Molly-Mae Sharpe, Peamount United and Adriana Iturbide - your women's football roundup
This time of year is always exciting for fans of the women’s game, because it is when they can enjoy the conclusions of some leagues, with close title battles and relegation scraps taking place, and the first steps of others, with those divisions that operate on a calendar format all set to get underway in the coming weeks.
As ever, this newsletter will bring you the best of the action from the last seven days, providing a range of short analysis points, reading and listening material to enjoy, meaning that you are kept right up to date with everything that has been going on.
3 key talking points….
Why Molly-Mae Sharpe is Crystal Palace’s most underrated player
After a disappointing campaign last time out that saw them leak far too many goals, Crystal Palace have been a rejuvenated force in the Championship this season, with them currently sitting second in the table and very much in contention for promotion to the WSL.
For a closer look at Crystal Palace’s tactical improvements this season, have a look at my article for Total Football Analysis here:
There are many players who have contributed to their positive campaign, with striker Elise Hughes perhaps the one who has claimed most of the headlines due to her outstanding goal tally, but one member of the squad who rarely gets the praise that she merits is Molly-Mae Sharpe.
However, there is no doubt that Crystal Palace would struggle to play the same way without her, such is her importance to their style of play, and her constant runs into spaces and ability to connect the dots have made her the driving force behind everything that they have done so well.
Against Sheffield United at the weekend, she really made the difference for them, with her alternating with Hughes at the top of the field and exploiting the gaps left open as a result of the defenders falling into Crystal Palace’s traps, with them following Hughes into deeper positions and leaving their goal at Sharpe’s mercy. It was a tactic that worked really well for them, and the fact that Sharpe scored the only goal of the game was a just reward after the quality of her individual performance.
https://twitter.com/cpfc_w/status/1767158532510523418
Crystal Palace have changed a lot this season and are a side that not many have relished coming up against, and Sharpe has played a significant role in that being the case. If they are to secure the second tier title and the only promotion place available, they will have to keep her fit, given that she could well make the difference between success and failure.
Peamount United make a strong start to their title defence
The new Premier Division season got underway in the Republic of Ireland at the weekend, and the opening round of matches went largely as expected, with few surprises when it came to results and plenty of sides starting slowly as they tried to rediscover their rhythm after the break.
One team who will have plenty of eyes on them this season is defending champions Peamount United, who will be hoping to replicate their 2023 form to secure a second consecutive league title, and they made a really positive start to their campaign with a win at Cork City that provided a clear demonstration of their intent and overall squad quality.
Unlike others expected to challenge for the title, they looked comfortable throughout the match, with their game plan revolving around making accurate long passes into the gaps that Cork constantly left open for them to utilise and there being a clear sign that this is what their tactics throughout the season will be based around, with it clear that they never want to take too many risks and simply want to get the job done each time that they step out onto the field.
“It’s going to be the most competitive league this year….all the teams have strengthened….we’ve just got to try and….put in good performances and hopefully we get the wins.”
Peamount United manager James O’Callaghan, speaking to Final Whistle after the win against Cork City.
It may only have been the first match of the season and there is still a long way to go, but Peamount have now set their stall out and have laid down the gauntlet for others to pick up as 2024 goes on, and prising the trophy from their grasp looks like being a very tough task.
Adriana Iturbide deserves a lot more credit than she is usually afforded
There are plenty of really talented forwards in the Mexican game who can be backed to constantly put chances away and to test opposing defensive lines, with Monterrey having the likes of Ana Lucía Martínez and Jermaine Seoposenwe, América being able to call on Kiana Palacios, Sarah Luebbert and Katty Martínez whilst Tigres have an entire unit of goalscorers ready to deploy in each outing.
However, there are a few players who sometimes go under the radar, and Guadalajara are one team who definitely fit that category. With their main goal threat coming from Alicia Cervantes, it would be easy to assume that marking her out of the game would immediately limit their attacking prowess.
Thinking that way though is to discount the danger posed by fellow forward Adriana Iturbide, who is the more mobile player in their offensive line and who can be constantly seen drifting back and forth and between channels in a bid to involve herself in their build-up play as well as to offer an additional goal threat.
https://twitter.com/LigaBBVAFemenil/status/1764783692130488513
In the games against Necaxa and Mazatlán last week, she was the player who proved to be key in Guadalajara securing two wins and two clean sheets, with her constantly engaging in duels and dragging opponents all over the pitch and creating room for those around her to move into, and it was that that led to them creating so many chances and keeping the pressure on each of their back lines.
They now lie fourth in the Liga MX Clausura table, just a point behind Monterrey and América and five behind leaders Tigres, whilst they are a point ahead of Pachuca. The importance of those two victories therefore cannot be emphasised enough in keeping them in the fight to finish at the summit, and there is no doubting that Iturbide played a key role in ensuring that they ended the week with maximum points.
Read all about it….
Ève Périsset’s importance to Chelsea’s quadruple hopes - Chelsea are still on the hunt for four trophies this season to end Emma Hayes’ tenure in the best possible way, and it is taking it’s toll when it comes to injuries and performance quality. However, one player who has proven herself to be really useful for them of late is Ève Périsset, as Jessy Parker Humphreys explains for The Athletic.
Questions and answers after the Gold Cup - the weekend saw the 2024 Gold Cup come to an end, with the USA lifting the trophy to give themselves something to celebrate as they enter their new era. However, the tournament provided plenty of talking points and things to consider, and Tamerra Griffin looks at some of them in this article, also on The Athletic.
The SWPL 1 reaches the Split stage - the regular part of the SWPL 1 season has now ended and this weekend sees the league split in half as the top six battle for the title and the bottom six try to avoid slipping into the SWPL 2. For a full recap of how each of the 12 teams have done so far and what to expect from them over this next section of games, cast your eyes over this article on How’s Your Touch, a Substack page dedicated to the Scottish game.
Lend me your ears….
NWSL Special - this weekend sees the highly-anticipated 2024 NWSL season get underway, with so many looking forward to it for a number of reasons. I sat down with presenter Luke Edwards and Portland Thorns writer Melina Gaspar to discuss all of the teams, key players and predictions for the campaign in this special edition of The Women’s Football Podcast.
That’s all for now - back next week!!