Dundalk FC U-14 girls have a remarkably busy run-in to the end of their season and it’s all down to the fact that they could potentially become winners of at least three different titles. On Sunday March 2nd they played Shelbourne in the quarter-final of the FAI junior cup in Oriel Park where they secured a very respectable 2-2 draw thanks to goals from Shauna Finn and Joanie Gray. The homeside were 1-2 down in the final quarter of the match and went all out to get a second goal by switching to three players up front. They were rewarded for their attacking play when Joanie scored the all-important equaliser in the last ten minutes. The replay will take place in Tolka Park this Saturday morning at 11:00am with the squad departing from Oriel Park at 9:00am. So if any Dundalk supporters are still in the vicinity of Tolka after Friday night’s Eircom League of Ireland opener, then the girls would be delighted to have you lend them your support for this important game. They reached the semi-final of the same competition last year but were knocked out by Templeogue. So they will be hoping to better that great achievement by making it all the way to the final.  The Dundalk girls are currently joint top of the Drogheda Premier League which incorporates teams from the northeast of the country including counties Louth, Meath, Monaghan and Cavan. The league champions decider match will be on March 13th when Dundalk will take on Ardee Celtic with the title going to whichever of the two sides wins the game. As if that wasn’t enough to keep the squad on their toes, they are also in the final of the Drogheda Cup. 

Total Commitment
There is no questioning the level of commitment these girls have made to Dundalk FC with a squad of 22 in attendance and working hard at an early morning training session on a cold Saturday morning last weekend. The current team started playing together at U-12 level and manager Andy Lennon feels it has been an extraordinary three years for the squad. The approach to management of the squad has played a crucial role in its success to date. Having spent over a decade coaching boys’ teams, Andy is of the opinion that in some ways it is easier to coach a girl’s team. “In my experience the girls are better at communicating with each other, that is very evident at any of our training sessions. They are all working with each other and for each other. The team’s spirit and moral is very high. A lot of that is down to a good level of communication between the girls themselves and the whole squad and the coaching staff. We are one unit, whether we win, draw or lose we do it together”.

Club Development
Eight members of the team recently participated in Leinster trials held in Drogheda for selection for the Gaynor Cup Squad 2008. If picked, the girls participate in the Gaynor Cup which is played in Limerick over the last two weeks of June. Rachel Washington, Alanah McLoughlin, Ashling Dunne, Kate McKeever, Shauna Finn, Alanah Kelly, Erin McLoughlin, Sarah Washington all attended while Joanie Gray was also invited to the trials but couldn’t make it on the day. This testifies how much progress has been made in girl’s football in Dundalk and how professionally the whole structure for girl’s football is developing as part of Dundalk FC.  Andy has no doubt that a lot of this is down to Brian Donnelly, Coach of the Senior Ladies.  “The structure that is in place now for the girls and ladies teams is largely down to Brian.  Since he joined Dundalk great improvements have been made”. There is very good and regular contact between the coaching staff of the younger girls and the senior ladies.  It is quite clear from talking to Andy or Brian that they do not see their squads as unconnected entities. There appears to be a very close link in their overall outlook, which makes it quite logical that the younger girls would see themselves progressing from the U-14 age group all the way up to senior ladies level. Speaking to Brian earlier in the year he remarked that one of the highlights of this season for him personally is undoubtedly the progression of the under-age girls’ teams at Dundalk FC. He is of the opinion that “It is looking really really good for the future of girls and ladies football”. 

Future Ambitions
According to Andy Lennon, girl’s football has been very much neglected in the past but nowadays the opportunity is there for them to continue playing football beyond U-12 boys level.  He went on to explain, "this time four years ago the U-14 girls wouldn’t have been able to get a game of football.  Usually girls play with the boys’ teams up to the age of U-12 but after that they had nowhere to go. Now they can continue playing by joining Dundalk FC and they can see a future for themselves right up to senior level.  Knowing these opportunities exist for them seems to drive the girls on.  “They all have ambitions to continue playing for Dundalk FC, with such a well organised senior ladies team also at Oriel Park, the younger girls see there is a future for them in playing football. They aspire to maturing as players and making it at senior level within the Club”. 

Silverware Objective
The U-14 Dundalk FC squad of today originated as Castletown Girls. This outfit moved to Oriel Park and became part of Dundalk FC three years ago.  Re-location and becoming part of Dundalk FC attracted more girls to the squad and the Club is always keen to see new players joining up.  “The door is always open here, we are keen to invite any girls interested in playing for Dundalk FC everyone is welcome to come along”.  The parents of the girls play their part too and there are always some on hand to help out, for example driving to matches.  “There is great support from some of the girls’ families.  It is another important dimension to the whole set-up.  A lot of the parents play their part and do their bit for the good of the team”. 
Being in a strong position in several different competitions means that it is going to be a very busy end of season for the girls.  When asked what the ambition is for the rest of the year the manager states, “We would love to win some silverware this year and are currently in a great position to do so.  Whatever the final outcome for the season, it’s been a very good one for us.  In fact it’s been a great three seasons for us as a squad.  We want to continue to make progress into the future as we have done to date.  I think the future looks very good for girls and ladies football at Dundalk FC”.