By Jonathan Brown
VALLEY Rangers Ladies secured the NIWFA Division Four title last Monday following a thumping 11-0 win over Oxford Sunnyside Ladies.
It’s Valley’s third title win in three seasons since re-forming in 2023 – winning the Development League followed by the Division Five title in 2024.
A win or draw would have secured the Division Four trophy but the focus was on winning and the girls in blue did that in style.
By half-time, Valley were 5-0 up, with Aimee O’Higgins, Caitlin Rae (x2), Stefanie Ardis and Elaine Patterson all finding the net.
Neil Ardis’ team pushed on again in the second half, finding the net six more times – O’Higgins, Rae and Patterson all got on the scoresheet again alongside youngsters Zoe Campbell and Grace McBride.
The Valley Rangers Player of the Match was Aimee O’Higgins – a constant threat on the left for the Sunnyside right back, also grabbing two goals and a couple excellent assists.
Valley’s final league match of the season is at home to Comber Rec Ladies on Friday, when the team will be presented with the NIWFA Division Four trophy.
Commenting on the Valley Ladies trio of titles, manager Ardis praised some of the older players who have came back into the fold this year.
“A couple of older players who previously played for the club have come back into the squad and they’ve been a great addition – the likes of Elaine (Patterson) and Stef (Ardis) back in the team this year after their pregnancies,
“So it’s definitely been a strong season.”
The manager added: “We were full of belief that they were going to go out and do it (win against Sunnyside), maybe not the scoreline, we were expecting a tighter game, which it usually is against Sunnyside, but the girls were just phenomenal on the night.
“Out keeper made one save in the whole game, which was a header from one of our own players – we were very good.”
The Mourne outfit can now look forward to a Division Three football next year, and they will be eyeing up another title win as they continue their journey up the NIWFA pyramid.
“The plan is to get the team as high up the leagues as possible.
“The old Valley ladies’ team played in the NIWFA Championship, so we want to get them back up there again.
“We want to show just how many talented players we have in this small area”, Ardis explained.
