Nicholl ‘pleased’ with season

COLERAINE Ladies cemented a fourth place finish in the NIFWA Division One table with a comprehensive victory against Crewe Ladies…

Alison Nicholl’s side only needed a point to finish 4^th but they bagged all three in fine style as they ran out 12-0 winners against their visitors.

Abby Alexander caught the eye with five goals and Nicholl explained that her troops showed their attacking intent from the first whistle.

“We needed a draw to finish in fourth spot behind Larne, Ballymacash and Foyle Belles,” Alison said.

“It has been a tough season for us in terms of getting a consistent team out on the pitch and we had a few missing against Crewe, including our ‘keeper Cerys Sharkey who has a broken toe as well as a few others with holidays.

“Being our last game, we rallied and got everyone on the pitch before starting really well as we took the game to Crewe and pressed them in their own half.

“In the first-half, we actually scored ten goals against them with Abby Alexander getting four, myself getting three, Rachel Madden scoring twice and Shairee McVey netting from a corner.

“We had a 10-0 lead at half-time and we took our foot off the pedal in the second-half, although Crewe only created one chance throughout the game.

“Abby and I also netted in the second-half to make it 12-0 the final score. To be fair to Crewe, they were very sporting as I know they have struggled to fulfil fixtures.”

Nicholl reflected on the season as a whole and knows Division One will be even more competitive next year with Lisburn Rangers and Carnmoney joining the fray.

“It has been a tough season in Division One but we are pleased to have finished fourth in the table behind the experienced clubs like Larne, Ballymacash and Foyle,” she added.

“It’s been a season to consolidate as we have lost a few players to nearby clubs in the area but we have managed to bring through some young players like Cerys Sharkey and Storm Ballantyne who are only 14-years-old.

“We are hopeful of adding to our squad next season and we have a couple of girls who are extremely interested.

“Next year is going to be even tougher as we have Lisburn Rangers and Carmoney in our division. Lisburn Rangers is a team full of internationals, with Carnmoney also having a full internationals and a talented squad.

“We are quite pleased to finish fourth in a tough division, it was a learning curve for us and we have formed a really good team bond.

“We will start our pre-season again in January and continue our five-a-sides on a Friday night.”