LADIES’ SOCCER
City defeated by Waves in third loss this season
DLR WAVES……………………………..3
CORK CITY………………………………0
Daire Walsh
DISAPPOINTMENT for Cork City at the UCD Bowl on Saturday. They fell to a three-goal reversal at the hands of DLR Waves in the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division.
Looking to pick up their first points of the season following consecutive defeats to Shelbourne and Galway United, City got off to the worst possible start in the Belfield venue. With just three minutes on the clock, Waves attacker Joy Ralph unleashed a long-distance effort that drifted over the head of the back-tracking Hannah Walsh, before finding the net.
This was an early hammer blow for the Leesiders and matters became even more ominous for the visitors when Katie Malone headed home an Isobel Finnegan corner for their opponents in the ninth-minute.
Yet in spite of this morale-sapping opening, City did grow into the game as the first half progressed. While Eva Mangan couldn’t get a proper connection to a Laura Shine pull-back on 17 minutes, the Cork skipper fired marginally over the Waves crossbar at a right-hand angle moments later.
Nevertheless, former City star Eve Badana remained largely untroubled in the home team’s goal and Danny Murphy’s side were ultimately faced with a 2-0 interval deficit.
Cork introduced Fiana Bradley and Chloe Atkinson as a double substitution five minutes before the break. Mangan put Shine through for a neat finish on 53 minutes, but her strike was ruled out for offside.
With Mangan and Atkinson driving forward at every available opportunity, City were keeping Waves on their toes as the action developed. A regular fixture in the underage international ranks over the past few years, Mangan’s performance will have caught the eye of Republic of Ireland senior women’s manager Vera Pauw who was in attendance for the second half of the contest.
DLR Waves maintained a strong threat in attack and wrapped up the three points when Neema Nyangasi flicked a free-kick to the net on 76 minutes.
DLR WAVES: Eve Badana; Abbie Brophy, Jess Gleeson, Oleta Griffin, Nicole Keogh (Robyn Bolger 86); Isobel Finnegan, Neema Nyangasi (Vanessa Ogbonna 85); Amber Cosgrove (Michelle Doonan 62), Katie Malone (Freya Roche 85), Eve O’Brien (Catherine Cronin 62); Joy Ralph.
CORK CITY: Hannah Walsh; Lauren Walsh, Danielle Burke, Heidi Mackin; Alix Mendez (Chloe Atkinson 40), Kelly Leahy (Ellie O’Brien 66), Eva Mangan, Jesse Mendez, Erika Manfre (Shaunagh McCarthy 66); Aoibhin Donnelly (Fiana Bradley 40); Laura Shine (Lauren Singleton 86).
Referee: Mark Patchell (Dublin).