WNL Weekly - Challenge to Big Two needed

The Women’s National League is now in its third year. It’s again at an even number of teams - so no more bye weeks - and it’s become a fairly established part of domestic football.

But it’s not without it’s growing pains. Chief among them is the gap between the top two clubs and the rest. While clubs like Wexford Youths and DLR Waves progressed last season, and are now a difficult proposition for the big two of Peamount and Raheny - it would be a huge surprise if they were able to consistently challenge their dominance.

The gap is best illustrated not by teams like Wexford and DLR, but by teams like Cork WFC and Shamrock Rovers. Yesterday’s 9-0 win for Raheny in Cork underlines how much lies between them. It wasn’t an isolated result, either. Last season we saw Peamount beat Rovers 10-2, Castlebar Celtic 8-1 and DLR Waves 10-1.

That DLR Waves went from beating Peamount 3-2 to losing 10-1 to them in a matter of months should speak for inconsistency. The situation isn’t completely hopeless for the rest of the league, but it will be a while before the title goes outside the top two.

Women’s sport in Ireland suffers from the same problem as Wexford and DLR. Occasionally there’s a blip of public attention - think Katie Taylor fights, or when the women’s national rugby team won the Six Nations. But women’s sport never quite consistently retains that attention. In an already squeezed Irish sports market, it’s tough for anything to distract from the triumvirate of GAA, English football and rugby. 

And that’s the real problem: attention. For the WNL to grow, it needs more of it. Much is made of attendances - but even a growth in casual observers would be great for the league. The WNL hasn’t had its Katie Taylor moment yet. If it wants to, it needs to make people to stand up and take notice.

For that to happen, having an open league - where there’s an element of not knowing what will happen in a season - is a must. The last two seasons have been very entertaining, but having a few more teams involved in the title run-in would be fantastic for neutrals and existing WNL fans alike.

If DLR, Cork, Galway, Wexford, or anyone was able to challenge the big two it would also be good for the league’s standing in Europe. Peamount and Raheny would be forced to either get better, or fade away. An arms race would be good for the WNL if four or more teams were involved. Let Irish women’s football lead the way for Irish domestic football in Europe and make good on the promise shown by Peamount and Raheny in the last two seasons.

Player of the Week: Rebecca Creagh

Raheny’s driving force in midfield has had a terrific start to the season. Her two goals in their 9-0 win against Cork only added to her performance the week before - when she was the consummate playmaker in a 4-0 win over DLR in Morton Stadium.