WNL Season Preview: Wexford Youths

Manager: Tom Elmes

Stadium: Ferrycarrig Park

Players in: Ellen Molloy (Thomastown United), Sally Kelly (Seaview), Sinead Taylor, Trina Duggan (Mill Celtic), Aoibheann Clancy (Limerick WFC).

Players out: Rianna Jarrett (Brighton & Hove Albion), Mckenna Davidson (Gintra Universitetas), Becky Cassin (Cork City).

Extratime.com Key Player: Kylie Murphy

Kylie Murphy’s dedication to Wexford Youths is one of the reasons football is called the beautiful game. Having spent every season of her career at Wexford since the league’s inauguration, the Youths midfielder is the kind of player that would run through a brick wall for her club.

With recruits coming in from the U17s this season, Tom Elmes will need his more experienced players to step up and encourage their teammates. With Murphy as the club’s captain, that won’t be an issue. Her inspirational display in the WFAI Cup final last November, scoring the winning goal to beat Peamount, was only a taster of Murphy’s ability to step up when needed.

With her infectious love for the club, Murphy is the leader that Wexford will need this season to continue driving for league and cup success.

Extratime.com One to Watch: Ellen Molloy

Nominated for the FAI ‘Three’ U15 Schools Player of the Year Award last week, Ellen Molloy begins the WNL season on a high. Her performances in the green jersey gained national attention after scoring a wonder goal against Iceland in the RSC in Waterford last February.

Elmes will be hoping she brings that same flair to Ferrycarrig Park after the Kilkenny native made the move from Thomastown United towards the end of last season. After a decent display against DLR Waves in a pre-season friendly last week  in which she slotted home the first goal of the game, expect to see Molloy feature heavily in the first team this year.

How they did last season:

League: Finishing in third place last season, Youths would have been disappointed not to have given Peamount and Shels a closer contest.

Very convincingly brushing other teams aside with results such as 11-1 against Limerick, 7-2 against DLR Waves and 7-1 against Kilkenny United, there was no lack of strength in the Youths attack.

It was results against Shelbourne and Peamount that let them down, although every contest against those two teams in particular were close. 1-0 or 2-1 scorelines.

With far more international experience in both the Peas and Shels teams, Wexford must not consider themselves unlucky. They were consistently strong in attack throughout the season despite losing Rianna Jarret to injury for a portion and depended on 17-year old goalkeeper Maeve Williams for a large majority of games, showing herself to be more than capable in the senior league.

FAI Cup:

Having won the cup last season Youths will accept nothing less than retaining their title in the coming season. A convincing quarter final win against Dublin’s TEK United put them into a semi-final against Galway. Running out 4-2 winners on the day thanks to a brace from Rianna Jarret with Kylie Murphy and Mckenna Davidson adding their names to the score sheet, a cup final against league winners Peamount was on the horizon.

Perhaps finding a more favourable road to the final than Peamount, their 3-2 win will inspire everyone at Ferrycarrig Park again in the coming season. The experience of the Wexford side paid off with many of the squad having played through the intimidation of the Aviva Stadium before. Indeed, it was Kylie Murphy’s winner that saw Youths lift the cup for a second year running after Lauren Kelly’s brace earlier in the game.

WNL League Cup:

Despite losing 0-1 to Shelbourne thanks to an Emily Whelan goal in the second half, Wexford had no issues booking their place in the final. They pushed Kilkenny United aside 8-0 in the quarter final and saw off Limerick by five goals in semis. A place in the final will be the least Youths expect for the coming season.

What to expect this season:

With striker Rianna Jarret making the move to Brighton & Hove Albion, Youths will be without considerable international experience this season. With underage internationals such as Ellen Molloy, Blessing Kingsley and Maeve Williams they have an impressive group of youthful players that will bring an energy to the squad.

However, a very young Youths side will need experienced players such as Kylie Murphy, Edel Kennedy and Nicola Sinnott to inspire the same dominance against the teams lower in the table. Results against Peamount and Shelbourne will be crucial if they are to challenge for the league title once again. A shorter season will more than likely be in Youths favour.

If Tom Elmes continues to play his very attractive style of attacking football, this season will be extremely exciting for Youths fans and all involved in the club. He will accept nothing less than an appearance in the WFAI Cup final and the WNL League Cup final and with an incredibly motivated squad of players it is hard to look past that.

First game: Bohemians (Home).