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Belfast Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Cheers, beers and Spanish tears at Belfast gathering for Euro final: ‘Hopefully this encourages more women'
For three hours this afternoon, The American Bar in Belfast's Sailortown could have been renamed The Spaniard, such was the support for the World Cup holders from the players at Belfast Ravens as they took on England in the Women's Euro Final at a watch-a-long party. The majority at the gathering — which started in the neighbouring Seatons as Kerry hadn't quite wrapped up their All-Ireland win as the Euro football final kicked off — were leaning in the Spanish direction. But it wasn't through a fervent anti-English sentiment. Belfast Ravens has a strong Spanish influence running through its ranks. Perhaps the largest women's football club in Ireland, the Ravens have three teams playing across the NIWFA divisions. The manager of their second team is Clara Alvarez. That her little boy Charlie has turned out in his Real Oviedo shirt gives the game away — she's from the Spanish city. Clara had just led her Ravens to a 3-0 away win at First Bangor Women earlier in the day. She turned up hoping for a double celebration — but in the end of a dramatic final in Basel it was the words of her teammate Megan Ferguson that proved prophetic. As Spain took a first-half lead, England-supporting Megan said: 'I'm not worried yet. We always go behind. We have Chloe Kelly to come on. She'll win it for us.' Just before 8pm that same Chloe Kelly slammed home the winning penalty in a shootout as England won the Euros again, after their success at Wembley three years ago. The full 120 minutes failed to separate the two dominant forces in the women's international game after a 1-1 draw. Clara, along with her partner Marty Cauley, are a driving force behind the Ravens club, set up just eight years ago by David O'Reilly. 'Honestly, I'd never properly kicked a football until eight years ago, but everybody in Spain loves football,' she said. Having been with Belfast Ravens since the early days, she has seen the number of players consistently rise. 'We're up to 45 regulars and there are more mums who might have other commitments a lot of the time, but overall we're about 60 strong in numbers,' she said. 'We all love it,' she said. 'It's not just the football, it's everything that comes with it, the sport, the friendships we have formed.' David O'Reilly was the initial driving force behind the club, having encouraged his wife to bring some friends along for a kick-about back in 2017. 'It wasn't much more than that back then,' he said. 'It was just for fun, but it quickly took off and while much of what we do is still informal, we do like the social side, the friendship and the going for a drink after the match, we still have a very competitive edge. 'That we're now in a position to field three teams in the NIWFA leagues shows just how strong the sport is becoming. Even five years ago there was little TV coverage. But it has really taken off.' Northern Ireland's success in reaching the Euro finals three years ago was a real boost for the sport in the country. There are now nine divisions, featuring 70 teams, as the strength of women's football grows stronger every year. 'Watching the Euros in 2022 really got me into it,' said Megan Ferguson, proudly wearing her England shirt amongst a majority of Spanish red. 'I did grow up in a family full of Liverpool fans, but it never used to be something girls really played much. It was netball for me for a long time. I'm still a Liverpool fan in the men's game, but it's Arsenal Women for me in the WSL. 'I only joined the Ravens in January, but I've been to an Arsenal Women's match, and was part of the biggest ever WSL crowd. 'My granddad was brought up in England so I've been supporting them.' For Louise Boyle though, a right winger with the Ravens first team, there was an extra reason to support Spain in the final — her boyfriend Miguel Martin is from Madrid. They both sported Spanish tops for the final. Louise had the full Euros experience following Northern Ireland in Southampton three years ago when they qualified for the previous tournament. 'It seems to be even bigger this time round,' she said. 'It's wonderful to see the recognition the women's game is now getting. 'It was the last Euros that got me into the sport,' she said. 'I know Northern Ireland weren't there this time round, but with all the games being live on the main television channels, it's been brilliant to watch.' Several of the Ravens players were actually in Switzerland last week, with Lisa Black and Caiti McCloskey among those who attended all four quarter-finals in a whistle-stop tour of the country. 'The Switzerland against Spain game was a great one to be at, because of the support for the home nation,' said Caiti. 'But the Swedish fans were the best. I think it was the Abba music. 'But it showed us just how big the women's game is. There was free transport to get fans around the country, the crowds were fabulous, the TV coverage was wonderful. 'Hopefully, seeing these matches on television will only encourage more women to get involved.'
