KYLIE MURPHY AND Wexford Youths are exactly where they want to be. Where every team wants to be on the final day of the season: competing for the league title.
The SSE Airtricity Women’s National League is going right down to the wire this evening, with Wexford facing Shelbourne in a winner-takes-all showdown at Ferrycarrig Park [KO 5.20pm, TG4] and Athlone Town still in contention.
For Murphy and co., the permutations are simple: a win delivers a first title since 2018; a draw against Shelbourne is no good to them — that, coupled with an Athlone win away to Bohemians, would mean a Shels-Athlone play-off, while if Athlone were to lose or draw, Shels would be crowned back-to-back champions.
“We’re probably a bit surprised ourselves that we’re here… surprised in a way, because we’ve had such a rocky season,” Wexford’s legendary captain tells The42. “But we’re here now, and all we can do is go out and give it our best, give it everything we have.”
Murphy’s opening words echo her closing ones after last weekend’s last-gasp 3-3 draw with Peamount United, a result which kept Wexford’s dream alive.
“At the end of the day, what will be will be,” the WNL stalwart said post-match, her focus already turning to final day. “If it’s to be, we’ll win it. If it’s not, we won’t. But by God, we’ll push to the very end.”
A few days on, she picks up that point and delves deeper into the collective thought process of the team.
“I mean sport is a crazy thing, it can leave you so high but so low at the same time.
“We’ve just had such an up and down year together as a group. Over all the seasons, we’ve probably fought the most for this one. Anything that could go wrong is after going wrong. Personally, no matter what way Saturday goes, I honestly couldn’t be more proud of those girls. We’ve literally fought tooth and nail.
“We’ve had some really, really ugly results but we’ve put ourselves in a position to be able to go and win a National League, which is what every team wants at the end of the year. It’s pretty amazing, to be fair. We just need to go out now and give it our all again, for one last 90 minutes.”
Murphy lifting the FAI Cup last season. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
This is Murphy’s 12th season at the club. She’s been there right since the inception of the WNL in 2011, and her story is well-documented at this stage. The 34-year-old has seen it all: from exhilarating highs and unprecedented success to gut-wrenching lows and dismal failure; and of course, everything in between.
It’s interesting to hear her summation of 2022, a year which could have been completely derailed by injuries to star players including Ireland international Ellen Molloy and Leaving Certificate losses in key duo Aoibheann Clancy and Becky Watkins. Of course, there was luck at times, but these things don’t just happen either.
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“It’s not to be complaining because every team goes through it,” she notes, “but this is just the first year we’ve had an awful lot to deal with… I honestly can’t believe that we’re actually in this position.”
A few moments stand out. A hard-fought 2-1 win away to Cork City in May, in particular, when “underage kids” Freya de Mange, Siun Murdiff and Emma Walker stepped up and excelled. A 1-0 victory over Shelbourne at Tolka Park is another; another youngster, Jess Lawler, was the goal-scoring hero with a memorable chargedown of Shels ‘keeper Amanda Budden.
“That block basically kept our whole season alive. That caused us to go 11 points behind [then-leaders Shelbourne], I don’t think it would have been possible to get back [without that win]. They’re all kids, they’re all U19s stepping up for the cause and chomping at the bit every week. It’s just unreal. It’s just a resilient, special group.”
GOAL ⚽️ | Shelbourne 0-1 Wexford Youths
It’s there for Wexford!! Jess Lawler charges down a clearance from Amanda Budden to put The Youths ahead ⚽️
That’s something Murphy references in every single interview she does.
This Wexford team is like a family. They stick together through thick and thin, focusing on themselves no matter what’s going on around them.
“Absolutely,” she nods. “Not to be mentioning them now, but there’s players that have played games all year that shouldn’t be playing… the pain, what they’re putting their bodies through because they know that we’re lacking and they know that we’ve been missing girls or players have been injured or whatever.
“Players with injuries, maybe not as big as the ones that have been missing, but they’re broke up all year, and they just shut up, take it on the chin and go on. Not only are they showing up, but they’re performing. It’s exceptional, so it is.”
Just like Murphy herself. The Laois woman hit some special landmarks this season — 100 goals in September (she’s now on 105), while she has well over 200 appearances under her belt and numerous individual accolades.
She’s one of the greatest players the league has ever seen, and it’s a crying shame she has never been capped for Ireland at senior level.
But it’s all about the team, never about her. Wexford through and through. The collective over the individual always.
“If it was to be all about me, I’d do a sport that was solely for me. I’m part of that team. Them accolades are absolutely fantastic and I’m very, very proud to have got them, but they’re not there without the rest of those girls. They’re all a piece of that.
