WNL Preview: Castlebar Celtic -v- Cork City Women

Castlebar Celtic vs Cork City Celtic Park, 04/04/15

Kick-Off: 17:00

Match Referee:  Irma Mulvihill 

Castlebar Celtic

Castlebar head into Saturday’s fixture versus Cork on the back of home win in their last league outing defeating Peamount United by two goals to one. The victory against Peamount helped to stem a run of consecutive defeats against Wexford Youths and UCD Waves.

The home side will be aiming to build moment as they aim to finish the season on a high note, Extratime.ie spoke to Yvonne Hedigan about the victory over Peamount and the expectations for Saturday’s game.

“Everyone was delighted with the win, it was a tense 90 minutes but with the effort the girls put in we deserved the chance to walk off the pitch with smiles on our faces. The win gave the team a great morale boost.

“The entire squad is excited about the game Saturday night, Cork are an organised team so we have to be well focused for the task in hand.

“Every team deserves respect and we as Castlebar Celtic know that. Cork will be no walkover at the weekend and we need to be well organised as there are many talented players within their squad. We aim to come out with three points but we know this will be a hard fought game.”

Castlebar must plan without the services of Rachel Kearns, Saoirse Ludden and Ciara Moore who are absent due to GAA commitments, while Jess Nolan is with the Ireland WU17s. Catherine Hyndman is another absentee for the home side due to ligament damage.

Cork City

This weekend see’s Cork City on the road for the final time this season when they make the long trip to Celtic Park. Cork suffered a heavy defeat last week on the road when they conceded seven goals away to Peamount United.

Cork will be hoping that the players who are returning from injury can give the squad the boost that’s needed to end the run of eight consecutive defeats.

Extratime.ie spoke to Nathalie O’Brien about the trip to Castlebar, the expectations of the squad and how she has settled back into the side after a long spell on the sidelines due to a leg break.

“Since the new year, the team has suffered with many injuries to players, despite these setbacks the mood in the team is great, we are all sticking together and seeing out the season as a unit. While it has been frustrating, we are more eager than ever to see out the season and prepare for the coming season.

“While we all know that this will be a tough game as we are missing key players due to injuries and work commitments and Castlebar being a very good team, we are expecting to get a result as we all will keep fighting until the end of game.

“It feels fantastic being back with the team playing football, I didn't think it would be possible that I would be back this season because I kept getting niggling injuries after the broken leg. I just kept my head down and worked very hard to come back and it feels great being with all the girls again and being a part of everything associated with training and match days.”

Cork manager Charlie Lynch is hoping that the squad’s recent injury crisis has ended, Angie Carry and Norma Healy expect to return to fitness. While Nathalie O’Brien and Laura Medbury should also be available after minor knocks.

Match Stats

The two sides have clashed twice this season, with Castlebar coming out victorious twice recording a 5-1 victory in Celtic Park and a 3-0 win in Bishopstown.