2015–16 Women's National League (Ireland)

The 2015–16 Women's National League was the fifth season of the Women's National League. Two new clubs joined the league before the start of the season, restoring the number of teams in the league to eight. Kilkenny United were formed as expansion team [4][5] while Raheny United's senior women's team merged with Shelbourne Ladies. This effectively saw Shelbourne Ladies takeover Raheny United's place in the WNL.[6] The season also saw the introduction of the WNL Shield.[7] Wexford Youths and Shelbourne Ladies finished the season as the leagues two strongest teams. In the league itself, the two teams finished level on points before Wexford Youths retained the title after a play-off.[8] Wexford Youths also completed a treble, having already won both the FAI Women's Cup and WNL Shield. Shelbourne Ladies were also runners up in the WNL Shield before going onto win the WNL Cup.[9][10][11] Before the season was finished Castlebar Celtic withdrew because they were unable to field a team.[12][13]

Women's National League
Season2015–16
ChampionsWexford Youths
UEFA Women's Champions LeagueWexford Youths
Matches played51
Goals scored249 (4.88 per match)
Top goalscorerÁine O'Gorman
(UCD Waves):17 [1]
Biggest home winWexford Youths 17–1 Castlebar Celtic
(2 January 2016)[2]
Biggest away winCastlebar Celtic 1–9 Shelbourne Ladies
(10 October 2015)[3]
Highest scoringWexford Youths 17–1 Castlebar Celtic
(2 January 2016)
2016 →

WNL Shield

The season began with the inaugural WNL Shield which saw the eight teams divided into two regional groups, one featuring northern teams and another featuring mostly southern teams. UCD Waves played in Group A along with the southern teams, Cork City, Kilkenny United and Wexford Youths. The other four northern teams, Castlebar Celtic, Galway W.F.C., Peamount United and Shelbourne Ladies played in Group B.[7] The group stages began on 5 September and were completed by 4 October, before the regular season began. The format saw the four teams play each other once with the two group winners meeting in the final. In a sign of things to come, Castlebar Celtic failed to field a team against Shelbourne Ladies in their group game. Wexford Youths booked their place in the final with a 5–0 victory over Cork City.[14][15] In the final, played at Ferrycarrig Park on 30 March 2016, Wexford Youths defeated Shelbourne Ladies 1–0 with Edel Kennedy scoring the winner.[9]

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Wexford Youths 3 3 0 0 12 1 +11 9 Final
2 UCD Waves 3 2 0 1 11 4 +7 6
3 Cork City 3 1 0 2 4 9 −5 3
4 Kilkenny United 3 0 0 3 1 14 −13 0
Source: [16]
5 September 2015 Wexford Youths3–1UCD WavesFerrycarrig Park
15:00 Report
6 September 2015 Cork City4–0Kilkenny UnitedBishopstown Stadium
14:00 Report
13 September 2015 UCD Waves4–0Cork CityUCD Bowl
14:00 Report
13 September 2015 Kilkenny United0–4Wexford YouthsBuckley Park
Report
4 October 2015 Kilkenny United1–6UCD WavesBuckley Park
14:00 Report
4 October 2015 Wexford Youths5–0Cork CityFerrycarrig Park
14:00 Report

[17]

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Shelbourne Ladies 3 2 1 0 9 2 +7 7 Final
2 Galway W.F.C. 3 1 2 0 12 7 +5 5
3 Peamount United 3 1 1 1 9 11 −2 4
4 Castlebar Celtic 3 0 0 3 4 14 −10 0
Source:
5 September 2015 Galway W.F.C.1–1Shelbourne LadiesEamonn Deacy Park
14:00 Report
5 September 2015 Peamount United4–2Castlebar CelticGreenogue
19:00 Report
12 September 2015 Castlebar Celtic2–7Galway W.F.C.Celtic Park
19:30 Report
23 September 2015 Shelbourne Ladies5–1Peamount UnitedMorton Stadium
19:30 Report
3 October 2015 Shelbourne Ladies3–0Castlebar Celtic [note 2]
19:00 Report
3 October 2015 Galway W.F.C.4–4Peamount UnitedEamonn Deacy Park
19:00 Report

[18]

Final
30 March 2016 Wexford Youths1–0Shelbourne LadiesFerrycarrig Park [9]
Kennedy  35' Report Referee: Michelle O'Neill

Notes
  1. Castlebar Celtic unable to field a team. Shelbourne Ladies were awarded a 3–0 win.
  2. Castlebar Celtic unable to field a team. Shelbourne Ladies were awarded a 3–0 win.

