Noel King has a long history with Irish soccer, but Sunday marks the first time he will be involved with the EVOKE.ie FAI Women’s Cup.
A winner of the men’s edition in 1975 and again in 1985, the experienced coach is fresh from Shelbourne’s remarkable league title win in his first season as manager.
Cup finals always bring drama but the 65-year-old has already experienced plenty following a final day in which Peamount United shipped five answered goals after holding a 2-0 lead to Galway to allow Shels to slip in and secure the title.
‘[Cup finals] are what everyone looks forward to,’ King said ahead of the EVOKE.ie FAI Women’s Cup showdown with Wexford Youths on Sunday.
‘This drama [last] weekend has surpassed it; it’s something really rarely seen, if ever. The circumstances that occurred from minute to minute — everyone was hyped up.
‘We knew, and everybody knew, that Peamount were getting beaten. So when it went 4-2, they were never coming back from that.
‘We had been winning 3-0. Then 3-1, then 3-2. And now you thinking “oh no this is the worst thing that can ever happen”. It’s the longest two minutes of injury time that was played ever. Even though it wasn’t, it seemed to me and everybody. Just one long ball, one freaky goal, and everything that had shifted into our hands was gone.’
‘When we settled down, and got to think back over it, it’s still mystifying. How it happened, I’ll never know.
‘The feeling that occurred within the group is immense. It was a buzz that I seldom experienced before. It’s just amazing.’
The state of women’s football in Ireland had shifted radically since King departed from his role as Ireland senior women’s manager in 2010.
The veteran coach was part of the push to get a national women’s league set up in the country, something which didn’t come together until a year after he left.
‘It was pretty evident that we needed to [start the Women’s National League],’ he continued. ‘So now it’s great to be involved and winning one.
‘The level is growing all the time. It’s actually extraordinary the way it has taken off. It’s serious, the girls train properly, their conditioning, their food… all that stuff is being monitored.’
‘It’s a different world. The level and the talent that’s coming up is certainly much better. We did have a few stars in the past, really top class but not enough of them. There’s more quality players now.
‘Their understanding of the game is increasing, as it is myself. And the game is constantly changing so they’re up to speed with most things. They want to get better. Wexford, Galway, Shelbourne, Peamount… everybody is aspiring to do better things and that can only help.’
King has called for further progress, especially when it comes to European places at domestic level. Shels are heading to next year’s Champions League after claiming the league title, but there’s only one European spot on offer in Ireland.
With no relegation in the Women’s National League, there can often be little for teams to play for at the end of the season without the potential of European football.
‘You’d like to think that as the game progresses that women’s league — and they need to in order to attract sponsors and interest — that they will have more than one position in Europe,’ King continued.
‘The men had more places even before the [Europa Conference League] came into place.
‘If you have only one, and Peamount have been dominant over the last few years, it’s very difficult for other people to say “yeah we can catch them”. I would’ve been unhappy that there’s only one European place.’
The former Ireland under-21 manager is ‘delighted’ to be involved in Sunday’s showpiece and has been greatly enjoying a return day-to-day management after decades of working in the FAI.
‘One of the hassles of international football, as anyone will tell you, is that you don’t get [access] to your group,’ he added.
‘You don’t know who you have until you meet up, some players are held back by their club, there’s a lot of different anomalies that go on, whereas in club football, you have them everyday of the week.
‘And you can train every day, and you can contact them whenever you want. And you can implement things to the way you want to play.
‘[This is] something I’m looking forward to and I’m delighted to be involved in. Hopefully we can go on and win it.’
Discussion about this post