SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division
FIXTURES
Saturday, 9 March
Shelbourne v Sligo Rovers, Tolka Park, 2pm
DLR Waves v Shamrock Rovers, UCD Bowl, 3pm
Cork City v Peamount United, Turners Cross, 5pm
Wexford Youths v Bohemians, Ferrycarrig Park, 6pm
Athlone Town v Galway United, Athlon Town Stadium, 7.30pm
RADIO
Updates on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
ONLINE
Results and round-up on rte.ie/sport
WEATHER
Mostly cloudy with scattered outbreaks of rain and drizzle, most frequent in the east and south. Some mist about also Highest temperatures of 6 to 9 degrees in moderate to fresh east to northeast winds. Unusually high tides will bring the possibility of coastal flooding for all coasts.
Former Republic of Ireland international Méabh De Búrca previewed the new season on this week's podcast
Shelbourne v Sligo Rovers
A Shelbourne team with a new voice on the sideline will get the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division season underway when they welcome Sligo Rovers for a 2pm kick-off.
Former West Ham, Bohemians and Sligo midfielder Eoin Wearan succeeds Noel King, who had guided Shels to back-to-back league titles in 2021 and 2022, the latter of those a double.
Wearan's challenge will be to give impetus to a side that lost last November FAI Cup final to Athlone Town on penalties.
On-pitch general Pearl Slattery, Rachel Graham and Noelle Murray - all 34 going into the new campaign - provide an experienced spine to the team.
Visitors Sligo are going into their third season as a senior club and have previously proved competitive with eighth and ninth place finishes.
New manager Tommy Hewitt, who ended a memorable spell in charge of Athlone midway through last season, has the challenge of trying to push the Bit o' Red higher into mid-table contention, with Leitrim's Muireann Devaney, one of his former players in the midlands, among the new arrivals.
DLR Waves v Shamrock Rovers
Before last season kicked off, Shamrock Rovers manager Collie O'Neill was fairly categorical that a title push would be premature for a club returning to women's senior soccer for the first time in nine years, in spite of high-profile signings like long-time former Republic of Ireland internationals Áine O'Gorman and Stephanie Roche as well as 2023 World Cup squad member Abbie Larkin.
The latter has since moved on to the UK but there will be some expectation that the Hoops will be in the running for the summit as 2024 progresses with largely the same core of the squad from last season.
As for DLR Waves, this will be their first full season for manager Laura Heffernan who will be keen to ensure that Saturday's 3pm hosts avoid the eight-game losing run they finished 2023 with, albeit with seven of those defeats coming against higher-placed sides.
Cork City v Peamount United
It's the champions against the side which finished bottom last season at Turner's Cross. Peamount lost key players going into 2023 but emerged champions by a healthy six-point advantage over Shelbourne and have a mix of youth and experience, exemplified by teenage Ireland international Erin McLaughlin and Karen Duggan respectively.
They did suffer a setback by losing the curtain-raising President's Cup to Athlone Town 3-0 last Saturday but nonetheless, former Republic of Ireland defender Méabh De Búrca still expects the Peas to be the team to catch as she told this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast: "That wouldn't have been what they were expecting but they have kept the majority of their players and they have three young internationals like Erin McLaughlin, Freya Healy and Ellen Dolan who I think are going to come into their own this season, and they also have Sean Byrne brought in as assistant from Bohs so he should bring a lot of experience too and different elements to the coaching staff there."
James O'Callaghan's side will be confident of making a fast start against a Cork side that could only muster one league win last year and had a goal difference of minus-43.
Cork were plum last in 2023 and have not been out of the bottom two since a fourth-place finish in 2020.
Wexford v Bohemians
Wexford underachieved last year by their lofty standards, the 2021 cup winners languishing down in seventh, losing (8) as many games as they won despite strong attacking options in the shape of captain Kylie Murphy, Rianna Jarrett and Erin Corbet.
Ireland international Ellen Molloy's return from a season-ending ACL injury will be a big boost for the club under new manager Hugh Strong with their main challenge of returning to contention at the right end of the table.
Bohs finished just above them in the standings in 2023 but that was mainly down to a strong start to the campaign before they fell away.
Ken Kiernan, an assistant at Athlone last season alongside Ciaran Kilduff, will hope to bring some cup-winning pedigree to Bohs, who signed Tiegan Ruddy and Alannah McEvoy from Shamrock Rovers in the off-season.
Athlone Town v Galway United
One team coming into the new season with a pep in their step will be Athlone and not just for their FAI Cup-winning exploits.
Last week, they added the President's Cup to their new-found collection of silverware.
But Ciaran Kilduff, who took over as Athlone manager midway through last season, will hope that they can carry that winning spirit into the league where they ended up off the pace in fifth, three places lower than their landmark runner-up finish from 2022.
Chloe Singleton and Madison Gibson remain crucial to the midlanders' hopes.
Galway United, meanwhile, made a step forward in 2023 by finishing fourth, although with 29 goals they were among the lowest scorers in upper echelons of the table.
They also clinched the inaugural Avenir Sports All-Island Cup during the World Cup break and will be looking to build on last year's sense of progress.
The odd one out for the 11-team league's opening weekend will be Treaty United who get their campaign underway next Saturday against DLR Waves.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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