REPUBLIC OF IRELAND star Sinead Farrelly is celebrating a National Women’s Soccer League title with Gotham FC after the New Jersey/New York club beat OL Reign 2-1 in Saturday night’s decider.

Farrelly came on for Gotham as a second-half substitute, with goals by Lynn Williams and Esther Gonzales steering Gotham to a first ever championship in their current guise.

There was heartbreak on the other side, meanwhile, for Reign’s Megan Rapinoe. The American soccer icon’s final professional game ended not only in heartbreak but prematurely, too: Rapinoe went down after just three minutes with a suspected Achilles injury.

After several more minutes of treatment, the despondent Reign star was swapped out for Bethany Balcer, receiving a massive ovation as she limped off the field.

Despite her many achievements, Saturday’s defeat at Snapdragon Stadium means that Rapinoe retires from the game without having won an NWSL championship title.

The fairytale ending for 2023 instead went to Gotham and, in particular, Ireland midfielder Farrelly and her club teammate Mana Shim.

Both women took several years out of the sport before reemerging as public figures in 2021 to speak out against the sexual coercion and harassment that had been inflicted on them at one of their previous clubs, Portland Thorns FC.

The Thorns’ then-coach Paul Riley was fired for cause in 2015 but the reasons for his dismissal were not made public until Farrelly and Shim catalysed a league-wide investigation in 2021 — this despite the fact that both U.S. Soccer and the NWSL were aware of the Thorns’ internal inquiry into the matter six years prior.

Both Farrelly and Shim returned to professional football in March of this year, signing with last season’s bottom club Gotham, with former age-grade USA international Farrelly also going on to represent the Ireland for whom she qualifies through her Cavan-born father.

Gotham’s remarkable run to Saturday night’s championship decider saw them eliminate the reigning champions, Portland Thorns, at Portland’s Providence Stadium in the semi-finals.

This set up a clash with Reign and Rapinoe, who was looking for her own storybook ending.

Gotham took the lead 24 minutes into the final with Lynn Williams slotting home after a superb run down the right and low ball from Midge Purce.

But Seattle-based Reign levelled within five minutes when Balcer sent US international Rose Lavelle through on goal and the midfielder converted with a composed finish.

Gotham then struck the woodwork twice, Purse striking the post and from the resulting scramble Delanie Sheehan hitting the bar.

Canadian Olympic gold medalist Jordyn Huitema then had a goal disallowed for offside, after being put in by a clever pass from Lavelle.

But on the stroke of half-time Gotham restored their lead when Spanish international Esther Gonzalez rose to powerfully head in a Purse corner.

There was late drama when Gotham keeper Mandy Haught was sent off for handling the ball outside the box and with all substitutes used, midfielder Nealy Martin had to go in goal for the final stages of stoppage time.

But from the resulting free-kick Lavelle was unable to test Martin, striking the wall as Gotham held on for the victory.

Strictly speaking, it was the franchise’s second title, following their Women’s Professional Soccer league win in 2009 when the team was known as Sky Blue FC.

– With reporting by AFP