Molly Kehoe: From the Cayman Islands to Cardiff City

It’s fair to say that the path from Wales to the Cayman Islands isn’t a well-trodden one.

Sitting right in the middle of Jamaica, Cuba, and the west coast of Mexico, the islands have a population of just over 80,000 and lie 4,672 miles away from the Welsh capital.

Not many have made the trip over, but one person who has and now calls Cardiff her home is Molly Kehoe. Summing up how someone from the Caribbean ends up in Cardiff is a fascinating one, and Kehoe explained how she came to join the Bluebirds.

“Coming from a small island in the Caribbean, where not many people get the opportunities I’ve had, I’m grateful for what’s happened to me. One of my coaches back at home, Marc Jeffries, who’s from Cardiff knew the manager, Iain Darbyshire. He got me a trial and I came over for two weeks in July last year, which is when I then signed for Cardiff. It all happened very fast, and I only went home for a week before moving my whole life to Cardiff.”

22 appearances, twelve goals and nine assists later, Kehoe is about to play the final game of her first season as a Bluebird; a season which has been a phenomenal one for the 19-year-old. The senior international has shocked herself with how well she’s settled in the capital but has loved every minute of it.

“I think moving so far from home away from home, my family and friends and starting a new life here in Cardiff, I wasn’t expecting myself to settle in so quickly. But I had a great start to the season which I think helped with my confidence a lot. I’ve definitely had some ups and downs this season but overall, I think I can say I’m proud of myself considering everything.”

Kehoe and the rest of the team will be hoping to finish the season on the highest of highs on Sunday as they aim to complete the treble. Talk of what could be achieved will be rife in the build-up to the game, but the forward says her and her team will treat the game like any other.

“I’m looking forward to Sunday, training has been good this week as we prepare for the game. It’s definitely a big game, of course we want to win the treble, but we have to treat every game the same and just play our football.”

The only thing standing in City’s way is Wrexham. This will be the sixth time the Bluebirds have done battle with the Red Dragons this season. In the previous five games, City have won all of them, scoring 21 and conceding three. From an outsider’s perspective, the expectation will be that Cardiff win, but Kehoe has urged her team not to be too confident heading into the fixture.

“We know Wrexham are going to come out and be strong and physical and will come out to beat us, but we know we have to just stay focused and play our game. It’s very important not to get complacent, the minute we switch off we know Wrexham will come straight at us. We won’t be underestimating Wrexham because anything can happen in football.”

The reality, however, is simple. Cardiff City are 90 minutes away from completing the first Welsh treble since Cardiff Met did so in 2019. Winning the treble is one of the hardest things to do in football and Kehoe is hoping that, on Sunday, the Bluebirds can write their names into the history books, and who knows, maybe inspire more girls from the Caribbean to come over to these shores.

“It would mean everything to me to win the treble my first season with Cardiff. I just want to make everyone at home proud and inspire the younger girls to believe they can get somewhere even though we’re from a tiny island.”