St Francis L.F.C.

St Francis L.F.C.
Full nameSt Francis Football Club
Nickname(s)The Hoops
Founded2006[1]
GroundJohn Hyland Park
Baldonnel
LeagueDublin Women's Soccer League

St Francis Ladies Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Baldonnel, Dublin. It is the women's section of St Francis F.C. They have entered teams in both the FAI Women's Cup and the Dublin Women's Soccer League. They also represented the Republic of Ireland in the 2009–10 and 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions Leagues.[2]

History

In 2008 and 2009 with a squad that included Mary Waldron, Grainne Kierans and Megan Campbell, St Francis won two successive FAI Women's Cup/Dublin Women's Soccer League doubles. In the 2008 FAI Women's Cup final, Waldron hit an injury–time winner from the penalty spot as St Francis beat Peamount United 2–1 at Richmond Park.[3][4] In the 2009 FAI Women's Cup final St Francis defeated St Catherine's 1–0.[5][6][7][8][9] They also retained the Dublin Women's Soccer League title and won the 2009 DWSL Premier Cup.[10][11][12]

St Francis in Europe

2009–10 UEFA Women's Champions League

After winning the 2008 FAI Women's Cup, St Francis qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Women's Champions League. All of the group matches were played in Cyprus at the Tsirion Stadium and the Pafiako Stadium. St Francis lost all three matches in the tournament. Veteran Republic of Ireland, international Grainne Kierans highlighted the gap in funding with their opponents. Kierans observed that "one of the teams had a budget of €700,000 to €1 million, whereas we had to raise the money ourselves to go there".[13]

Group F

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Russia Rossiyanka 3 3 0 0 19 0 +19 9
Cyprus Apollon Limassol 3 2 0 1 6 1 +5 6
Israel Maccabi Holon 3 1 0 2 2 11 −9 3
Republic of Ireland St Francis 3 0 0 3 0 15 −15 0
30 July 2009
Rossiyanka 11–0 St Francis
1 August 2009
St Francis 0–2 Maccabi Holon
4 August 2009
St Francis 0–2 Apollon

2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League

After winning the 2009 FAI Women's Cup, St Francis qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League. Their group matches were played in Croatia at the Stadion Gradski vrt and at the Stadion HNK Cibalia. St Francis' squad included among others, Megan Campbell, Kelly Jones and Cheryl Foster. The latter two were both on loan from Liverpool L.F.C. After winning their opening game 4–1 against 1º Dezembro, St Francis lost their second game 9–0 to Rossiyanka. However St Francis secured second place in the tournament with a 5–3 win against the hosts, Osijek, despite being 3–0 down at half-time.[10] [14][15][16][17][18]

Group 6

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Russia Rossiyanka 3 3 0 0 18 1 +17 9
Republic of Ireland St Francis 3 2 0 1 9 13 −4 6
Portugal 1º Dezembro 3 1 0 2 6 9 −3 3
Croatia Osijek 3 0 0 3 4 14 −10 0
5 August 2010
1º Dezembro 1–4 St Francis
7 August 2010
Rossiyanka 9–0 St Francis
10 August 2010
St Francis 5–3 Osijek

Notable former players

Republic of Ireland women's internationals

Wales women's internationals

Honours

[10]

References

  1. ^ www.hookhockey.com[usurped]
  2. ^ www.uefa.com
  3. ^ "2008 FAI Women's Cup". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Ireland (Women) 2008". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Ireland (Women) 2009". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  6. ^ "All Saints battle for FAI Umbro Women's FAI Senior Cup prize". www.fai.ie. 25 July 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Catherine's look to end St. Francis domestic dominance". www.fai.ie. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  8. ^ "St. Francis retain FAI Umbro Women's FAI Senior Cup title". www.fai.ie. 25 July 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  9. ^ "St Catherine's 0-1 St Francis". www.rte.ie. 25 July 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  10. ^ a b c "St. Francis braced for UEFA Champions League". www.fai.ie. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Local trio help fire St Francis to WFAI Cup glory". www.independent.ie. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  12. ^ 2009 FAI Women's Cup, Rsssf
  13. ^ www.independent.ie
  14. ^ St. Francis secure first win in UEFA Womens Champions League
  15. ^ www.rte.ie
  16. ^ www.fai.ie
  17. ^ St Francis Overhaul Three-Goal Deficit Archived 2010-10-10 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League, Rsssf