Stephanie Roche

Céad míle fáilte Stephanie Roche – giving SundIreland a new twist

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Stephanie Roche: courtesy SAFC
Stephanie Roche: courtesy SAFC

Stephanie Roche must have been chuckling into her Guinness – sorry, sports energy drink – as she favourited my tweet about the article my daughter Nathalie Randall wrote on her team, Old Actonians, gaining promotion to the Women’s Premier League. [Ha’way, Lass, give us a RT now and then, too – Ed].

If her spell with Houston led to nothing, I suggested, maybe Stephanie – famous for the wonder goal that won her second place to James Rodriguez in last year’s Fifa Puskas award – should consider joining Nathalie’s club.

Since her move to Sunderland Ladies was announced next day, she already knew she was heading to the women’s part of the team supported by Nathalie’s dad.

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One woman’s view: playing for Arsenal, Brentford and QPR; supporting Liverpool and Sunderland

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Nathalie is second from the left
Nathalie is second from the right

It’s not just Stephanie Roache with that goal, the one that won her second place in the 2014 Fifa Puskás Award and an invitation to Barack Obama’s White House St Patrick’s party. Nor is just the exceptional progress of Sunderland Ladies, against unjust official odds, to the Women’s Super League top flight.

Despite the curmudgeons who still cannot see merit in women’s football, the game is on the rise. And when you’ve seen it played well, and also seen Sunderland at Southampton, you begin to see why public perceptions have begun to change. Monsieur Salut’s daughter Nathalie Randall may not play for Sunderland or with Stephanie but her team, Old Actonians has just risen to Women’s Premier League status (SAFC Ladies are in the WSL now but were in the WPL until not long ago). Here’s her story …

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