Regular season

The regular season began in late October 2015 and was completed by May 2016. It used the traditional round-robin format with each team playing two full rounds of games home and away. Before the season was finished Castlebar Celtic withdrew because they were unable to field a team. Celtic had played nine games, losing eight and winning just one. All their results were subsequently expunged.[12][13][19] During the course of the regular season Celtic had suffered two heavy defeats. On 10 October 2015 they lost 9–1 at home to Shelbourne Ladies.[3] Then on 2 January 2016 they lost 17–1 to Wexford Youths.[2] As a result of storms and floods, the season saw several games called off. This resulted in a backlog of games during the final run in. Some of these games were played midweek. In the final week Wexford Youths travelled to Galway W.F.C. on Sunday, 8 May knowing a victory would secure them the league title. However Youths dropped their first league points away from home and could only manage a 1–1 draw. Youths had a second chance to clinch the title when they played Shelbourne Ladies at Tolka Park on Wednesday, 11 May. However Shelbourne Ladies won 3–1 and as result finished level on points with Youths. This meant the title would be decided by a play-off for the first time. Before the play-off Shelbourne Ladies defeated UCD Waves in the WNL Cup final on Sunday, 15 May.[15][11] The play-off took place on Sunday, 22 May at Tallaght Stadium. It proved third time lucky for Wexford Youths as they finally secured the title with a 2–1 win.[8]

Final table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Wexford Youths (C) 12 9 2 1 46 12 +34 29 2016–17 UEFA Women's Champions League
2 Shelbourne Ladies 12 9 2 1 42 11 +31 29
3 UCD Waves 12 8 1 3 38 14 +24 25
4 Galway W.F.C. 12 7 1 4 26 15 +11 22
5 Peamount United 12 3 0 9 18 39 −21 9
6 Cork City 12 2 1 9 12 40 −28 7
7 Kilkenny United 12 0 1 11 9 60 −51 1
8 Castlebar Celtic 9 1 0 8 7 51 −44 3 Withdrew after nine games[lower-alpha 1]
Source:
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. Castlebar Celtic games are not included the final stats of the other eight teams.

Results
Home \ Away CEL COR GAL KIL PEA SHE WAV WEX
Castlebar Celtic 1–2 3–0 0–6 1–9 1–5
Cork City 4–0 1–6 1–1 0–1 1–3 1–5 0–4
Galway W.F.C. 5–0 4–0 3–0 3–1 0–2 0–3 1–1
Kilkenny United 1–2 1–4 2–5 0–7 0–5 0–3
Peamount United 3–4 1–2 3–1 0–3 0–3 0–8
Shelbourne Ladies 3–0 5–1 0–3 9–0 4–1 1–1 3–1
UCD Waves 4–1 3–0 6–0 5–3 0–2 1–2
Wexford Youths 17–1 3–0 2–0 12–2 8–0 3–3 4–2
Source: [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][19]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-off
22 May 2016 Wexford Youths2–1Shelbourne LadiesTallaght Stadium[8]
O'Riordan  43'  69' Slattery  14' Attendance: 710
Referee: Alan Carey

WNL Cup

The WNL Cup was played between January and May 2016 during the second half of the season. The cup used a similar format to the WNL Shield, using the same regional groups. The WNL Cup fixtures were effectively the return matches of the earlier WNL Shield fixtures. The top two teams from each group progressed to the semi-finals.[27] In the final Shelbourne Ladies defeated UCD Waves 3–2 at Richmond Park on 1 May 2016.[11]

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Wexford Youths 3 2 1 0 13 2 +11 7 Semi-Finals
2 UCD Waves 3 2 1 0 10 2 +8 7
3 Cork City 3 1 0 2 1 11 −10 3
4 Kilkenny United 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8 0
Source:
24 January 2016 Kilkenny United0–1Cork CityBuckley Park
21 February 2016 UCD Waves1–1Wexford YouthsJackson Park
16 January 2016 Wexford Youths6–1Kilkenny UnitedFerrycarrig Park
30 January 2016 Cork City0–6Wexford YouthsMayfield Community School, Mayfield, Cork
31 January 2016 UCD Waves4–1Kilkenny UnitedJackson Park
30 March 2016 Cork City0–5UCD WavesCork IT [28]

