WU17 & WU19 Preview

Cork City WU17 face a long trip North for the second week in a row as they face Sligo Rovers in the WUI7 League Semi Final just one week after dispatching Donegal in the quarter-final. A game manager Jess Lawton was delighted with.

“It was a really good performance, 5-1, everyone got game time and we’re in a semi-final. It was a tough physical battle in midfield and we gradually came out on top and that allowed us room to play the football we know we can play. We stuck to it and being 5-1 up we were able to work on game management, slowing it down, playing into the corners not because we had to but because it’s an aspect of the game we wanted to work on.”

“The support there was unreal, a load of parents travelled and we brought them into the team huddle in the end, it was lovely to have everyone around and everyone was buzzing.”

It gets no easier in terms of travel with an away trip to Sligo this weekend, who shocked Wexford Youths in their quarter final. “Yeah, there’s no mugs in this league but really, it goes to show that when you hit form is really important. It probably was a surprise that we’re facing Sligo but fair play to them, the standard right across the league is rising. We certainly won’t take them for granted, we’ve won one and lost one against them this season.”

“I think we are hitting form at the right time, we did lack goals a little at the start of the Elite phase. We worked quite a lot on shooting, decision making to lay off to a better placed team-mate. Looking at our stats, our shots on target has gone way up and I think we’re on 94 goals across the season now which is a massive number, and the girls have 100 goals for the season as a target in their minds. Obviously, Fiana [Bradley] has scored 30 goals, but the goals are well spread out with Keira [Sena], Kayleigh [Still] scoring and even Heidi [Mackin] and Ciara [Fitzpatrick] offering threats from set-pieces out of defence. Goals are coming from everywhere, but that comes from our structure, where we allow players to get forward once they know their job and each other’s job to cover when you’re out of position. They’re rotating really well, and it makes us difficult to play against.”

“The girls work really hard week in, week out, We’re in month 8 of competitive football. Niamh Cotter, Fiana Bradley, and Heidi Mackin have all played more or less 45 games this season and it shows their dedication to the game because they do sacrifice a lot. They choose football over other options that girls their age take for granted and for that reason, I just hope we can go on now and get a trophy. They deserve it.”