2020 Women's National League (Ireland)

The 2020 Women's National League was the 10th season of the Women's National League, the highest women's association football league in the Republic of Ireland.

Women's National League

Season	2020
Dates	8 August 2020 – 5 December 2020
Champions	Peamount United 3rd WNL title
Champions League	Peamount United
Matches played	52
Goals scored	189 (3.63 per match)
Top goalscorer	Áine O'Gorman (14 goals)
Biggest home win	Peamount United 8–0 Athlone Town (29 August 2020)
Biggest away win	Treaty United 0–7 Shelbourne (10 October 2020)
Highest scoring	Bohemians 4–5 Treaty United (31 October 2020)
← 2019 2021 →

The League lacked a title sponsor, as the Só Hotel Group did not renew their agreement from the previous season.^[1] Barretstown were announced as a "charity partner" on 24 July 2020.^[2] Expansion teams Athlone Town and Bohemians competed for the first time.^[3][4]

Following the financial collapse of Limerick F.C., they were replaced by a new team, Treaty United.^[5] Kilkenny United were excluded for a variety of reasons, including that they had not bonded with the local league, they had changed venues for home games, did not train in Kilkenny, lacked a qualified manager, and had produced poor results (just seven points in the last three seasons combined [60 matches]).^[6]

Originally scheduled to kick off on 15 March, the season's opening was delayed, initially to late June by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[7][8] A reduced season eventually kicked-off in August 2020.^[9] The WNL Cup was deferred for the season,^[10] but the 2020 FAI Women's Cup was effectively a League Cup, with the nine Women's National League clubs the only participants.^[11]

On 21 November 2020, Peamount United won their second consecutive title and third overall after a 3–1 win over Shelbourne.^[12]

Teams

Cork City

Galway

Bohemians

Peamount United

Shelbourne

DLR Waves

Wexford Youths

Athlone Town

Treaty United

Team	Home town/suburb	Stadium	2019 finish
Athlone Town	Athlone	Athlone Town Stadium	n/a
Bohemians	Dublin (Coolock)	Oscar Traynor Centre	n/a
Cork City	Cork	Bishopstown Stadium	5th
Galway	Galway	Eamonn Deacy Park	4th
Treaty United	Limerick	Markets Field	n/a
Peamount United	Newcastle, South Dublin	Greenogue	1st
Shelbourne	Dublin (Drumcondra)	Tolka Park	2nd
DLR Waves	Dún Laoghaire	Jackson Park	6th
Wexford Youths	Crossabeg	Ferrycarrig Park	3rd

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Athlone Town	Tommy Hewitt	Paula Doran	Nike	Palfinger
Bohemians	Sean Byrne	Sinead O’Farrelly	O'Neills	ICHH - Inner City Helping Homeless
Cork City	Ronán Collins	Katie McCarthy	Adidas
DLR Waves	Graham Kelly	Catherine Cronin	Jako	Eversheds Sutherland
Galway	Billy Clery	Keara Cormican	Uhlsport	Só Hotels
Peamount United	James O’Callaghan	Áine O'Gorman	O'Neills	Texaco Newcastle Service Station
Shelbourne	Dave Bell	Pearl Slattery	Umbro	FlyeFit
Treaty United	Dave Rooney	Marie Curtin	Umbro	Ei Electronics
Wexford Youths	Tom Elmes	Kylie Murphy	Jako	Energia

Format

In the initial phase of the season, the nine teams played a round-robin tournament whereby each team played each one of the other teams once.^[13] After eight games, the league split into two sections of five and four teams, with each team playing every other team in their section once.^[14]

League table

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation[a]
1	Peamount United (C)	12	11	0	1	40	9	+31	33	Qualification for the Champions League first round
2	Shelbourne	12	9	1	2	37	15	+22	28
3	Wexford Youths	12	7	1	4	27	16	+11	22
4	Cork City	12	6	1	5	21	25	−4	19
5	Galway	12	4	2	6	15	20	−5	14
6	DLR Waves	11	2	4	5	12	13	−1	10
7	Athlone Town	11	3	1	7	9	27	−18	10
8	Treaty United	11	3	0	8	16	37	−21	9
9	Bohemians	11	1	2	8	12	27	−15	5

Updated to match(es) played on 5 December 2020. Source: FAI Women’s National League, Soccerway, Extratime.com
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. Teams play each other once (eight matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top five and the bottom four).

