City blow first-half lead as Shels win
LADIES SOCCER
SHELBOURNE LFC…………………………….2
CORK CITY WFC………………………………..1
Daire Walsh
SECOND-HALF goals from Kate Mooney and Alexandra Kavanagh were crucial at Tolka Park on Saturday, when Cork City WFC lost out to Shelbourne in the Continental Tyres Women’s National League.
City were eager to bounce back from their heavy defeat to UCD Waves three days earlier and enjoyed a bright start.
Saoirse Noonan (who is expected to feature for the Cork minor footballers in today’s All-Ireland final against Galway) picked out Claire Shine with a precise pass in the 13th-minute, and she forced a fine stop from Amanda McQuillan.
Shine fired just over the Shels crossbar at the end of the first quarter, before City netminder Amanda Budden brilliantly turned away a Mooney effort at the opposite end.
Leanne Kiernan did find the Cork net on 27 minutes, but the Shels midfielder was adjudged to have been offside.
This was a let-off for the visitors, but fresh from her midweek debut, Christina Dring opened her City account 40 minutes. McQuillan couldn’t hold onto a powerful long-distance drive by Shine, and the lively Dring was on hand to finish off the rebound.
Cork’s interval lead, though, was gone with seven minutes gone in the second period.
A Kavanagh strike from outside the box crashed off the bar, but after the ball fell into her path, Mooney fired home close-range.
This was certainly a set-back for City, but with Shine and Noonan continuing to offer an attacking threat, they were still in a position to claim a positive result.
Shelbourne’s Kiernan had another goal ruled out for offside, and a powerful 30-yard drive from Shine narrowly cleared the woodwork just past the hour mark. The game remained delicately poised, but after Kiernan was fouled by Nathalie O’Brien inside the area with 18 minutes remaining, Kavanagh clinically slotted the resulting penalty beyond the reach of Budden.
This presented City with an uphill task, and even though an 87th-minute curling strike by Shine came back off the upright, the Leesiders ultimately suffered their seventh league reversal of 2017.
SHELBOURNE LFC: Amanda McQuillan; Niamh Prior, Seana Cooke, Jamie Finn, Lynn Craven; Sophie Watters (Courtney Higgins 46), Rachel Graham; Leanne Kiernan, Alexandra Kavanagh, Isibeal Atkinson (Roma McLoughlin 46); Kate Mooney (Alanna McEvoy 79).
CORK CITY WFC: Amanda Budden; Danielle Burke, Maggie Duncliffe, Ciara McNamara, Nathalie O’Brien; Tara O’Gorman (Mary Barrett 74), Katie McCarthy (Kate O’Donovan 69); Christina Dring, Saoirse Noonan, Danielle Sheehy; Claire Shine.
Referee: Paula Brady (Dublin).