Laura O'Sullivan-Jones (born 23 August 1991) is a Welsh footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Gwalia United, formerly Cardiff City who officially renamed/rebranded with effect from 1 June 2024[1] and the Wales national team.
 O'Sullivan-Jones in goal for Cardiff City against Lewes in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 23 August 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Wales | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Gwalia United | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2017 | Cardiff City | ||
| 2017 | Yeovil Town | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Cyncoed Ladies | ||
| 2018– | Cardiff City | 30 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016– | Wales | 59 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 May 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 June 2024 | |||
She began her career with Cardiff City, making her debut after converting to playing as a goalkeeper in 2015. In 2016, she made her international debut for Wales in the Cyprus Women's Cup.
Club career
editO'Sullivan was a latecomer to football; owing to difficulties finding transport, she rarely played as a teenager, and briefly gave up the game, a decision that she later stated she regretted. Having only taken up competitive football on a regular basis in 2011, she began her career as a defender, playing for Cardiff City, but switched to playing as a goalkeeper after covering the position on several occasions as the team struggled to find a regular keeper.[2]
She adopted the goalkeeping position full-time in December 2014, and after impressing for Cardiff's reserve side, broke into the club's first-team squad. In her first senior year, she established herself as the club's first-choice goalkeeper and was given the Coaches' Player of the Year award at the end of the 2014–15 season.[2][3]
O'Sullivan joined FA WSL 1 side Yeovil Town on 17 September 2017, alongside Welsh international teammate Hannah Miles.[4] However, she was released by the club without playing a game in November that year, and subsequently joined Cyncoed Ladies in the Women's Welsh Premier League.[5]
International career
editO'Sullivan was called up to squad training camps on two occasions before being handed her debut for the Wales senior side by manager Jayne Ludlow on 2 March 2016, during a 2–2 draw with Finland in their opening group match of the 2016 Cyprus Women's Cup,[6] less than 18 months after converting to playing as a goalkeeper.[2] She played in Wales' two other group matches against Czech Republic and Poland as they were eliminated in the group stage.[2] In October 2017, she was named 2017 Welsh Footballer of the Year.[7][8] She kept five successive clean sheets during Wales's qualification campaign for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, including a Player of the Match award against England on 6 April 2018.[5]
Career statistics
editSome entries may be missing or incomplete due to lack of historical statistics.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Cardiff City | 2011–17 | |||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||
| Yeovil Town | 2017 | FA WSL 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Cyncoed Ladies | 2017-18 | Women's Welsh Premier League | ||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||
| Cardiff City | 2018–24 | |||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||
| Gwalia United | 2024- | FAWNL Southern Premier Division | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||||
Honours
edit- Cardiff City Coaches Player of the Year: 2014–15[3]
- Welsh Footballer of the Year: 2017[8]
References
edit- ^ "Cardiff City Ladies to be renamed Gwalia United". BBC Sport. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ a b c d Matt Badcock (20 March 2016). "It's serious now for the Wales No.1". The Football League Paper. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ a b Sian Matheson (18 June 2015). "The story of how a Cardiff carnival led to the creation of one of Wales' most successful women's football sides". WalesOnline. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ "Yeovil Town Ladies: Wales' Laura O'Sullivan & Hannah Miles sign for WSL 1 club". BBC Sport. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ a b Edwards, Luke (29 August 2018). "Wales goalkeeper Laura O'Sullivan marks unlikely rise to brink of World Cup – 'I go straight to training from the office'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- ^ "Wales and Finland draw thriller in the Cyprus Women's Cup". Football Association of Wales. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ Wilf Frith (3 October 2017). "Laura O'Sullivan Wales Player Of The Year". She Kicks. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Chris Gunter: Reading defender beats Gareth Bale to Wales player of year award". BBC Sport. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
External links
edit- Laura O'Sullivan at Soccerway