After the busiest year of their footballing lives the Republic of Ireland’s foreign-based players can put their feet up for a bit after their final league games of 2023 at the weekend. And among those who will go into 2024 with a spring in their step are Leanne Kiernan, Amber Barrett and the Irish crew at Birmingham City.
Kiernan was the only Irish WSL player to finish up on the winning side at the weekend, coming on as a late substitute for Liverpool in their 2-1 win away to Manchester United. But it was an encouraging week for the 24-year-old who made her first start after an injury-ravaged 15 months in last Wednesday’s League Cup win over Everton.
As she told Liverpool’s website last week, she had “seven setbacks” on her road to recovery from the ankle injury she sustained in September 2022, all of which made her rehabilitation “mentally draining”, her manager Matt Beard easing her back into action since her return.
Barrett’s had her tough times this year too, not least being dropped from the Irish squad last time around, but she’s been in fine form for Standard Liege of late, scoring her fifth goal in three games on Friday in their 2-0 win at Charleroi. That form earned her the Belgian Super League player of the month award, and helped her club stay second in the title chase.
Back in England there was no joy for Arsenal, Everton and Bristol City’s Irish players, with defeats by Spurs, Manchester City and Chelsea respectively. However, West Ham, for whom Megan Walsh and Jess Ziu started, rescued a point with a 98th minute equaliser against Leicester City, 18-year-old Jessie Stapleton coming on in injury time to make her WSL debut.
In the Championship Lily Agg marked her 30th birthday with Birmingham’s opener in a 3-0 win against Sunderland, Louise Quinn, Jamie Finn and Lucy Quinn all starting in the game too. It was the side’s sixth win in a row, having won just one of their opening six games, and sent them top of the table.
The performance of the weekend came from London City Lionesses, where Ruesha Littlejohn, Grace Moloney and Niamh Farrelly play their football, at the end of a momentous week. On Friday it was announced that American businesswoman Michele Kang had bought the club, adding to a portfolio that already includes Washington Spirit and Olympique Lyonnais, and intends investing to ensure they make it to the WSL.
That is highly unlikely to happen this season – they’re 11 points behind Birmingham – but they showed no little fight on Sunday. They were 3-0 down away to Watford after just seven minutes yet nicked a point with an equaliser in injury time.
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