Shamrock Rovers captain Mia Murtagh, centre, lifts the cup with team-mates after their side's victory in the EA SPORTS LOI Women's U17 Cup final match between Cork City and Shamrock Rovers at Athlone Town Stadium Photos by Sportsfile

Cup delight for Rovers U17s

Michael Howley October 17, 2025 11:54 am

SHAMROCK Rovers u17’s girls team have continued their incredibly successful year by winning even more silverware picking up the EA Sports LOI Cup last weekend with a victory over Cork City.

Taking place in Athlone Stadium, Rovers would break the deadlock after 15 minutes when Alice Buggle netted home after Cork goalkeeper Amy Dalton failed to collect a cross coming in from the left wing.

Rovers would continue to push for a second goal throughout the first half with captain Mia Murtagh hitting the crossbar and Sophie Byrne coming close to scoring with a snap shot on goal.

The game would pick up steam in the second half as Cork began to press for an equaliser, though they looked threatening they failed to produce that killer pass to unlock the Rovers defence and ultimately were unable to trouble goalkeeper Sarah Doyle in the Rovers goal.

Rovers themselves did not stop in their pursuit of another goal and Amy Dalton stopped Sophie Byrne from doubling the lead with an excellent save.

Rovers looked to bring in reinforcements from the bench but even with the additions of Mia Gaff and Sarah Reynolds they still found themselves unable to score again.

They held onto their lead until the end of the game and secured a 1-0 victory thanks to Alice Buggle’s goal early on in that first half.

Rovers route to the final saw them demonstrate their class on multiple occasions.

They opened up their campaign with a 5-1 win against St Patrick’s Athletic.

A 2-0 victory over Peamount was followed by a 3-2 win against Athlone Town in the Semi Final before the final against Cork leaving no doubt as to their quality and skill.

Manager Keith Coffey spoke on the win and performance.

“We were excellent in the first half and could’ve been 3-0 up with the chances we created.

‘We had most of the ball but Cork are a really good defensive side who are very well coached.

‘They are an older side than us as well so physically maybe a little bit of a mismatch.

‘In the second half they came out and were a bit more brash and pressed us harder up the pitch. In the last ten minutes of the game we really had to dig it out to get over the line.”

Coffey spoke on the continued success of the team after a Super Cup victory earlier in the year.

“The girls are like sponges. They are so open minded and want to learn.

‘They ask questions and work hard. I think it’s probably their attitude, application and their commitment to each other as well.

‘It’s a squad of twenty but sometimes that can be hard to manage. Our girls make it easy and are totally committed to the team. It’s a privilege to watch.”