St Francis Ladies Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Baldonnel, County Dublin. It is the women's section of St Francis F.C. They have entered teams in both the FAI Women's Cup and the Dublin Women's Soccer League. They also represented the Republic of Ireland in the 2009–10 and 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions Leagues. www.uefa.com
History In 2008 and 2009 with a squad that included Mary Waldron, Grainne Kierans and Megan Campbell, St Francis won two successive FAI Women's Cup/Dublin Women's Soccer League doubles. In the 2008 FAI Women's Cup final, Waldron hit an injury–time winner from the penalty spot as St Francis beat Peamount United 2–1 at Richmond Park. In the 2009 FAI Women's Cup final St Francis defeated St Catherine's 1–0. They also retained the Dublin Women's Soccer League title and won the 2009 DWSL Premier Cup. 2009 FAI Women's Cup, Rsssf
St Francis in Europe
2009–10 UEFA Women's Champions League After winning the 2008 FAI Women's Cup, St Francis qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Women's Champions League. All of the group matches were played in Cyprus at the Tsirion Stadium and the Pafiako Stadium. St Francis lost all three matches in the tournament. Veteran Republic of Ireland, international Grainne Kierans highlighted the gap in funding with their opponents. Kierans observed that "one of the teams had a budget of €700,000 to €1 million, whereas we had to raise the money ourselves to go there". www.independent.ie
Group F TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts Rossiyanka 3 3 0 0 19 0 +19 9 Apollon Limassol 3 2 0 1 6 1 +5 6 Maccabi Holon 3 1 0 2 2 11 −9 3 St Francis 3 0 0 3 0 15 −15 0 30 July 2009Rossiyanka11–0St Francis1 August 2009St Francis0–2Maccabi Holon4 August 2009St Francis0–2Apollon
2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League After winning the 2009 FAI Women's Cup, St Francis qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League. Their group matches were played in Croatia at the Stadion Gradski vrt and at the Stadion HNK Cibalia. St Francis' squad included among others, Megan Campbell, Kelly Jones and Cheryl Foster. The latter two were both on loan from Liverpool L.F.C. After winning their opening game 4–1 against 1º Dezembro, St Francis lost their second game 9–0 to Rossiyanka. However St Francis secured second place in the tournament with a 5–3 win against the hosts, Osijek, despite being 3–0 down at half-time. St. Francis secure first win in UEFA Womens Champions League www.rte.ie www.fai.ie St Francis Overhaul Three-Goal Deficit 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League, Rsssf
Group 6 TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts Rossiyanka 3 3 0 0 18 1 +17 9 St Francis 3 2 0 1 9 13 −4 6 1º Dezembro 3 1 0 2 6 9 −3 3 Osijek 3 0 0 3 4 14 −10 0 5 August 20101º Dezembro1–4St Francis7 August 2010Rossiyanka9–0St Francis10 August 2010St Francis5–3Osijek
Notable former players
Republic of Ireland women's internationals Megan Campbell Sonya Hughes Grainne Kierans Katie McCabe Grace Murray Mary Waldron
Wales women's internationals Cheryl Foster
Honours FAI Women's Cup Winners: 2008, 2009: 2 Dublin Women's Soccer League Winners: 2008, 2009: 2 DWSL Premier Cup Winners: 2009: 1
References