DEMI Vance wants to see Glentoran Women carry their domestic dominance into the all-Ireland arena as they kick-off their All-Island Cup campaign against Bohemians on Saturday (Kick-off 3pm).
The Glens secured an 11th league title last season, their fourth in the last six years, as they continue to battle it out with Cliftonville to be the team to beat in NIFL Women’s Premiership.But Vance wants to see them bring that success in the domestic game into the campaign against their counterparts from the League of Ireland as they look to taste success in the competition for the very first time.“We have been fortunate to have been so successful in the domestic game over the last few years and that’s something we would never take for granted,” said Vance.“Having a team as good as Cliftonville push you really helps as you know you have to be at your best every week otherwise you will be punished for any slip-ups.“But as well as aiming for more success in our own league and cups we want to be able to challenge for the All-Island Cup too.“It’s a great challenge as you are coming up against great teams and players from the League of Ireland, and it’s good to experience that.“However, we don’t just want the experience of playing in it, we want to be successful in it just as we have done in all the competitions we play in up here.“Our mentality is always to go out and try and win every game we play in, and this season is no different.“Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do that yet, but we have a determination about us to put that right and for it to happen sooner rather than later.”The Glens come up against Bohs at Dalymount Park in their Group D opener on Saturday hoping to make amends for their exit from last year’s competition at the hands of the Dublin outfit.Kim Turner’s side exited the competition at the quarter-final stage going down 3-1 at the Blanchflower Stadium back in July in a game they felt unfortunate to lose.And while they are not labelling this game as a revenge mission Glentoran are determined to kick-off this campaign in the right fashion.“Yeah, last year’s quarter-final defeat was a sore one for us to take,” said the 34-year-old.“It was a game we were looking forward to as we were at home and we were coming off the back of a good group stage where we finished top.“Unfortunately, things couldn’t have started much worse for us on the day as we were two down inside 15 minutes.“We regrouped though and responded well as Kascie pulled one back for us a few minutes later.“We kept pushing for an equaliser but they scored a third at the start of the second half and it was a bit of a mountain for us to climb after that.“Despite the disappointment there were plenty of learnings for us to take from the game which will stand us in good stead going forward.“It’s ironic that we face each other again now in the first group game of this season. We obviously want to win the game, but that would be the same no matter who we are playing, not just because it’s Bohs and what happened last season.“It may only be the start of the group stages, but we want to go about our business in the right way from that first whistle.It’s going to be a tough test especially playing them in their own backyard, but these are the games you relish as a player.
“You want to be playing against the top teams and testing yourself and this will certainly be a good gauge for us.
“It was good to kick off the new season with a win in the Boyle Sports Women’s Cup on Wednesday night.
“I thought we were good and Lisburn Ladies provided a good test for us. We got the win though and knocked the ball about well and personally it was great to grab a goal in the first game.
“The mood is good in the camp and our aim is to build on that as we head to Dublin on Saturday.”
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