Page 5 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.14 2020-21

Alfie Wylie’s Northern Ireland Under-19 side started preparations for their own Women’s
Euro qualifiers later this year with a training camp.
Former Northern Ireland captain Aaron Hughes, who is the Irish FA’s new Elite
Football Development Consultant, joined Wylie and his backroom team, including Noel
Mitchell and Lynn Carroll, at the five-day camp.
A new format has been introduced for WU19 and WU17 Euro qualifiers which replaces
the old qualifying and elite rounds. The competition still features one-venue mini-
tournaments but now includes two leagues (A and B) with promotion and relegation leading
to the 2022 finals.
Northern Ireland’s WU19s have been drawn in Group A5 with Switzerland, England
and Republic of Ireland, with the games taking place in October.
“The hard work starts now,” said Wylie. “Those games will be upon us in no time at all
and the opposition is fairly formidable. We are in the first division of qualifying so we need
to be at the very top of our game.
“As ever we’ve given focus to our squad development off the pitch as well as on it and
have engaged with the likes of Hockey Ireland and the GAA to take some good practice
elements from those sports to see if we can transfer anything over.”
The camp, which took place at the Newforge complex in south Belfast, allowed former
Northern Ireland defender Hughes to share his expertise.
“I have known Aaron for many years and I knew exactly what he could bring to a camp
like this. It gave him a chance to develop his coaching skills and the players a chance to be
mentored by a modern day Northern Ireland great,” said Wylie.
The WU19s coach also revealed he emphasised to the players taking part in the camp
that the current senior women’s team squad features several players who were part of the U19
set up within the past few years.
“The players recognise there is a pathway to the senior team and that the U19 level is
the final step before the seniors. They know that if they perform well they have a good chance
of earning a call-up to the senior panel,” he said.
UEFA’s WU19 competition returns after the 2019-20 and 2020-21 editions were
cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Czech Republic will host the WU19 European
Championship finals next year.
Northern Ireland’s WU19 squad will meet up again in June at a training camp to
continue preparations for their Euro qualifiers this autumn.
(www.irishfa.com)

CHAMPIONSHIP P W D L F A Pts GD
LEICESTER CITY 18 15 2 1 50 15 47 35
DURHAM WFC 18 11 6 1 26 12 39 14 LEADING SCORERS
22
SHEFFIELD UTD 18 10 5 3 35 13 35 Katie WILKINSON Sheffield Utd 18
LIVERPOOL 18 10 5 3 34 13 35 Nat Leicester City 16
21asha FLINT
LEWES 18 7 4 7 17 20 25 Bianca BAPTISTE Crystal Palace 8
-3
LONDON CITY LIONESSES 19 6 5 8 17 17 23 Bet 0h HEPPLE Durham Women 8
-9
BLACKBURN ROVERS 18 4 6 8 17 26 18 Lachante PAUL Leicester City 6
CRYSTAL PALACE 18 4 5 9 23 30 17 Emily ROBERTS Durham Women 6
-7
CHARLTON ATHLETIC 18 3 7 8 17 24 16 -7
COVENTRY UTD 18 4 1 13 15 42 13 -27
LONDON BEES 19 2 2 15 11 50 8 -39
Issue no. 14 - 22 April 2021 news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk