FC Irlande Ladies 1

FC Ireland Auderghem Ladies I faced a hard-fought 1-3 defeat at home against
Sporting du Pays de Charleroi on Saturday, dropping their first points of the
season and sliding to joint 3rd of the Dames IP FFA league with nine points from
four games.

The first half was tightly contested with most of the play happening in the middle
of the park. Each time either team broke through the opposing side’s defensive
line, the play was quickly smothered. The times that both teams were able to get
forward mostly resulted in unfruitful corner kicks until an unlucky tackle in the box
in the 23rd minute lead to a Charleroi goal from the penalty spot.
FC Ireland’s consistent pressure on the Charleroi defense from Monica Zubiria and
Julia Cartanya paid off in the 42nd minute with a back pass to the Charleroi keeper
ending up in the back of the net. The two teams went into the break equal at 1-1.
The second half started with FC Ireland experimenting with a more defensive
formation with four at the back. Unfortunately, Charleroi was able to nab one
more in the 51st minute before the game once again settled into the gritty fight for
possession that characterized most of the first half with FC Irlande pushing hard
for an equalizer.

As the game went on, the match began to take on more of an end-to-end flavor.
On one marauding foray into the box, Albana Parubaj looked certain to score
before a late tackle from a defender. Gabrielle Clark and Okyara Hery also both
registered decent chances in the late second half.

With FC Irlande pushing so high up the pitch for an equalizer, Charleroi was able to
score a third from a quick counterattack in the 94th minute, an unfortunate end to
a hard-fought game that could have easily ended differently. FC Irlande will learn
from the experience and return to the pitch more motivated next week against FC
Lions Leopold Uccle.

FC Ireland move top of D2 after late win at Loyers
FC Ireland Auderghem secured a 2–1 away victory over R.U.S. Loyers on Saturday, maintaining their perfect start to the season and moving to the top of the Dames IP FFA league with nine points from three games.

Despite strong winds sweeping across the plains of Namur, FC Ireland started brightly and controlled much of the first half. The visitors moved the ball confidently, enjoyed plenty of possession and created several promising opportunities, but were unable to find the breakthrough before the interval.

Loyers came out with greater intensity after the restart and took the lead in the 59th minute, when Valentine Hannecart found the back of the net to make it 1–0.
FC Ireland responded well and continued to push forward. Their pressure was rewarded in the 75th minute when Rebecca Hellgren equalised from a corner, bringing the visitors level at 1–1.
With both sides competing for the points, the game remained finely balanced as the final minutes approached.

FC Ireland then turned to Eva Bell, who came on in the 86th minute wearing the number 9 shirt. Not known for her attacking creativity, Eva was forced to wear the shirt
ordinally reserved for a team’s prima donna striker simply because it was the only small shirt left. It turned out to be a very lucky number.

Just three minutes after coming on, Eva won a corner for FC Ireland. From the resulting set piece, she ran off the front post and flicked it into the net with a header in the 89th minute, completing the comeback and giving FC Ireland a 2–1 lead.

Loyers were unable to find a response before the final whistle, leaving FC Ireland to celebrate another three points as they headed back to Brussels.
The victory keeps FC Ireland unbeaten after three matches and puts them on top of the Dames IP FFA league for the second consecutive week.

A first home game of the season, and the ladies clearly decided they weren’t here to waste time.

From the opening whistle, FC Irlande took control of the game, moving the ball calmly and putting Union under pressure. The first goal came in the 12th minute : union goalkeeper’s clearance hit Juli in the back and the ball slowly rolled towards the empty net… and, for reasons still unknown, nobody stopped it. There was apparently enough time to appeal to the referee, though. 1–0.

The second followed just seven minutes later. A long corner found Lara at the far post, who calmly guided the ball into the net with the inside of her foot. 2–0.

FCI continued to dictate the tempo and were rewarded again in the 31st minute. After a patient 12-pass sequence, Lara switched the play beautifully to Juli, who laid it back for Alba to finish. Football can be simple sometimes. 3–0.

Just before half-time, another corner caused trouble. Sarah first found the crossbar, then followed up her own effort with a volley. An assist to herself, essentially. 4–0 at the break.

Union came out with a bit more fight after half-time and the opening minutes of the second half were more evenly contested. FCI, however, quickly regained their composure and started creating chances again.

Things became increasingly heated on the Union side, eventually leading to a red card after repeated protests towards the referee. And with the game slipping away, Alba made it 5–0 with a beautiful curling shot into the far corner.

The girls kept their foot on the ball, circulating possession and controlling the game. Meryl then added a sixth with a well-taken header from a free kick.

Union managed to pull one back almost immediately from another free kick just outside the box, but it was little more than a consolation.

Full-time: 6–1.

FC Irlande kicked off the 2026-27 season with an emphatic win and a strong team performance against White Star Woluwe. FC Irlande arrived at Stade Fallon with a solid team and new shirts, ready to start the season where we left off in April. It did not take long for the girls in green to settle into the match and set the rhythm: after a shaky first couple of minutes, the team took control of the match, and created a string of very good chances. Lára Mist Baldursdóttir was creating havoc in the White Star back line, and had a couple of big chances in the first 15 minutes which went achingly wide. It was Albana Parubaj’s free kick which finally unblocked the match: her deflected shot found the bottom corner, and FC Irlande took a very well deserved lead. The team continued to press high up the pitch and cause problems for the White Star defence, with the opposition players getting increasingly frustrated. However,they were lucky to go into the changing rooms at half time only 1-0 down. FC Irlande started the second half with the same attitude and fighting spirit of the first half, and it wasn’t long before the team was rewarded with a second goal: Juliane Pieper latched onto a long ball from Giorgia Bracelli, and calmly found the back of the net. FC Irlande continued to press throughout the second half, going close to adding to the scoreline on a number of occasions, including through a dangerous header from Meryl Culot, and a number of shots from close range from Eva Bell, Clemence Doret and Juliane Pieper. The team controlled the game until the end, producing a mature and professional performance, and was unlucky to only score two goals. FC Irlande can be happy with the 2-0 win and clean sheet, which sets the team up for an exciting season ahead – starting from the second Brussels derby of the year next week against Union Saint Gilloise. Allez Irlande!