Peamount crowned and poised for cup decider
By Stephen Leonard
PEAMOUNT United Ladies team manager James O’Callaghan believes his side can use their recent National League title win as a springboard to FAI Cup success.
Having, last Saturday, routed Cork City 8-1 in Greenogue to secure the league crown, the Newcastle side will now turn their attention to the challenge of holders Wexford Youths in Sunday’s FAI Cup decider at the Aviva Stadium.
Peamount United Ladies raised the Só Hotels Womens National League trophy on Saturday night.
“We were delighted to get win on Saturday” said O’Callaghan. “It’s been a long tough season, we’d lost only once and drawn twice and still it came down to the final match, so it was great to see the girls get over the line.
“The last two games against DLR and Cork were very convincing performances and they needed to be because otherwise we could have ended up in a play-off against Shelbourne and we wouldn’t have wanted that.
“If we hadn’t won those matches the players might have lost confidence and momentum. But we have that momentum now and the consistency the girls have shown has been really good” he said.
Certainly Peamount were not making any mistakes at the weekend, racing 5-0 ahead by the halftime break in a match in which Eleanor Ryan Doyle scored four times.
Aine O’Gorman also got on the scoresheet while Megan Smyth-Lynch regis-tered a brace, including a first half corner kick that swung in directly to the back the of net.
Sunday’s Cup Final is a repeat of last year’s showpiece, but O’Callaghan and his team will be looking for a more favourable result this time around.
“Wexford haven’t been as consistent this season, but they still got to the League Cup Final and now the FAI Cup Final so it’s going to be a tough game, but one we’re confident we can win” stressed O’Callaghan.
“You’d like to think the experience of playing in the final last season and the experience gained by some of the young players over the past year will stand to them. It’s a great day out for the volunteers, comm-ittee and supporters and it shows the young players a pathway to playing in the Aviva” he added.
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