*Emma Cosgrove of Bridge Utd. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
BRIDGE UTD are looking to finish their season on a high by claiming the CDSL Ladies Shield title.
Founded in 1967 Bridge United AFC is based in Sixmilebridge, and from its humble beginnings, the club now has upwards on 500 players across boys, girls, men and women’s teams with twenty five teams competing in the CSSL and CDSL.
“Whilst the ladies team in Bridge United was prominent for a period in the 1990s it subsequently disbanded and it was not until the early 2020s that the team was reformed. With the steady flow of underage talent that has come through the ranks in our schoolgirl system we hope to retain these young players in the club as they graduate to adult football in the coming seasons. There is a good mix of young and experienced players within the current squad which we hope can be developed even further in seasons to come”, club secretary Jonathan Downes told The Clare Echo.
In the recently concluded CDSL Ladies League, the Bridge side was managed by David Doran who recently stepped down from the position. Club chairman Gavin Downes has stepped into the role for the shield final which is set for Friday (May 8th) at Frank Healy Park at 18:45.
The majority of the squad have come through the club’s underage section and many also play camogie with Sixmilebridge. The vast majority of the panel are from Sixmilebridge and over half of the squad are in the 17/18 age group.
The club competes at all underage levels and in some of the grades they field two teams. The squad includes mother and daughter Heidi and Valerie Conneally . Heidi was a regular in a number of the boys schoolboy teams while Rachel Kelly who captains the side in Friday’s final and Sonia O’Sullivan are two of the team’s more experienced players.
The members of the squad are Alishia Connors, Anna O’Doherty, Ava Moloney, Ava Richter, Cassie Kirkland, Eimear Cahill, Emma Cosgrave, Heidi Conneely, Jacinta O’Grady, Kate Monaghan, Marley Seago O’Sullivan, Mia Costello, Nicole Lally, Nikki Ryan. Orla Cahill, Paidamayo Nzvaura, Rachel Kelly, Samantha O’Sullivan, Sinead Cahill, Sinead Perez, Teigen Judge, Tina Fitzgerald, Valentina Lindenmayer and Valerie Conneely
