Macroom women's team created history by winning first Kevin Barry Cup
The Macroom team before their CWSSL cup final win over Ballincollig
History was made recently by the Macroom ladies soccer team as they won their first ever piece of silverware in the Cork Women’s and Schoolgirls Soccer League (CWSSL).
Sam Dowd's side captured the Kevin Barry First Division cup with a win over Ballincollig, a triumph that brought huge celebration to the club as it was the first trophy won by the club since 2017, but the first ever one for the women’s side of the club.
Only their second year entered into the CWSSL, the club and they have gone from strength to strength and here manager Dowd talks about the impact the underage teams have had on the progression of their senior team.
“We have teams from U10-U19 and last year saw the benefits of a great academy system when the club fielded their first senior ladies team into the league,” said Dowd.
"Through hard work and commitment from Fiona Phelan and Brian Murphy, the club has made massive strides and now with our new astro pitch being built, we are hoping to grow even more in the women's game here in Cork and beyond.”
Dowd, took up coaching when his playing days were up having picked up an early ACL injury at the age of just 14.
Having got involved with Macroom after years coaching in the United States, Dowd linked up with James Walsh and both look after the U19s and senior side, a combination Dowd feels works perfectly.
“Myself and James get on so well together. While I might bring a bit of a serious side to it, James always has the craic.
"It's a perfect balance and I couldn't do it without him. We’ve had an incredible season, both with the U19s and seniors.
“This is our second full season as a ladies side, the girls have been playing together since underage with a few joining in from other clubs but last year was their first year as a senior side so the step-up was massive.
"We didn't know what to expect but our goal was to win a couple of games and lay a foundation for years to come.
"We managed to finish fourth in the league and the numbers increased to a point where we considered putting two teams in this year.
"This year we have achieved everything we set out to do and more, reaching the quarter final of the FAI Amateur Shield and losing to last year's winners.
"Recently, we won the Kevin Barry Cup which is a massive achievement being the first trophy won at the club on the ladies side and the first adult trophy since 2017.
"We are also on track to finish third in the league with two games to go!
“The U19 season was incredible for us. Again, we didn't really know what we were getting into, only a handful we knew from the seniors, but they showed their qualities from the first session.
"We went on to win the league with a 100% record and made the cup final, where we lost to a very strong Carrigaline team who were in the league above us.
"With the end of the U19 season it rolled nicely into the senior season, so we encouraged them to train away with them and that we would need them at some stage.
“Luckily enough, Macroom has a large catchment area so a lot of the players would be local, ranging from Ballyvourney to Coachford and in between, all playing through the fantastic underage system we have here.
"Our squad is a very young squad in general, our average age of the starting team in the final was 20 so we're still learning the game and trying to improve each week.
"A lot of the girls are still involved with the U19s next year, they have so much potential and everything we ask of them they always step up and give their best.
“We want to be playing with the best of the best and we have learnt so much as a group in tough games and they have made us better as a whole.
"Next year we will certainly looking at competing for promotion but we know it will be difficult with the other talented teams who will be in our division.
"Especially with the new astro coming in September, we hope that can help us kick on.”
App?
