2020 Women's National League (Ireland)

The 2020 Women's National League was the 10th season of the Women's National League, the highest women's association football league in the Republic of Ireland.

Women's National League
Season2020
Dates8 August 2020 – 5 December 2020
ChampionsPeamount United
3rd WNL title
Champions LeaguePeamount United
Matches played52
Goals scored189 (3.63 per match)
Top goalscorerÁine O'Gorman (14 goals)
Biggest home winPeamount United 8–0 Athlone Town (29 August 2020)
Biggest away winTreaty United 0–7 Shelbourne (10 October 2020)
Highest scoringBohemians 4–5 Treaty United (31 October 2020)
← 2019
2021 →

The League lacked a title sponsor, as the Só Hotel Group did not renew their agreement from the previous season.[1] Barretstown were announced as a "charity partner" on 24 July 2020.[2] Expansion teams Athlone Town and Bohemians competed for the first time.[3][4]

Following the financial collapse of Limerick F.C., they were replaced by a new team, Treaty United.[5] Kilkenny United were excluded for a variety of reasons, including that they had not bonded with the local league, they had changed venues for home games, did not train in Kilkenny, lacked a qualified manager, and had produced poor results (just seven points in the last three seasons combined [60 matches]).[6]

Originally scheduled to kick off on 15 March, the season's opening was delayed, initially to late June by the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8] A reduced season eventually kicked-off in August 2020.[9] The WNL Cup was deferred for the season,[10] but the 2020 FAI Women's Cup was effectively a League Cup, with the nine Women's National League clubs the only participants.[11]

On 21 November 2020, Peamount United won their second consecutive title and third overall after a 3–1 win over Shelbourne.[12]

Teams
Team Home town/suburb Stadium 2019 finish
Athlone TownAthloneAthlone Town Stadiumn/a
BohemiansDublin (Coolock)Oscar Traynor Centren/a
Cork CityCorkBishopstown Stadium5th
Galway GalwayEamonn Deacy Park4th
Treaty UnitedLimerickMarkets Fieldn/a
Peamount UnitedNewcastle, South DublinGreenogue1st
ShelbourneDublin (Drumcondra)Tolka Park2nd
DLR WavesDún LaoghaireJackson Park6th
Wexford YouthsCrossabegFerrycarrig Park3rd

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Athlone Town Tommy Hewitt Paula Doran Nike Palfinger
Bohemians Sean Byrne Sinead O’Farrelly O'Neills ICHH - Inner City Helping Homeless
Cork City Ronán Collins Katie McCarthy Adidas
DLR Waves Graham Kelly Catherine Cronin Jako Eversheds Sutherland
Galway Billy Clery Keara Cormican Uhlsport Só Hotels
Peamount United James O’Callaghan Áine O'Gorman O'Neills Texaco Newcastle Service Station
Shelbourne Dave Bell Pearl Slattery Umbro FlyeFit
Treaty United Dave Rooney Marie Curtin Umbro Ei Electronics
Wexford Youths Tom Elmes Kylie Murphy Jako Energia

Format

In the initial phase of the season, the nine teams played a round-robin tournament whereby each team played each one of the other teams once.[13] After eight games, the league split into two sections of five and four teams, with each team playing every other team in their section once.[14]

League table

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
1 Peamount United 12 11 0 1 40 9 +31 33 Qualification for the UEFA Women's Champions League
2 Shelbourne 12 9 1 2 37 15 +22 28
3 Wexford Youths 12 7 1 4 27 16 +11 22
4 Cork City 12 6 1 5 21 25 −4 19
5 Galway 12 4 2 6 15 20 −5 14
6 DLR Waves 11 2 4 5 12 13 −1 10
7 Athlone Town 11 3 1 7 9 27 −18 10
8 Treaty United 11 3 0 8 16 37 −21 9
9 Bohemians 11 1 2 8 12 27 −15 5
Updated to match(es) played on 5 December 2020. Source: FAI Women’s National League, Soccerway, Extratime.com
Notes:
  1. Teams play each other once (eight matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top five and the bottom four).

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

Team ╲ Round123456789101112
Athlone Town76689779887—
Bohemians89998998999—
Cork City677775444444
DLR Waves55566887676—
Galway442334555555
Peamount United113222211111
Shelbourne231111122222
Treaty United98855666768—
Wexford Youths324443333333
Source: Extratime.com
  = Leader and UEFA Women's Champions League;   = Second;   = Third

Results

Matches 1–8

Teams play each other once.

