Eileen and UCD ready to make Waves

With just a little less than a week to go until the official launch of the new Women’s National League of Ireland, the past week saw the launch of a new footballing dynasty in Dublin that is bound to shake up the WNL and add a new & exciting chapter to the growth of women’s football in Ireland.

The newly formed UCD Waves is an amalgamation between DLR Waves (who have competed in the WNL for the past three seasons) and the UCD Women’s Soccer Club. Many familiar faces in the WNL, Irish Internationals and upcoming stars of the games will be lining out in the sky blue of the Waves this season.

Signed on as captain is Irish International Aine O’Gorman, who is a regular in Sue Ronan’s Irish starting X1. Dora Gorman, Seanna Cooke and Caroline Thorpe will help add steel and a safe guard to the defences and midfield. While Julie - Ann Russell will add flair to the Waves attack, assisting the goal machine that is Aine O’Gorman. Emily Cahill and Rebekah Carroll are just two of the young and exciting new crop of Irish footballers that are the future of women’s football in Ireland.

The Waves are awash with talented footballers from the UCD Scholarship programs such as Ciara Grant and the local footballing community of Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown.

But perhaps one of the strongest persons the Waves have in its camp ahead of the new campaign is manager Eileen Gleeson. The former Peamount United manger is looking forward to the new season and a fresh new challenge with the UCD Waves.

“The idea is to have one strong team, as oppose to two average teams. For the coming season we have recruited a very good squad, so despite it being a new team as such we have high aims & expectations and we want to challenge for the title. “

UCD Waves will be able to play UCD students that are part of the South Dublin Universities Elite Athlete Scholarship, as well as girls form the local communities of DLR.  The aim of the club is to be able to mix education and sport, while their team competes in the highest level of football in Ireland.

Eileen talks up the importance of education and indeed the facilities and resources at her disposal that she and her coaching staff can offer the girls at the Waves.

“This is a good place for the girls to be, this is a fresh start for me too, it’s a step-up in terms of resources and support, the girls appreciate that and they will enjoy it also. We can offer elite scholarships, which is only a benefit to the players. “

Eileen knows the Waves will face tough opposition in the form of defending champions Raheny United, the ever improving Wexford Youths and indeed Galway Women’s FC who also have an exciting new manager in Don O’Riordan. The former manager of the men’s Galway side will take charge of the women for the WNL this season.

“As the league has gone on, everyone has improved, for us, are main rivals will be Raheny, Don will bring a wealth of experience to Galway and we expect a strong challenge from them also and Wexford too. “

From the scale & size of the squad and indeed the winning management team that is in place, it’s clear the Waves are here to make a real name for themselves and compete at the high end of the league come the campaign, pre-season started at the beginning of July and they have already scored over 30 goals in their first two games. Yes, the UCD Waves scored more than 30 goals in two games. One might have only being a pre-season friendly, but the club got the ball rolling on their cup challenge in the FAI Women’s Cup 1^st Round, were they unmercifully put 21 past Shelbourne.

They open their account in the league when they entertain Galway, with the match likely being played in Jackson Park in Stepaside Co. Dublin. There are plans for a number of games to be held in Belfield in the UCD campus over the course of the season.

With a number of Waves players recently selected for Sue Ronan’s squad for the upcoming fixture against Slovenia, Eileen will lose some key players next week but she knows they will be keeping fit and playing football, so a full squad is expected on the 24^th for the Galway game with Ireland v Slovenia on the Wednesday before that.

Eileen would have to be regarded as one of the most successful managers in the WNL; she guided Peamount to the title in the inaugural season of 2011, cup success also followed and her team featured in the last 32 of The Women’s Champions League. Such talented Irish players like Stephanie Roche and Louise Quinn have both benefited from her management; both are now playing abroad in more full-time professional set-ups.

So while it might have being disappointing the way it ended for Eileen at Peamount, the manager with a proven track record will take up the reins at one of the most ambitious and exciting clubs competing in the WNL, proving that the cream always does rise to the top.

As Eileen said herself, “the nature of football is movement and progression”, something which the manager will be doing, along with the Waves.