“I can’t achieve things like that personally without every one of my team-mates, and some of them that have come and gone. All the credit goes to them. The main goal is that National League, it always is. For me personally and collectively, it’s that trophy.”
Shelbourne stand in the way of the perfect ending to the season on Slaneyside this evening. It’s a repeat of last weekend’s final day, one which ended with Wexford watching Shels’ title celebrations on their home patch after they capitalised on Peamount’s capitulation.
A blockbuster duel lies ahead; a game which can easily go either way with a huge rivalry but incredible respect between the sides, much like the league in general.
“As soon as last weekend’s game against Peas finished,” Murphy recalls, “my first thought was what a game of soccer! D’you know what I mean? It was brilliant that it was on the telly. The amount of people texting afterwards saying they watched it, they couldn’t take their breath, they couldn’t get over how good the game was.
“I think that’s what you’re going to get this weekend again: two good teams going at it. Shelbourne, the name alone speaks for itself. They’re a very, very successful club. They have some fantastic players, really good young kids coming through. By no means do we think it’s gonna be any way easy. We know it’s gonna be a battle. It’s gonna go down to a bit of luck or who wants it more? It really is gonna be a big one.”
Celebrations after Ireland qualified for the World Cup. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
That’s just women’s football in Ireland at the moment.
There’s so much excitement around the game after the Girls In Green qualified for their first-ever major tournament in the 2023 World Cup, while talk is heightening about a potential move to semi-professionalism for the WNL.
Murphy only wishes she was starting out all over again, but she captures the feeling perfectly.
“Ah, it’s absolutely amazing. It’s just going from strength to strength. It’s starting to move. We’ve wanted it to move for a very long time. The girls qualifying for a World Cup, it’s outrageous and it’s just gonna bring so much publicity and everything else to them.
“Not only to them, but hopefully to the Women’s National League, which is what we want. Fingers crossed — the whole going semi-pro thing, not to be losing the run of ourselves but if it can happen, I do think it’d be something really special. It would maybe keep some of the really, really good players that we have in Ireland and keep growing the league. That’s really important.
“We can’t just keep losing them all to England or elsewhere, it’s taking the quality out of the league which is is disappointing. You want to play against the best players and the best teams, and if we could keep them here, maybe keep studying and go semi-pro, it’d be amazing.
“It’s definitely on the up. It’s really exciting times for for women’s soccer in Ireland.”
That sounds like someone who will be involved for another while yet?
“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Murphy, who has been coy on her future at the end of the past few seasons, laughs.
You couldn’t imagine it any other way. Exactly where she wants to be.
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'Sport is a crazy thing. It can leave you so high but so low at the same time'
KYLIE MURPHY AND Wexford Youths are exactly where they want to be. Where every team wants to be on the final day of the season: competing for the league title.
The SSE Airtricity Women’s National League is going right down to the wire this evening, with Wexford facing Shelbourne in a winner-takes-all showdown at Ferrycarrig Park [KO 5.20pm, TG4] and Athlone Town still in contention.
For Murphy and co., the permutations are simple: a win delivers a first title since 2018; a draw against Shelbourne is no good to them — that, coupled with an Athlone win away to Bohemians, would mean a Shels-Athlone play-off, while if Athlone were to lose or draw, Shels would be crowned back-to-back champions.
“We’re probably a bit surprised ourselves that we’re here… surprised in a way, because we’ve had such a rocky season,” Wexford’s legendary captain tells The42. “But we’re here now, and all we can do is go out and give it our best, give it everything we have.”
Murphy’s opening words echo her closing ones after last weekend’s last-gasp 3-3 draw with Peamount United, a result which kept Wexford’s dream alive.
“At the end of the day, what will be will be,” the WNL stalwart said post-match, her focus already turning to final day. “If it’s to be, we’ll win it. If it’s not, we won’t. But by God, we’ll push to the very end.”
A few days on, she picks up that point and delves deeper into the collective thought process of the team.
“I mean sport is a crazy thing, it can leave you so high but so low at the same time.
“We’ve just had such an up and down year together as a group. Over all the seasons, we’ve probably fought the most for this one. Anything that could go wrong is after going wrong. Personally, no matter what way Saturday goes, I honestly couldn’t be more proud of those girls. We’ve literally fought tooth and nail.
“We’ve had some really, really ugly results but we’ve put ourselves in a position to be able to go and win a National League, which is what every team wants at the end of the year. It’s pretty amazing, to be fair. We just need to go out now and give it our all again, for one last 90 minutes.”
This is Murphy’s 12th season at the club. She’s been there right since the inception of the WNL in 2011, and her story is well-documented at this stage. The 34-year-old has seen it all: from exhilarating highs and unprecedented success to gut-wrenching lows and dismal failure; and of course, everything in between.