Home \ Away ATH BOH COR DLR GAL PEA SHE TRE WEX
Athlone Town — — — 1–4 — — 0–3 3–2 0–1
Bohemians 1–0 — 3–4 — 1–4 0–3 — — —
Cork City 2–0 — — 2–1 1–2 0–3 — — —
DLR Waves — 0–0 — — — — 1–2 0–2 0–2
Galway 3–0 — — 1–1 — — 1–1 1–0 —
Peamount United 8–0 — — 3–2 2–1 — — 5–0 —
Shelbourne — 3–0 3–1 — — 1–5 — — 2–1
Treaty United — 2–1 2–5 — — — 0–7 — 1–5
Wexford — 4–1 1–2 — 3–1 3–0 — — —
Source: Extratime.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 9–11/12

After eight matches, the league split into two sections i.e. the top five and the bottom four, with the teams playing every other team in their section once (either at home or away). The exact matches were determined by the position of the teams in the league table at the time of the split.

Statistics

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals[15]
1 Áine O'Gorman Peamount United 14
2 Eleanor Ryan Doyle Peamount United 10
3 Ellen Molloy Wexford Youths 8
4 Aoife Horgan Treaty United 6
Lynsey McKey Galway
Saoirse Noonan Cork City
7 Noelle Murray Shelbourne 5
Aoife Thompson Galway
Ciara Grant Shelbourne
Jessica Ziu Shelbourne
Emily Whelan Shelbourne
Stephanie Roche Peamount United

Awards

Monthly awards
Month Player of the Month References
Player Club
August Ellen Molloy Wexford Youths [16]
September Saoirse Noonan Cork City [17]
October Jessica Ziu Shelbourne [18]
November Karen Duggan Peamount United [19]

Annual awards

[20]

Award Winner Club
WNL Player of the Year Karen Duggan Peamount United
Young Player of the Year Ellen Molloy Wexford Youths
Services to the Women's National League Michael Hayes
WNL Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Eve Badana (DLR Waves)
Defenders Niamh Farrelly (Peamount United) Pearl Slattery (Shelbourne) Claire Walsh (Peamount United) Shauna Brennan (Galway)
Midfielders Ellen Molloy (Wexford Youths) Karen Duggan (Peamount United) Jessica Ziu (Shelbourne)
Forwards Áine O'Gorman (Peamount United) Eleanor Ryan-Doyle (Peamount United) Saoirse Noonan (Cork City)

Broadcasting

The title-deciding match between Peamount United and Shelbourne on 21 November 2020 was streamed live by the Football Association of Ireland on their FAI TV YouTube channel.[21] The annual awards ceremony was televised live on Eir Sport 1.[20]

See also

References
  1. "Women's National League to kick off on 8 August". RTÉ Sport. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  2. "Barretstown unveiled as WNL charity partner". Football Association of Ireland. 24 July 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  3. Duffy, Emma. "The Women's National League will welcome a new team for the 2020 season". The42.
  4. Doyle, Stephen. "Bohemians and Treaty United join expanded Women's National League". TodayFM.
  5. McCormack, Richie. "Shamrock Rovers B-team accepted into First Division". Newstalk.
  6. "Kilkenny United release lengthy statement following Women's National League departure". ExtraTime.ie.
  7. Blake, Ben. "Women's National League season to kick off in late June". The42.
  8. "Delayed Women's National League to kick off on June 27th". ExtraTime.ie.
  9. "A club-by-club guide to the 2020 Women's National League". Irish Independent. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  10. O'Hehir, Paul (27 March 2020). "FAI set June 28 target start date for Women's National League". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  11. "FAI Women's Cup 2020". Women's National League (Ireland). Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  12. Donnelly, Dave (23 November 2020). "Peamount gunning for the double after securing league title". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  13. "Women's National League Fixture List" (PDF). Women's National League (Ireland). 14 July 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  14. McCormack, Richie (3 July 2020). "Women's National League to get underway in August". Today FM. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  15. "Top Scorers - 2020 Women's National League". Extratime.com. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  16. "Molloy named Barretstown / WNL Player of the Month for August". FAI Women’s National League. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  17. "Noonan scoops Barretstown / WNL Player of the Month for September". FAI Women’s National League. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  18. "Ziu collects Barretstown / WNL Player of the Month for October". FAI Women’s National League. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  19. "Duggan earns Barretstown / WNL Player of the Month for November". Women's National League (Ireland). 11 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  20. Duffy, Emma (20 December 2020). "Peamount stalwart and Wexford teenage sensation win big at end-of-season awards". The42.ie. TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  21. O'Connor, Colm (20 November 2020). "Top two battle it out as Women's National League title race goes down the wire". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
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