Women’s National League
Saturday March 5 2022
Tolka Park, 2pm
Streaming free on LOITV
Bohemians face the toughest possible start to the 2022 WNL season away to champions Shelbourne this afternoon but they are not daunted by the challenge and are excited by what may lie ahead this year.
Ciara Maher is one of several new arrivals at Dalymount Park as Bohs look to build on last season’s sixth-placed finish.
A good passer of the ball and comfortable as both a defensive midfielder and as an attacking one, Maher, who arrived after three seasons with DLR Waves, says her team-mates are raring to go.
She said: “It is a tough start. We are facing the champions who have been a settled team now for a number of years. They haven’t brought many players in and haven’t lost many either.
“We on the other hand have a lot of new players, so naturally it will take us a while to gel fully. But pre-season has been great and we all can’t wait to get started.”
Another big step forward for women’s football at Bohemians was the confirmation over the closed season that all home WNL games will be hosted at Dalymount Park this year.
Maher said: “It is brilliant. You just cannot compare playing in the Oscar Traynor to playing at Dalymount.
“It is a sign of progression of women’s football in Ireland now that stadiums like Dalymount Park, Turner’s Cross and Tolka Park are hosting WNL games.
“It shows clubs are taking the women’s game seriously and it will mean a lot for young girls coming through that they can aspire to play in these stadiums just like the boys do.
“We can’t wait to play in Dalymount. You see the atmosphere at the men’s games and the crowds they bring in.
“We know we are not going to get crowds like that overnight but it is something we can aim for.
“There is definitely great support already from fans of the club. We’ve seen it on social media and on the messages we have received on social media too, so we hope that they get behind us in Dalymount too.”
