2016 NWSL Championship Final: WNY Coach Paul Riley

The U.S National Women’s Soccer League opened in the spring with six coaches from the UK – but only one remains going into this Sunday’s Championship Game.

Paul Riley, a diehard Liverpool fan and coach of the Western New York Flash, came into his role at the start of the season with a certain number of goals and expectations – NONE!

After a disappointing 2015 with the Portland Thorns, Riley was brought into the Flash to steady a disorientated ship that, like Portland, had suffered a below-par season last year, which resulted in a number of players leaving, and the new coach having to build almost from scratch.

But, while this may have been a task too far for some, Riley has thrived in his new environment, taking a young team, with a few experienced heads on top, to a Championship Final – the first for the club since the inaugural season in 2013.

But the word ‘play-off’ was never mentioned at all throughout the season, according to Riley, and this was backed up by many of his players She Kicks spoke to, who were at the Houston Dash’s BBVA Compass Stadium on Thursday for an organised media day.

He said: “When you have a young team, you have to take the results out of the equation and look at the development, then ask yourself, ‘where will we be in two years time?

“That was the number one priority. We were looking at the next two or three years, and to be honest, we just didn’t look at this year at all.

“We got off to an average start, then won against Chicago, who I felt were the team to beat, so when we beat them at home, it made me think we were probably better than we thought.”

Not setting goals would probably be alien to most teams, whether you’re a professional or playing further down the football pyramid.

So how did his players respond when he essentially gave them a blank piece of paper?

“It was probably the biggest shock to them,” he confessed.

“It was about improvement day in, day out, and about trusting each other and believing in the process.

“We never mentioned the word play-off, and with a young team, we put no pressure on them, let them play, and they embraced that.”

Riley was aided by being able to add experienced heads Lianne Sanderson, who sadly misses Sunday’s final with a bad knee injury, and McCall Zerboni, midway through the season, to add to his young squad.

A squad so young, that when his team played in Kansas City, Riley revealed only two players over the age of 26 were able to rent a car.

But he admitted that the nativity of his young team had played a part in their success this season, which has included forward Lynn Williams winning the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) this week.

“I think the naivety has played into our hands a little bit, and because of that, we have a group that is completely fearless,” he said.

“They just go out and play 100 per cent. It’s a process we believe in, and a process we have followed since day one.”

Riley making Sunday’s final means the UK has been represented in three of the four Championship Games, with Seattle’s Laura Harvey having been in the last two finals with the Reign.

When made aware that he was the last Brit standing, he admitted that this wasn’t something that had registered before.

“I didn’t know that and that’s the first I’ve heard, there’s obviously a lot of good coaches from Britain over here,” he said.

“Its always good to represent Liverpool. I actually have season tickets at Anfield this year and this run is eating into my games.

“But I’m a massive Liverpool fan, my dogs are called Dalglish and Shankly, so I am obviously very proud to represent the city and the UK on Sunday.”

2016 NWSL Championship Match
Washington Spirit v Western New York Flash
10pm, Sunday 9th Oct (UK time)

(Images: Mike Gridley, isiphotos.com)

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ENGLAND v FRANCE
Fri, 21 Oct 2016
8:00pm, Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster

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