The opening games of the Women’s National League Cup took place over the weekend with four quarter-finals down for decision.
On Saturday, League Cup holders Peamount United were 2-0 winners over a dogged DLR Waves side at Greenogue, while last season’s treble winners Wexford Youths were emphatic 8-0 winners against a hapless Kilkenny United.
On Sunday, Shelbourne took care of Cork City with a 3-1 scoreline while in the shock of the round Limerick beat Galway 1-0 at Fairview Rangers ground.
Eleanor Ryan-Doyle was the heroine for Peamount as she scored early and late to inflict defeat on Graham Kelly’s side. It was former Irish International Áine O’Gorman who turned provider for both goals, first threading a lovely pass into the feet of Ryan-Doyle who scored with aplomb, before her corner kick was headed in with just two minutes remaining. The win was Peamount’s sixth consecutive victory this season and they remain unbeaten this season.
Rianna Jarrett just can’t stop scoring for Wexford Youths, as she claimed a hat-trick for Tom Elmes side in their win against Kilkenny. Captain Kylie Murphy also struck twice for Wexford, who were four-nil up by half-time, while McKenna Davidson and two goals from Vanessa Ogbonna ended the scoring. It was a massive difference to last weeks encounter between the same rivals, in which Wexford won 2-0.
Check out the highlights of Wexford Youths against Kilkenny United here;
Shelbourne took the lead against Cork City in the tenth minute when Noelle Murray scored from a pass by Rebecca Cooke. They doubled their advantage just after half-time when Alannah McEvoy scored, followed by a Rebecca Curragh goal just on the hour mark to make it 3-0. Cork pulled a goal back through Saoirse Noonan late on but it proved nothing more than a consolation as Shelbourne move onto the semi-finals.
In Fairview, Limerick were surprise winners in their local derby of sorts, when they claimed a superb 1-0 victory over Galway. An own goal on half an hour, following a free-kick floated in by the wily old veteran Sylvia Gee, sealed the win for Dave Rooney’s team.
However, it wasn’t without its drama! In the dying moments of the game Galway were awarded, what Limerick deemed a fairly dubious penalty, but up stepped goalkeeper Karen Connolly to deny Shauna Fox at the death.
Picture Credits: Wexford Youths FC,