It was another eventful week in the Danske Bank Women’s Premiership as Derry City recorded their first top-flight victory since 2019, Cliftonville edged out Crusaders and champions Glentoran were held at Linfield.
Here is how some of the players and staff reacted to the games.
Marissa Callaghan, Cliftonville
“It was a close game that could have gone either way, and they made it really hard for us.
“We both had chances in the first half but at half-time the management gave us a bit of a rollicking for not working hard enough and we upped the tempo in the second half.
“We dug deep and we’re happy with the win.”
Jessica Foy, Glentoran
“It showed great character from us to come back and equalise late on - it was a great goal from Sam.
“I think we feel frustrated because we had plenty of chances in the game and we kind of dominated - they only had one chance and they took it.
“We hit the post or the crossbar three times in the game so we didn’t have that luck going forward.
“We weren’t clinical enough going forwards but it’s a long season and we have a massive game next week, and there are lots of positives to take from this.”
Rebecca Bassett, Linfield goalscorer
“I thought we played well and battled hard in what was a very intense match.
“We were annoyed not to push on and secure the three points but it was a hard-fought draw and it was good that we were able to build on last week (a 3-2 loss against Cliftonville).
“We are always disappointed not to get the win but now we will learn from these games and push on for next week.”
Lauren Cregan, Derry goalscorer
"It took me a while to notice it went over, making sure it crossed the line because it was like in the slow motion.
"I'm just so excited and happy, I feel like we really deserved it as we have been pushing on for a couple of years now to try and get improvement with every match - we are just delighted to get the win.
"I think it has been a positive camp this year so far, we had tough losses in previous weeks but we can see the improvements coming every week and it is important to build on that.
"With the rivalry with Sion, everyone was 100% up for it and heart got us over the line in the end. It is a lot down to the management, since Kevin took over he has been telling us to buy into it and buy into it, and I think this year a lot of players have done that.
"Seeing what he wants actually working has made us believe in ourselves and it is definitely due to the management."
Kevin McLaughlin, Derry boss
"If teams don't respect us then they are in for a shock.
"It is a case of gaining respect. I have been in now for the last two or three seasons and it has been a case of us trying to get respect. Teams just sit on top of us and feel that we cannot get out, but now we can, we are winning battles all over the park.
"The opposition are now leaving the full half of the pitch for us to run into, so if we win our one-to-one battles we will get in behind them.
"It is only the beginning. I feel satisfied but this is just a win, we have got to keep going. We are not even the finished article. Grace's goal last week kick-started a few things for us and this performance came off a good performance last week.
"We knew we had to fix a few things because of the goals and we did the tonight. We battled for a win but we still have lots of things to work on and improve, which we will aim to do next week."
