Raheny United seal victory in Champions League opener

Raheny United have kicked off their opening game of the 2014/2015 UEFA Women's Champions League Qualifiers with a crucial win. The Dubliners came through a hard fought 2 -1 victory against hosts Olympia Cluj.

 

Olympia Cluj ought to be the toughest of opponents for Raheny in this year's qualifiers. Cluj, having qualified twice for the Champions League final round of 32 in the last three years, are the top seeded team in the group.

 

Raheny United faced the hosts earlier today at Cluj Arena. The Irish Champions held a 1 - 0 lead at half time, thanks to Noelle Murray's goal on the 23rd minute.

 

Cluj pressed Raheny high throughout the second half and hit a number of efforts wide. It was on the 62nd minute when their hard work finally found a breakthrough. Olympia Cluj's Voicu found the back of the net to level the sides.

 

Raheny's goalkeeper Niamh Reid-Burke was outstanding throughout the game but she was exceptional in the second half when Cluj were finding themselves in favourable positions. Reid-Burke kept her cool and fought out the danger.

 



Raheny made use of their sub's bench in the second half. Rachel Graham made way for Lauren Dwyer on the 73rd minute and another substitution was made minutes later. Danielle Sheehy being introduced on the 79th for goal scorer Noelle Murray. The introduction of the substitutes gave Raheny a bit of pace and energy for the remainder of the game.

 

Katie McCabe took on the Cluj defence on the 81st minute and provided a diagonal ball from the end line back across to the six yard box. Republic of Ireland team mate and U19 European Championship hero Clare Shine stood firm while under pressure from a number of defenders and drilled it into the host's net. Raheny played clever for the remainder of the game. Clare Shine was replaced by Catherine Cronin in the later minutes and the players played to the corners and space in a hope to drill down time on the clock.

 

Next up for Raheny is 2nd seeded team NSA Sofia on Monday, August 11th at 14:00. You can follow Raheny's progress on their official Twitter - Raheny United

 



Olympia Cluj: Paraluta,Corduneanu (Giurgiu, 60), Ficzay (C), Bortan (Pinczi, 83), Manie, Vago, Vatafu, Voicu, Batea, Iu?an (Ciolacu, 46), Corniciuc

 

Raheny United: Reid-Burke, Walsh, Shine (Cronin, 92), Newman, Slattery, Creagh (C), Graham (Dwyer, 73), McCabe, Murray (Sheehy, 79), Killeen, Conlon

 

 

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