Peamount lose out to Shelbourne in top-of-the-table WNL clash

Peamount United have fallen five points adrift at the summit of the Women’s National League after suffering a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Shelbourne in Tolka Park this afternoon.

Thanks to a 30th-minute goal from Jessie Stapleton, Noel King’s north Dubliners claimed the bragging rights in this Metropolitan derby. There was no doubting the commitment and desire of Peamount throughout the contest, but Shels ultimately did enough to secure all three points.

After sharing the spoils with Bohemians at PLR Park seven days earlier, this comes as another blow in the Newcastle club’s quest to reclaim league honours in 2022. However, it is still very early in the campaign and James O’Callaghan’s charges will immediately switch their attention to a home encounter against Athlone Town next weekend.

Peamount came into this game with their sights set on overtaking Shels in the WNL standings and had some good attacking opportunities during the early stages of the action. After Stephanie Roche fired over from a seventh-minute corner, Karen Duggan did likewise following good play by Jetta Berrill moments later.

Shels netminder Amanda Budden is a housemate of Duggan and she produced a fine stop from Sadhbh Doyle as the play progressed.

However, Shels were also threatening and ultimately broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark. Following a memorable run from Jessica Gargan, the ball arrived at the feet of Stapleton and she unleashed an unstoppable drive beyond the reach of Niamh Reid-Burke.

This was a set-back for the visitors and even though Shels altered their line-up prior to the interval – Abbie Larkin coming in for Keeva Keenan – Peamount were facing into a one-goal deficit at the start of the second half.

In a bid to edge his side back into contention, O’Callaghan introduced Tara O’Hanlon in place of Erin McLaughlin just past the hour. Republic of Ireland international Aine O’Gorman was narrowly off-target on the third-quarter mark and with Lauren Kelly also thrown into the attacking mix, an onslaught was expected from Peamount in the closing minutes.

Doyle was close to restoring parity in the dying moments of the tie, but Shelbourne held out to cement pole position in the WNL.