Player Spotlight | Ceola Bergin
Club: Galway United
Position: Forward
Games Played: 7
Goals Scored: 1
As they target a surge up the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division table, Galway United may posess a not-so-secret weapon in Ceola Bergin.
The 18-year-old is one of the most talented forwards in the league right now but her impact with The Tribeswomen has been stop-start since making the move from Wexford. But that means that she should be fresh and ready to go for the trip to Tallaght Stadium to face Shamrock Rovers for their Round 15 game.
For a player who has only completed 90 minutes once in the league so far this season, it is impressive that she has had 22 dribbles, boasts a 69% pass accuracy and has unloaded 10 shots on goal. There is clearly a lot more that she can contribute.
Bergin should look to England’s Chloe Kelly as someone who she can take inspiration from as they share similar attributes in being able to cut in from the left flank, take opposition defenders on, pick out team-mates with key passes and wreak havoc inside the penalty area.
The Tipperary native was excellent for Wexford last season and was voted as the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division Player of the Month for June ahead of featuring for the Ireland Women’s Under-19s at the UEFA European Championships. It’s simply a case of getting back up to the speed where she was flying at 12 months ago.
For Galway, they have exciting options in attack but Bergin should not be discounted. Watch how she can trap a high ball with one touch or loft a pass inside to a team-mate before anyone spots the opening and you will see one of the league’s best in full flow. That is even before she gets near the opposition’s penalty area because her finishing is superb.
Galway have had 14 different goalscorers in the league so far this campaign, but Bergin is capable of adding a lot more in this area than her single strike in the Round 2 win away to Bohemians. She will be itching to prove that too, which is good news for her team and potentially bad news for the rest of the league.
