Joely Andrews column: Glentoran Invincibles, fresh starts and an unforgettable year

Unbeaten in the Women's Premiership, winning the Irish Cup and, for me personally, 14 league goals and more minutes with Northern Ireland. It has been a season to remember.

When you look at Glentoran's success this season, you have to go back to the previous year when Cliftonville beat us to the title.

It hurt, and we're not afraid to admit that. We were disappointed we didn't win the league and our consistency was probably the reason for that. We weren't consistent enough and we knew we had to learn from that.

At the start of this season winning the league was our number one goal and focus. We were delighted when we managed to achieve that.

We had our ups and downs, but even when we didn't play well in the league, we still ground out the results, which we didn't do the previous year. That was key.

There is definitely a different feeling being the hunter instead of being hunter. We had the same desire, but we learnt from last season and put it right.

Looking back at it now, our 2-2 draw against Cliftonville at Solitude was massive. They were at the reigning champions at home and were 2-0 up.

Those games are where the league is won or lost and it can be really hard to claw back. We easily could have folded but we dug really deep.

On the day we were pretty poor, but thankfully we found a way. Sometimes you have to grind it out and that's what we did.

In the moment everyone was annoyed we didn't win the game. We were actually pretty upset and angry about it. We go into every game thinking we are going to win it.

Now, with hindsight, that was a massive point and we started to realise that as the season progressed. From a mental point of view that's the biggest benefit, we could look back and see how we were able to dig it out.

That stems from our manager, Kim Turner. She is the glue that holds us together and she is a players' manager. She puts us as individuals before us as footballers, and that gets the best out of us.

I'm blaming Nadene Caldwell for starting the slip and slide, but I'm sure others will point the finger at me

That result at Solitude laid the foundations for the rest of the season and, after drawing 1-1 with Cliftonville at Ashfield, we knew the destination of the title was in our hands in the next game against Crusaders.

We weren't at our best but we got the job done. It was great to win it and you can see by the celebrations how much it meant to each and every one of us.

There was a bit of a champagne slip and slide going on after the match. I'm going to blame Nadene Caldwell for that one but I might have had a part to play in it as well. If Deano reads this then I'll hold my hands up.

You have to enjoy those moments, but we knew we still had the cup final to come. We had a really good night and enjoyed it for a few days, but then you are able to switch your focus back onto the football.

We knew winning the league wouldn't feel as good if we couldn't get the Irish Cup as well. That's our mentality, and we knew Cliftonville would be looking for revenge.

Cliftonville more or less battered us for a long period of the game. It was a proper game of two halves, but we started to relax a bit and when our chances came we took them. Once we got that first goal we really settled, and we were able to kick on and see the game out with two more late goals. That was another great night.

The Irish Cup final is such a privilege to play in. Winning was the cherry on top and the end of an unforgettable season.

Patience with NI paying off

It has been a fresh start with Northern Ireland this year with Tanya Oxtoby coming in as the new manager. It's been great and we are constantly learning in every session with her.

With me internationally, it has been about patience. I'm only 21 and although I've got 17 caps I've had to wait for minutes, but when your chance comes you have to take it.

It was great to get so many minutes in the Nations League, the results weren't what we wanted but we've been judging ourselves on the principles that Tanya has brought in, and how we can carry those out in games.

We're constantly improving, and personally I've loved learning Tanya's style. It's something different and something new. We've had to be open-minded and take a lot on board, but we've really enjoyed that.

It definitely helps you going back into your club environment. That can only help us as a team.

I love testing myself against some of the best players in Europe

Tanya has made it really clear about what she wants from us and what she expects from us. You go into training and games knowing what your role is. It's then a case of carrying that out.

It's very different and there has been a lot of change. It's been difficult at times to get used to, but you can see especially in the Albania game that we are starting to gel and things are starting to come together and we put in a great team performance in a 4-0 win.

We've still a lot of growing to do and a long way to go, but there's so much we can learn from Tanya and she's been really positive for both me and the team. I'll hopefully keep improving under her.

Tanya has spoken about trying to get as many players as possible into full-time football, and that's something I aspire to do.

My goal is to eventually go across the water. When that is, I don't know. I'll go when the time is right and when the move is right. I'll keep working hard and developing to ensure it will happen when I'm ready, both as a person and a player.

It definitely is my ultimate goal. To play football for a living would be the dream.

Joely Andrews was speaking to BBC Sport NI's Andy Gray.