SOCCER: WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE
European Action This Week For Monasterevin’s Lauren Kelly
By Daire Walsh
IT promises to be an exciting few days in the Netherlands for Monasterevin native Lauren Kelly as she looks to aid the cause of Peamount United in a brace of UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifiers.
At the Sportcampus Diekman in Enschede Wednesday morning (kick-off 11am Irish time), the Dublin club will face Spartak Subotica of Serbia in a Tournament 9 semi-final.
Should they come out on the right side of the result in this encounter, they will face the winners of the other semi between host side Twente and Georgia’s Tbilisi Nike in a tournament decider on Saturday. While the Women’s National League title holders will be desperate to avoid defeat against Subotica, that would still see them entering a third place play-off with the loser of tomorrow’s other clash.
From Kelly’s point of view, the guarantee of two competitive Champions League game was a significant factor behind her recent return to Peamount.
“It was obviously an attraction. I wouldn’t say it was the main pull or anything, but it does help. It does entice you a bit. It’s exciting and something to look forward to. Especially after the last few months and even last season. We haven’t gotten much football. We were lucky enough that we didn’t stop completely,” Kelly explained in advance of tomorrow’s game.
“At the same time, things were a bit all over the place. It’s good to get some football in. Get to travel and compete in Europe. It’s better than last year’s set-up. There was the one game last year [when Peamount lost to Glasgow City on penalties]. This year we’ve got a couple of games to play, so it’s good.”
Having come through the underage ranks at the Newcastle-based Peamount, Kelly subsequently moved to Wexford Youths.
However, she is now back for a second spell at PRL Park and forced her way into the starting line-up for their convincing league win over Galway WFC last Saturday week (August 7). Having gone through a difficult period with Wexford, she jumped at the chance to rejoin the domestic title holders.
“I think I just wanted to get back and enjoying football. I had gone through a phase there where things were a bit tough and I wasn’t really enjoying it. I didn’t want to completely fall out of love with football or turn myself off it. I needed a change. I went to Peamount when I was 10, it was my first club.
“I played with the boys in Kildare and I went to Peamount then when I was 10. That was my first girls’ team. I stayed there until I was 18 or 19. I feel like it’s my childhood club. It was the only option really for me. I wouldn’t have considered anywhere else. You want competitive football so for me it was sticking with a team that’s going to be competing. It was Peamount for me.”
Although she is content with where she is now in her playing career – like most, she has aspirations to push on for senior international honours having previously featured for Ireland at underage level – Kelly has sporting interests that extend beyond the world of soccer.
Before concentrating solely on her commitments with Wexford Youths, she briefly featured for the Kildare senior ladies footballers during the 2019 inter-county season. Indeed, Kelly was an interested spectator in Parnell Park last Sunday as the Lilywhites bowed out to Westmeath in agonising fashion at the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland intermediate football championship.
Interestingly, one of the Lake County’s biggest threats was posed by her Peamount United team-mate Lucy McCartan. The St Loman’s attacker currently juggles both codes and was on Monday’s flight to the Netherlands for the her soccer club’s Champions League odyssey.
While striking a balance between the two proved difficult for Kelly, she doesn’t rule out the prospect of representing Kildare again at some point.
“There’s a few of the girls doing both. I don’t know how they manage that, to be honest. That time when I was playing both, I was training seven days a week. It was a bit much. I had done a good bit in football and I had won so much, but I had never won anything with Kildare. That was what made me want to go back and play for Kildare,” Kelly added.
“I spent so much time away from Kildare with teams in Dublin and obviously in Wexford. I wanted to be more at home and win something for Kildare. It was short-lived because I only played two games and then I went back playing for Wexford. Maybe in a few years, when I’m easing myself out of football or something else comes up. It would be something I’d be interested in,” she concluded.