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Shelbourne Ladies 3 2 1 0 17 3 +14 7 Semi-Finals
2 Galway W.F.C. 3 2 0 1 6 5 +1 6
3 Peamount United 3 1 1 1 6 6 0 4
4 Castlebar Celtic 3 0 0 3 2 17 −15 0
Source:
9 January 2016 Shelbourne Ladies3–0Galway W.F.C.Morton Stadium
9 January 2016 Castlebar Celtic0–3Peamount UnitedCeltic Park
16 January 2016 Peamount United2–2Shelbourne LadiesGreenogue
16 January 2016 Galway W.F.C.2–1Castlebar CelticEamonn Deacy Park
20 February 2016 Castlebar Celtic1–12Shelbourne LadiesCeltic Park
31 January 2016 Peamount United1–4Galway W.F.C.Greenogue

Semi-Finals
27 April 2016 Shelbourne Ladies4–2Wexford YouthsTolka Park [29]
Kiernan  3'
Murray  17'  37'  56'		 Webb  59'
Hansberry
27 April 2016 UCD Waves2–1Galway W.F.C.Jackson Park [29]
Russell  30'
O'Gorman  50'		 Meaney

Final
1 May 2016 Shelbourne Ladies3–2UCD WavesRichmond Park [11]
Murray  11'  ?'
Kiernan  ?'		 O'Gorman  ?'  ?'

WNL Awards
Senior Player of the Year
Young Player of the Year
Irish Daily Mail Golden Boot
Team of the Season
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Amanda McQuillan Shelbourne Ladies
2 2DF Keeva Keenan Shelbourne Ladies
3 2DF Méabh De Búrca Galway W.F.C.
4 2DF Ruth Fahy Wexford Youths
5 2DF Shauna Fox Galway W.F.C.
6 3MF Karen Duggan UCD Waves
7 3MF Emma Hansberry Wexford Youths
8 3MF Roma McLaughlin Peamount United
9 4FW Siobhán Killeen Shelbourne Ladies
10 4FW Claire O'Riordan Wexford Youths
11 4FW Áine O'Gorman UCD Waves

Source:[1]

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References
  1. "2015/16 Continental Tyres WNL Awards winners unveiled". www.fai.ie. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  2. "Wexford Youths 17–1 Castlebar Celtic". www.wnl.ie. 2 January 2016. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  3. "Castlebar Celtic 1–9 Shelbourne Ladies". www.wnl.ie. 10 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  4. "Kilkenny United join WNL". wnl.fai.ie. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  5. "Kilkenny United FC to join Women's National League". Sports Women.ie. 3 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  6. "Rahney United & Shelbourne Ladies merge". wnl.fai.ie. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  7. "Clubs enjoy an innovative launch experience at the home of Irish football". wnl.fai.ie. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  8. "WNL Play-Off Report: Shelbourne Ladies 1–2 Wexford Youths Women". www.extratime.ie. 22 May 2016.
  9. "Wexford edge Shels in WNL Shield Final". wnl.fai.ie. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  10. "Wexford win first ever FAI Women's Cup final on penalties". www.irishtimes.com. November 8, 2015.
  11. "Shelbourne Ladies win Continental Tyres WNL Cup". www.fai.ie. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  12. "Castlebar Celtic withdraw from WNL". wnl.fai.ie. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  13. "Castlebar Celtic withdraw from Continental Tyres WNL". www.fai.ie. 31 March 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  14. "Shield Round-Up - Series 3". wnl.fai.ie. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  15. "WNL 2015/16 - A season of highs and lows". www.extratime.com. 31 May 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  16. "WNL Shield 2015-2016 Group A – Table". wnl.fai.ie. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  17. "WNL Shield 2015-2016 Group A – Results". wnl.fai.ie. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  18. "WNL Shield 2015-2016 Group B – Results". wnl.fai.ie. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  19. "Castlebar Celtic W 2015-2016". www.wnl.ie. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  20. "Wexford Youths Women 2015-2016". www.wnl.ie. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  21. "UCD Waves Women 2015-2016". www.wnl.ie. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  22. "Shelbourne Ladies FC 2015-2016". www.wnl.ie. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  23. "Peamount United 2015-2016". www.wnl.ie. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  24. "Kilkenny United WFC 2015-2016". www.wnl.ie. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  25. "Galway WFC 2015-2016". www.wnl.ie. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  26. "Cork City Women's FC 2015-2016". www.wnl.ie. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  27. "Continental Tyres WNL Cup 2015/16". wnl.fai.ie. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  28. "Cork City 0–5 UCD Waves". extratime.ie. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  29. "WNL Cup Round-Up: Shels, UCD advance". wnl.fai.ie. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
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