WFAI Cup Final Preview: Shelbourne Ladies - v - Wexford Youths

On Sunday afternoon at the Aviva Stadium, the Women’s FAI Cup Final between Shelbourne Ladies and Wexford Youths will act as the curtain raiser for the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup Final between Dundalk and Cork City. The clash between two of the country's two top women’s sides will also be broadcast on National Television with RTE 2’s coverage beginning at 12.10pm and the match kicking off at 12.20pm.

SHELBOURNE LADIES

Shels head into Sunday’s clash against the defending league champions with many of their squad going for a fourth straight cup success, having previously been successful in the last three years with Raheny United, with the last two finals being played at the Aviva Stadium.

With this match being two of the country's best sides, Shelbourne head into the game as underdogs despite being unbeaten in their opening five matches in all competitions, winning four and drawing their opening WNL Shield clash with Galway 1-1 in Eamonn Deacy Park in September.

Like their opposition on Sunday, Shels have shown they have the ability to create opportunities on goal with the Red Pandas, finding the net on 28 occasions in their five outings, including a 9-0 home victory over newcomers Kilkenny United and a 9-1 away win against bottom side Castlebar Celtic.

Despite their free flowing scoring, there are doubts about one of Shels’ key forwards with Katie McCabe being rated only 50/50 to grace the Aviva playing surface due to a leg injury she sustained in Ireland’s 2-1 victory in their recent UEFA European Championship qualifier against Portugal.

In addition to the doubt over McCabe, Shels boss Casey McQuillan must also plan without the services of Niamh Barnes, who will miss the game due to ankle ligament damage, while both Sophie Watters and Megan Lynch are cup-tied having represented Shels U18 side which reached the semi-final stage.

To reach Sunday’s showpiece, Shelbourne Ladies defeated their sister club Shelbourne U18 4-0 at Morton Stadium with top scorer Noelle Murray bagging a hat-trick on her first start of the season after missing the opening weeks due to suspension. In the quarter-final, Shelbourne received a walkover after Kilmallock who failed to travel to the capital to face the North Dublin club.

WEXFORD YOUTHS

The Southeast side make the trip to Lansdowne Road in search of a first Women’s FAI Cup success, after being defeated in the previous season’s in the semi-finals where Youths ere defeated by Raheny United after extra-time at the AUL. Despite suffering this setback last season in the cup, Youths ensured they made up for the defeat by securing a first Women’s National League title when they defeat Raheny United 2-1 at Morton Stadium last March.

After tasting a first league success, Youths earned a place in the coveted UEFA Women’s Champions League and after exiting at the qualifying stage, Willie Doyle's side were determined to ensure they learned from mistakes in Poland for their league defence.

With Summer additions such as Linda Douglas, Emma Hansberry, Ruth Fahey and Maria Delahunty, Youths have shown they have continued to develop and the start of their domestic campaign has certainly indicated this to be the case with six victories in all competitions.

After seeing their opening league game against UCD Waves postponed due to tragic circumstances, Youths began the defence of their league crown with an impressive home victory, 8-0 against Peamount United.

Saturday’s victory for the home side also saw two huge boost for Wexford with Rianna Jarrett and Jessica Gleeson returning to the field after injury layoffs. Jarrett made her first appearance in a Youths jersey since the forward tore her ACL for a second time on international duty last January in La Manga. Despite such a long layoff, she was not forced to wait long for her first goal, with the talented forward finding the net less than five minutes after being introduced.

Gleeson, like Jarrett, was also making her first domestic appearance of the season after the defender who impressed against the USA last May picked up a leg injury in her sides European campaign and was forced to sit out the first two months of the season.

Unlike their opposition, Youths have had two tough games to reach Sunday’s Final. In the quarter-final they had to travel to Dublin to play Eileen Gleeson’s UCD Waves, a game which they were victorious in by a score line of 4-2. In the semi-final, Youths welcomed Peamount United, the last side to beat them in Ferrycarrig Park, and a Claire O’Riordan hat-trick, along with goals from Aisling Frawley, Emma Hansberry and Carol Breen was enough to seal a place at the Aviva Stadium.

Match Referee: Paula Brady.

MATCH STATS

Sunday’s clash between the teams will be the first since Shelbourne merged with Raheny. However, Raheny and Wexford Youths clashed five times last season with Raheny winning three, twice in cup semi-finals while Youths two league victories provided vital to their league success.

Wexford Youths have scored 30 goals in six outings in all competitions, with Claire O’Riordan netting ten times, including back to back hat-tricks over Peamount United. Shelbourne have scored 28 goals in five outings, with Noelle Murray being their top scorer with six goals - a goal when she came on as a substitute in Castlebar, a hat-trick against Shels u18 and a brace last weekend against Kilkenny United.

Shelbourne Ladies have started 22 different players in their five games, while Youths have started just 13 different players in six games.