'This isn't an indication of who we are as a team,' Netsiyanwa says

Domino’s Women’s Super League

FloMAX LIFFEY CELTICS 62 

KILLESTER 89 

For FloMAX Liffey Celtics and new head coach, Hillary Netsiyanwa, it was certainly not the opening night to the 2025/26 Domino’s Women’s Super League season that they would have been hoping for.

Welcoming their bitter rivals and defending champions, Killester to Leixlip Amenities on Saturday, the Kildare outfit suffered a heavy defeat, and even more worrying, the loss of Ireland senior international and club stalwart, Sorcha Tiernan to, what appeared, a bad ankle injury.

For Netsiyanwa, the shortcomings in that performance were plain to see, but the Celtics boss was quick to stress that he expects a serious improvement over the course of the season as the new players he brought in over the summer, like Americans Brooke Kane and Paige Cote bed in to his Celtics set-up.

“We knew coming into today, and coming into these next three games, that it was going to be a tough start” insisted Netsiyanwa.

“There's an adjustment period for us coming, but the girls are very much aware that this isn't an indication of who we are as a team.

“It might well be where we’re at right now, but we gave up a lot of easy things against Killester.

“We had about 15 turnovers and we gave a really good shooting team uncontested looks, so we can't look at anyone else and say what's happening? We gave them a win there” he said.

The intensified rivalry between these two sides over recent seasons made this game the most anticipated contest of the opening Super League weekend, but Killester wasted little time in exerting control of proceedings Indeed, while two free throws from Tiernan and a bucket from Kane saw Celtics take a 4-2 lead early on, it was to prove the last time the hosts would find themselves in front, as Killester began to turn the screw with last season’s Super League Player of the Year, Samantha Haiby leading the way.

The American guard drained shots from both sides of the arc to help see the visitors overtake, and they never looked back from there.

Ieva Bagdanaviciene got in for two quick buckets before Haiby served up an ‘and one’ and three-point shot clock beater, as the visitors ended the first quarter ahead 24-16, with Tiernan eliciting a big response from the Celtics bench when she drained a superb effort from downtown just ahead of the buzzer.

But even that effort would not put the brakes on Killester, who demonstrated huge intensity under both boards, forcing turnovers and steals which they punished ruthlessly.

Audrey Roden and Michelle Clarke drained big threes in the second quarter, while Sarah Courtney, Hannah Thornton and Haiby all punished in the paint to see the Dublin side extend their lead to 23 points (51-28) by the half-time recess.

And Mark Grennell’s side picked up in the third quarter where they left off in the second, serving up an eight-point run that featured two easy layups and a bucket from the perimeter by Haiby.

Liffey captain, Áine O’Connor did get her side moving again with a much-needed three, but Killester refused to afford them any momentum, Haiby proving lethal down the lane, while Leilani Turner delivered from outside the arc.

Celtics did manage to string together eight unanswered points, Paige Cote supplying half of that run with Kane and Katie Williamson also getting in for buckets.

But the hosts were dealt a massive blow when Tiernan went over on her ankle and had to be helped from the court with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Heading into the fourth with arrears of 24 points (73-49), Celtics kept on battling, young guns Clara Boyce and Kelly Bracken putting up some nice buckets, but the spoils were never in doubt for Killester who kept their side of the scoreboard very much moving thanks to baskets from Amy Elliott, Sarah Courtney, Ali Connolly, Haiby and Bagdanaviciene.

It was tough night for Celtics who will be faced with another big assignment when they make the trip to Mercy College to take on SETU Waterford Wildcats next Saturday.

“One thing that Waterford are very good at is that they put a lot of pressure on the ball and they box out very well with Sarah Hickey and the other post players that they have, so that's something that we need to focus in on” stressed Netsiyanwa.

“We can't dwell too much on what's happened today against Killester. We take those lessons on, we apply them in our next training session, we speak about it and then we move on” he said.

FloMAX LIFFEY CELTICS: Brooke Kane, Kate O’Flaherty, Kelly Bracken, Aoibhinn Doyle, Katie Williamson, Siofra Loftus Lynch, Crea Langan, Paige Cote, Carley Njonguo, Clara Boyce, Sorcha Tiernan, Erin Boyce, Áine O’Connor.

KILLESTER: Michelle Clarke, Ali Connolly, Hannah Thornton, Leilani Turner, Laura McFarland, Sarah Courtney, Sarah Power, Maeve O Seaghdha, Amy Elliott, Ieva Bagdanaviciene, Samantha Haiby, Audrey Roden.