BBC News
7 hours ago
- BBC News
Basic errors and decision-making cost Donegal
Jim McGuinness said he had "no qualms" about Donegal's All-Ireland defeat by Kerry as he admitted his team made too many "basic errors" against a dominant as a coin-flip decider between the two best teams around, Kerry proved far too strong for the back-to-back Ulster champions and ran out comfortable 1-26 to 0-19 winners. Kerry showed ferocious intent from the outset and led by seven points at the break, with McGuinness admitting his players struggled to match the Munster side's early intensity."Early doors in the game both teams were going at it on the scoreboard but Kerry were really laying down markers early in the game and dominated long parts of the game," McGuinness told BBC Sport NI. "We got it back at certain times to situations where you felt we had a bit of momentum, but ultimately we couldn't get to that two or three points (gap) where the game could really become interesting. "Hats off to Kerry, we're very disappointed for our players and for our supporters. It's a tough one to take." Going into the game, Kerry forwards David Clifford and Seanie O'Shea led the two-point scoring charts with 11 apiece and their accurate shots from outside of the arc again proved key for Jack O'Connor's raised three orange flags from play - including one with the last kick of the first half - while O'Shea scored a two-point free in the second half. "They definitely seemed to go after the twos today but David Clifford is an exceptional player," added McGuinness."We had a lot of work done on David and how we could close him down but the reality is some of the twos he kicked today were exceptional."We have no qualms. Sometimes in life, you have to take your medicine and this is one of those times." McGuinness was also uninterested in putting his side's performance down to the impact of a gruelling season which saw them play 11 championship games in 16 weeks. Instead, he insisted that his team's mistakes and uncharacteristic decision-making paved the way for a Kerry victory. "We had two weeks to come into the game," he said."We'd been able to bring them down [after the semi-final] and were able to bring them back up. They were fresh. We know from our own metrics when they're fresh and they were fresh, they were ready to play the game. "The game was very intensive early on and we struggled with elements of that and that cost us at times. "But look, we made too many mistakes, too many basic errors and made decisions that we normally never make so these are all the things we've to go away and reflect upon for another day." Finally, McGuinness expressed disappointment in the lack of scorers throughout the Donegal team on the day. They had 12 different scorers in the semi-final win over Meath, but only six against the Kingdom with Michael Murphy hitting 0-8. While Kerry had seven different scorers, they had a goal and a series of two-pointers."Michael is Michael and he will carry that attention [from opponents] and he's carried that attention all throughout his career."That's why it's so important to have your 10, 11 or 12 scorers. That's why it's so important to have that spread of scorers because any day like that can happen and pop up and it didn't happen for us today."But they've given it their absolute all from the beginning of the year. They're a very, very good group to work with. Very dedicated, very focused on what they want to do. "Today's not a good day for us and it's not a good day in terms of what we wanted to achieve."
BBC News
7 hours ago
- BBC News
Teenager Moore joins Shelbourne from West Ham
Teenager Sean Moore has joined League of Ireland champions Shelbourne from West Ham 19-year-old moved to the Premier League side from Irish Premiership outfit Cliftonville in June 2023 on a three-year the Republic of Ireland youth international has now joined Shelbourne on a "multi-year deal"."I'm absolutely buzzing to be here," Moore told the club's website. "Shelbourne are a massive club and I'm delighted to get the deal done. I'm ready to get to work, hit the ground running, and show the fans what I'm all about."Manager Joey O'Brien said Moore, who made a big impression in his time with Cliftonville, was a "top player with huge potential"."He came into the game at a young age with Cliftonville and earned a great education over in England with West Ham," said O'Brien, who replaced Damien Duff as manager in June"He's an exciting player to watch, really positive in how he plays the game."Now he's ready to kick on with the next stage of his career, and we're delighted he's put his trust in us."