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Athlone Town	7	6	6	8	9	7	7	9	8	8	7	—
Bohemians	8	9	9	9	8	9	9	8	9	9	9	—
Cork City	6	7	7	7	7	5	4	4	4	4	4	4
DLR Waves	5	5	5	6	6	8	8	7	6	7	6	—
Galway	4	4	2	3	3	4	5	5	5	5	5	5
Peamount United	1	1	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1
Shelbourne	2	3	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2
Treaty United	9	8	8	5	5	6	6	6	7	6	8	—
Wexford Youths	3	2	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

Source: Extratime.com
  = Leader and UEFA Women's Champions League;   = Second;   = Third

Results

Matches 1–8

Teams play each other once.

Home \ Away	ATH	BOH	COR	DLR	GAL	PEA	SHE	TRE	WEX
Athlone Town	—	—	—	1–4	—	—	0–3	3–2	0–1
Bohemians	1–0	—	3–4	—	1–4	0–3	—	—	—
Cork City	2–0	—	—	2–1	1–2	0–3	—	—	—
DLR Waves	—	0–0	—	—	—	—	1–2	0–2	0–2
Galway	3–0	—	—	1–1	—	—	1–1	1–0	—
Peamount United	8–0	—	—	3–2	2–1	—	—	5–0	—
Shelbourne	—	3–0	3–1	—	—	1–5	—	—	2–1
Treaty United	—	2–1	2–5	—	—	—	0–7	—	1–5
Wexford	—	4–1	1–2	—	3–1	3–0	—	—	—

Source: Extratime.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 9–11/12

After eight matches, the league split into two sections i.e. the top five and the bottom four, with the teams playing every other team in their section once (either at home or away). The exact matches were determined by the position of the teams in the league table at the time of the split.

Group one Home \ Away COR GAL PEA SHE WEX Cork City — 2–1 — — 2–2 Galway — — 0–2 — 0–2 Peamount United 3–0 — — 3–1 — Shelbourne 4–0 5–0 — — — Wexford — — 1–2 2–5 — Source: Extratime.com Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Group two Home \ Away ATH BOH DLR TRE Athlone Town — 2–1 — — Bohemians — — 0–0 4–5 DLR Waves 0–0 — — — Treaty United 2–3 — 0–3 — Source: Extratime.com Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[15]
1	Áine O'Gorman	Peamount United	14
2	Eleanor Ryan Doyle	Peamount United	10
3	Ellen Molloy	Wexford Youths	8
4	Aoife Horgan	Treaty United	6
	Lynsey McKey	Galway
	Saoirse Noonan	Cork City
7	Noelle Murray	Shelbourne	5
	Aoife Thompson	Galway
	Ciara Grant	Shelbourne
	Jessica Ziu	Shelbourne
	Emily Whelan	Shelbourne
	Stephanie Roche	Peamount United

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Player of the Month		References
	Player	Club
August	Ellen Molloy	Wexford Youths	[16]
September	Saoirse Noonan	Cork City	[17]
October	Jessica Ziu	Shelbourne	[18]
November	Karen Duggan	Peamount United	[19]

Annual awards

^[20]

Award	Winner	Club
WNL Player of the Year	Karen Duggan	Peamount United
Young Player of the Year	Ellen Molloy	Wexford Youths
Services to the Women's National League	Michael Hayes

WNL Team of the Year
Goalkeeper	Eve Badana (DLR Waves)
Defenders	Niamh Farrelly (Peamount United)			Pearl Slattery (Shelbourne)			Claire Walsh (Peamount United)			Shauna Brennan (Galway)
Midfielders	Ellen Molloy (Wexford Youths)				Karen Duggan (Peamount United)				Jessica Ziu (Shelbourne)
Forwards	Áine O'Gorman (Peamount United)				Eleanor Ryan-Doyle (Peamount United)				Saoirse Noonan (Cork City)

Broadcasting

The title-deciding match between Peamount United and Shelbourne on 21 November 2020 was streamed live by the Football Association of Ireland on their FAI TV YouTube channel.^[21] The annual awards ceremony was televised live on Eir Sport 1.^[20]

See also

• 2020 FAI Women's Cup