It’s interesting to hear her summation of 2022, a year which could have been completely derailed by injuries to star players including Ireland international Ellen Molloy and Leaving Certificate losses in key duo Aoibheann Clancy and Becky Watkins. Of course, there was luck at times, but these things don’t just happen either.
“It’s not to be complaining because every team goes through it,” she notes, “but this is just the first year we’ve had an awful lot to deal with… I honestly can’t believe that we’re actually in this position.”
A few moments stand out. A hard-fought 2-1 win away to Cork City in May, in particular, when “underage kids” Freya de Mange, Siun Murdiff and Emma Walker stepped up and excelled. A 1-0 victory over Shelbourne at Tolka Park is another; another youngster, Jess Lawler, was the goal-scoring hero with a memorable chargedown of Shels ‘keeper Amanda Budden.
“That block basically kept our whole season alive. That caused us to go 11 points behind [then-leaders Shelbourne], I don’t think it would have been possible to get back [without that win]. They’re all kids, they’re all U19s stepping up for the cause and chomping at the bit every week. It’s just unreal. It’s just a resilient, special group.”
That’s something Murphy references in every single interview she does.
This Wexford team is like a family. They stick together through thick and thin, focusing on themselves no matter what’s going on around them.
“Absolutely,” she nods. “Not to be mentioning them now, but there’s players that have played games all year that shouldn’t be playing… the pain, what they’re putting their bodies through because they know that we’re lacking and they know that we’ve been missing girls or players have been injured or whatever.
“Players with injuries, maybe not as big as the ones that have been missing, but they’re broke up all year, and they just shut up, take it on the chin and go on. Not only are they showing up, but they’re performing. It’s exceptional, so it is.”
Just like Murphy herself. The Laois woman hit some special landmarks this season — 100 goals in September (she’s now on 105), while she has well over 200 appearances under her belt and numerous individual accolades.
She’s one of the greatest players the league has ever seen, and it’s a crying shame she has never been capped for Ireland at senior level.
But it’s all about the team, never about her. Wexford through and through. The collective over the individual always.
“If it was to be all about me, I’d do a sport that was solely for me. I’m part of that team. Them accolades are absolutely fantastic and I’m very, very proud to have got them, but they’re not there without the rest of those girls. They’re all a piece of that.
“I can’t achieve things like that personally without every one of my team-mates, and some of them that have come and gone. All the credit goes to them. The main goal is that National League, it always is. For me personally and collectively, it’s that trophy.”
Shelbourne stand in the way of the perfect ending to the season on Slaneyside this evening. It’s a repeat of last weekend’s final day, one which ended with Wexford watching Shels’ title celebrations on their home patch after they capitalised on Peamount’s capitulation.
A blockbuster duel lies ahead; a game which can easily go either way with a huge rivalry but incredible respect between the sides, much like the league in general.
“As soon as last weekend’s game against Peas finished,” Murphy recalls, “my first thought was what a game of soccer! D’you know what I mean? It was brilliant that it was on the telly. The amount of people texting afterwards saying they watched it, they couldn’t take their breath, they couldn’t get over how good the game was.
“I think that’s what you’re going to get this weekend again: two good teams going at it. Shelbourne, the name alone speaks for itself. They’re a very, very successful club. They have some fantastic players, really good young kids coming through. By no means do we think it’s gonna be any way easy. We know it’s gonna be a battle. It’s gonna go down to a bit of luck or who wants it more? It really is gonna be a big one.”
That’s just women’s football in Ireland at the moment.
There’s so much excitement around the game after the Girls In Green qualified for their first-ever major tournament in the 2023 World Cup, while talk is heightening about a potential move to semi-professionalism for the WNL.
Murphy only wishes she was starting out all over again, but she captures the feeling perfectly.
“Ah, it’s absolutely amazing. It’s just going from strength to strength. It’s starting to move. We’ve wanted it to move for a very long time. The girls qualifying for a World Cup, it’s outrageous and it’s just gonna bring so much publicity and everything else to them.
“Not only to them, but hopefully to the Women’s National League, which is what we want. Fingers crossed — the whole going semi-pro thing, not to be losing the run of ourselves but if it can happen, I do think it’d be something really special. It would maybe keep some of the really, really good players that we have in Ireland and keep growing the league. That’s really important.
“We can’t just keep losing them all to England or elsewhere, it’s taking the quality out of the league which is is disappointing. You want to play against the best players and the best teams, and if we could keep them here, maybe keep studying and go semi-pro, it’d be amazing.
“It’s definitely on the up. It’s really exciting times for for women’s soccer in Ireland.”
That sounds like someone who will be involved for another while yet?
“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Murphy, who has been coy on her future at the end of the past few seasons, laughs.
You couldn’t imagine it any other way. Exactly where she wants to be.
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