FC Irlande Ladies 1

This past weekend Ladies 1 travelled to the depths of the Belgian Ardennes to face newcomers to D2, Beauraing. After a quick lunch stop at Dinant, debating whether pizza is a good pre-game food choice and taking in the views with a nice walk, the ladies arrived ready to grab 3 points. The stellar starting 11 got dangerous from the beginning, with Làra having the first opportunity of the match a few minutes into the game. While the first half ended 0-0, the ladies knew they hadn’t travelled 118km for nothing. They came out fresh and ready to take on the second half, and clearly out played Beauraing with spotless control of the game in defense and midfield, great runs and crosses from the sides, and dangerous attacks that inevitably gave the greens not one, nor two but THREE beautiful goals. Alba gave us the lead right in the beginning of the second half, followed by Sacha and Làra soon after. The ladies might have followed with the celebration of the three points and the first clean sheet of the season with a few beers at the Funky Monkey and are said to have been spotted dancing on top of tables at some bird-named tavern until early hours.

We can’t end this report without giving a special mention to Nikki, who was our inspiration for the win this weekend and to whom we wish the speediest recovery.

Our unbeaten home streak in 2025 has sadly officially ended with a 0-2 loss. An unlucky penalty in the first half gave the visitors the lead, and they sealed the win with another goal in the second half. We struggled to break through offensively, managing only one shot on target all game – giving us clear things to work on in the next weeks.

There are a few other things to work on from the game – better throw-ins, connecting passes, staying calm and winning balls. The list may seem long of things to improve on, but one thing we delivered on was aggressivity. The coaches asked and we delivered, not 1, not 2, but 4 yellow cards! (A new team record?).

So, while this wasn’t our day at home, it might just be the wake up call we need to start winning again.. I’m predicting wins coming in the next games. Stay tuned!

Season opener and first league match against RFC Liège on a very beautiful pitch under a stunning red moon. Kick-off was taken by Liège, who started very strongly, taking advantage of a lapse in concentration from FC Irlande to score in the very first minute after a neat combination. FC Irlande woke up and strung together good combinations with strong possession, but failed to create real danger in front of the goal. A dangerous loss of the ball through the middle allowed RFC Liège to combine quickly going forward and score again, this time due to a lack of aggression from the ladies. Just before half-time, Liège won a corner which, after a scramble, ended up in the back of the net. 3–0 for RFC Liège, showing ruthless efficiency while we lacked aggressiveness — 1 foul against 8 for Liège. The half-time whistle came, giving us a chance to adjust our tactics.

The second half kicked off with Irlande, and after a long pass from Michel to Julie, she found the net: 3–1 and the match was back on for Irlande. They regained possession and control of the ball, but could never manage to score again, with Liège’s goalkeeper putting in an excellent performance.