Willow women secure league title with game to spare

Willow Park clinched the Combined Counties Football League Women's Division A title last Sunday with a 5-0 home victory over Mullingar Athletic.

Holly Carrig Cassidy scored four goals for Willow, with Rachel Emerson contributing the other, in last weekend's victory on home soil.

The emphatic win over Mullingar - combined with Killeigh drawing with Shiven Rovers - saw the league title decided earlier than anticipated, with Willow crowned champions before the month of January had ended.

Willow Park team manager Jenny Madden is naturally delighted with the league success, and she praised all the players for their efforts in the 2021-2022 season so far.

"We're delighted. We weren't expecting to win the league last weekend but another result went our away, so mathematically we can't be caught even if we lose our last game," said Jenny, who stands out as a rare example of a female manager in the CCFL.

"We got our games played off early while some of the other teams still have two or three games left. I suppose the weather hasn't been bad and also the cup competition hasn't started yet which has allowed the league games to continue," she continued.

Incidentally, Willow's only defeat this season came at the hands of Mullingar Athletic earlier in the season (2-0), on a day when the Athlone side was understrength. However, they reversed that result in resounding fashion last weekend.

Willow's last game is against Killeigh and while the result won't be of any real consequence, the fixture will see the Athlone side receive the trophy.

Now Willow will be eyeing the double and considering their form this season, they will be fancied by many observers to add the cup to the trophy cabinet.

"We're very hopeful that we can win the cup later in the season," said Jenny.

Sharon Mannion and Aoife Gill (who was injured for the Mullingar game) have been with the club since it was formed six years ago, while this year's team is captained by Anna Grant.

Willow have also been boosted by some new signings this season, including Ashley Hellenbrand from the United States of America.

And the goalscoring form of the aforementioned Carrig Cassidy has obviously been crucial.

"Holly has scored 25 goals this season, so she is a prolific goalscorer," said Jenny. "She played with Athlone Town at underage level and also with Lucan. She's just 20 years of age and is a talented young player."

Jenny revealed that Longford native Holly will be embarking on an exciting scholarship opportunity in the USA in the coming months. For the moment, however, Willow are happy to be able to call on her talents.

Madden and many of the Willow Park squad are planning to travel to London this weekend for the English Women's Super League match between Arsenal and Manchester United and, no doubt, there will be a celebratory mood in the camp for the trip.

Willow Park squad: Niamh Egan, Roisin McNamara, Ciara Dunne, Anna Grant (captain), Ashley Hellenbrand, Erin Pender, Rachel Emerson, Sharon Mannion, Yasmin Rodgers, Dara Hughes, Holly Carrig Cassidy, Aoife Gill, Shania Ward, Aoife Connolly, Rhiannon Whyte Stewart, Siva Malassou, Shannon Reed.