Kelly makes debut in four-goal thriller
Livin’ Joy’s 1996 smash-hit ‘Dreamer’ blasted through the PA, a gentle breeze carrying the inviting aroma of curry sauce and chips, as Shamrock Rovers and Treaty United fans settled into the West stand for what would turn out to be a closely contested four goal thriller in Dublin 24 reports Christine Allen.
Rovers made one change to the starting eleven that faced Dominic Foley’s side last weekend, Stephanie Zambra stepping in for Lauren Kelly, The Hoops lining out in a 4-3-3 formation with one of Tallaghts very own, Under 17’s Academy player Ella Kelly, selected as a substitute for the squad.
The rain cleared just in time for the 4pm kick-off, the sun blazing against the baize which displayed no ill effects following the previous night’s sold out fixture against Bohs, the announcer marking Aine O’Gormans 200th League Goal to warm applause.
Collie O’Neill’s side were straight out the blocks, an inviting ball over the top from a determined Zambra almost catching Treaty napping, Kayla Kyle nipping the ball from Joy Ralph who wasted no time in taking The Hoops first set piece.
Cleared by Grace McInerney, Ralph had the foresight to play a short pass straight out of the training ground to O’Gorman for the second, the skipper pulling off yet another superb strike from the edge of the box to hit the top right hand bin.
1-0 to The Hoops.
Treaty responded with a high press of two up front, a dizzying cross by Cara Griffin sailing dangerously through Amanda Budden’s gloves, while Katie Lawlee kept Jessica Hennessy and Shauna Fox on their toes.
Joy Ralph, the player of the match after 90 were played, looked to chop up the midfield on the regular, outsmarting McInerney and Erin Van Dolder.
Despite a number of agonisingly close strikes by a tireless Zambra, Treaty were first off the mark, Scarlett Herron dispossessed by Delana Friesen, who, charging forward, played in the tenacious Katie Lawlee to her left, the captain for the Under 17’s national team levelling the score with a simple tap in 1-1.
A tactical switch which saw Lawlee float across the right channel turned the screw on the home side, a clearance by Fox ricocheting off Friesen and landing in the path of substitute Hannah Saidi, who toe poked it past an irate Budden moments before the end of the first half.
2-1 at the break.
After the restart, Alannah Prizeman replaced Maria Reynolds in the 58th minute and would make an instant impact for O’Neills side.
An aerial challenge won by Herron would land at Prizemans feet, the County Kildare native chesting the ball before spinning it on instinct across the turf to Ralph in the 60th minute, the Greenhills native using her strength to shield the ball from McInerney and slot it with her left foot past Ulliac into the bottom right hand corner. 2-2.
There was plenty of drama in the final fifteen.
Ralph and Lawlee were booked in the 76th minute following a heated exchange, physio Penny Walker and club doctor Emma Nolan racing onto the pitch to attend an injured Fox shortly thereafter, while Dublin 24 native Ella Kelly made her senior debut in the 89th minute in place of Zambra.
The Hoops looked favourites to score on the counter as the minutes ticked by, Lia O’Leary and Ralph rumoured to have caused a temporary ESB outage in Old Bawn, so bright did they spark on the left channel.
The Portmarnock native did well to muscle past Lawlee and deliver a low ball into the box to Ralph, who, lying in wait, skied the ball high and over the crossbar.
Despite an additional five minutes of injury time, The Hoops were unable to net the winner and must now wait for the close of the international break to hunt for that elusive first win when they face Shelbourne FC at Tolka Park on the 13th of April.
After the final whistle, The Echo caught up with Rovers boss Collie O’Neill who was understandably disappointed at what was a fourth successive draw across all competitions and a lack of rub on green.
On asking O’Neill to outline the mindset that both he and the squad will adopt on entering into the international break, given the weight of expectation on The Hoops in particular, the Drogheda native said: “It’s something that we all talk about and you can never look at the end result.
“All you can focus on is what is in front of you because that’s the only thing you can affect right now.
“I can’t affect the past…I can affect the now and that’s where your focus should be and that’s what we have control over so that’s the only thing we should be focusing on.”
