THIS PAST YEAR has been by far the most successful in Wexford Youths’s relatively short history.
Founded as recently as 2007, Shane Keegan’s senior men were crowned champions of the SSE Airtricity League First Division and with it earned promotion to the top flight for the very first time.
But their achievements are dwarfed by the success of their female counterparts.
Back in March, Youths clinched the Women’s National League title with victory over 2013 and 2014 winners Raheny United.
That triumph earned them a maiden voyage in the Champions League qualifying group stage, where they acquitted themselves well with one win and two defeats.
Today, Will Doyle’s team will experience another first as they take on Shelbourne in the Women’s FAI Cup final at the Aviva Stadium (12.30pm).
“The girls getting the chance to play at the Aviva Stadium is a massive thing for the club, let alone the fact that it is the club’s first FAI Cup final,” Doyle told The42 at this week’s media event.
“It’s a massive achievement from our point of view and we are delighted to be here.
“There was a five-year plan put in place when the club started. John Flood took it through the first three years before I stepped in to try take it to the next level.
“Luckily enough, the foundations were put in place, which built into what has now developed into a team that is competing for the WNL hopefully on a season-by-season basis going forward.”
Youths defender Edel Kennedy, a former Gaelic footballer with Wicklow, has been at the club from the start and can hardly believe just how much they have come along.
“We were a brand new club and the progression has been brilliant,” says Kennedy.
“We didn’t know what to expect coming into the league but every year it has just got better and better.
“The FAI Cup is the only one we haven’t win so we will try our best for get our hands on it. We may be underdogs, but we don’t mind either way as things like that don’t affect us.
“Cup final or no cup final, we will play out of our skins on the day.”
Doyle adds that his girls have led the way for others at the club to follow.
“The men’s section did absolutely brilliant this year and Shane has really pushed them on. Winning promotion to the Premier Division is massive for the club and everyone has worked together to build that.
The girls set the standard that the lads had to go and try attain. When we started winning things it was up to them to go and follow suit and to be fair, they have been successful in doing that.”
There is a sizeable gulf between the WNL’s top teams and the rest of the league at present, which can often result in extremely one-sided scorelines.
Doyle is optimistic that the gap will close in the coming years but clubs must look beyond a “quick fix”.
“It’s a long-term thing,” he said. “Don’t look at tomorrow or next week but the seasons ahead. That’s what we did in Wexford to try get to this level.
“We knew results wouldn’t be great in the first couple of years and we would have to compete to get into the mid-table then to where we are.
“That’s the way every club has got to approach it. Don’t go looking for the quick fix but what can you put in place in the long-term to make sure you have a team there to compete at the highest level in years to come.”
As well as claiming the three points, Wexford were handed a timely boost in their WNL opener against Peamount United (which they won 9-0) as Rianna Jarrett and Jessica Gleeson returned to action after lengthy lay-offs.
It has been a particularly long road back for forward Jarrett, who has missed the best part of two years after suffering a second ACL injury while on international duty for Ireland back in January.
She came off the bench to twice and put herself in contention to feature today.
“We were delighted to get Rianna and Jessica back on the pitch against Peamount. It was good to give them a run-out and we’ve certainly got competition for places.”
