on Sunday and we know that isn’t going to be easy. I think we learnt a valuable lesson on Monday when we lost to Castlebar in the semi-final of the cup not to take things for granted,” said Thorpe who hopes to start doing her coaching qualifications shortly.

“I’m back at college studying to be a youth worker and I want to work in disadvantaged areas. Sports is a great tool to have and being able to play football have been a great help to me in the work I already do with kids.”

Thorpe received her Bus Éireann Women’s National League Player of the Month today at FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown from League Director Fran Gavin.