Sophie Ingle reflects on time with Yzzy Taylor and reaction to Laura McAllister’s historic achievement
Sophie Ingle of Wales celebrates scoring her sides first goal. Wales v Greece in a FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifier at Parc y Scarlets on the 26th November 2021. Credit: Lewis Mitchell
Cymru captain Sophie Ingle has reflected on her time with former Cardiff Met manager Yzzy Taylor, as she stepped down from her role as manager of the Archers.
Ingle and Taylor played in the same team at Cyncoed, and the Welsh captain was full of praise for what the former ‘keeper has done for Met.
“She’s a great character, she was a couple of years below me in university, but we played on the same team, and she was my goalkeeper.
“When I left uni she got into coaching and she coached under Kerry Harris, but her coaching career has kind of gone from zero straight into managing Cardiff Met.
“It’s been great for her that she’s had the opportunity through the FAW to go on the coaching courses. It’s a shame to see her go, but everyone has to move on at times and that might be what she thought was best for her.”
Laura McAllister election
It’s been yet another momentous day in Welsh football as Laura McAllister has been selected onto the UEFA Executive Committee.
McAllister has been working tirelessly to improve the women’s game and as well as being elected onto the Executive Committee, will also become the first ever female UEFA vice-president.
McAllister is a regular at Wales matches and has met the squad on countless occasions, and Angharad James couldn’t hide her delight at the news of McAllister’s appointment.
“We are so happy and proud of her as a group of players. We know how hard she works and how much she’s worked for Wales, and for her to be in the situation she’s in now is just incredible.
“I know how much it means to her and her family so just congratulations to her and everything she’s done for us.”
There are a number of the current squad who are advocates for issues on and off the pitch, and Ingle believes there are some players who could follow in McAllister’s footsteps in the future.
“We’re all striving for better things now. We always want to improve the game, whether that be facilities, travel, the youth coming through, everything is always discussed with a leadership group within this environment.
“It’s always good to have people like Laura, because she always comes to the games and sometimes into camp, and we can bounce ideas off of her and that’s really helpful.”
New face on camp
This is a Cymru squad that has become used to welcoming new faces into every camp, and Ellen Jones is the latest to come into the fold.
The Leicester player, who is currently on loan at Charlton, has previously featured under Gemma Grainger while she was in the England setup, but she’s settled in well with the rest of the Wales squad.
“It’s always nice having new players and new faces within the squad,” Ingle stated.
“It’s sad to see people go, or if they’re injured and they can’t play, but it’s great for us that we can call new players in and to test them and see where they’re at.
“It’ll be a great learning experience for Ellen this week. She probably was a bit nervous on day one, but I think she’s settled in really well.”
“Everyone in the squad wants to be wearing that red shirt,” James added.
“We all want to play, and she’s now seen that around the group. So, she’s settled in great with the rest of the squad.”
Northern Ireland preparation
Cymru are preparing to face Northern Ireland at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday night.
The Green and White Army have currently got an interim coaching team in place, after Kenny Shiels left his role as manager at the beginning of January.
While there is an unpredictability about what the visitors might do, Gemma Grainger believes it’s a good challenge for this hungry Wales team.
“With the interim coach it looks like they’re in a position where they’re running a shorter camp, which means you’d think that their new manager may be coming in for the next camp.
“So, there’s a little more uncertainty because we don’t know what the interim coach will do.
“But I really like the challenge. Sometimes when we play games, we know what the opposition will do, in this one, we’re not sure, and I like that challenge because we will face that in the Nations League.”
Cymru face Northern Ireland at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday April 6th, with kick off at 19:15.
