Christy Lougheed delighted to see youth shining through at Peamount

On Saturday evening, Peamount United battled back twice from behind against Shelbourne ladies to claim a share of the spoils in the League Cup and after the game Peas Boss Christy Lougheed spoke to Extratime.ie about his side’s performance.

“That’s three great results in a row” he said. “Tonight [Saturday] was a big, big challenge for us because we were playing against Shelbourne. [We have] the highest of respect for Shelbourne.

“I think they're a very good team. A couple of internationals in [their side] and I think the team met the challenge so I was very, very pleased. It shows that we have improved significantly since they hammered us 5-1 earlier in the season.”

With Peamount having lost over a dozen players in the last two seasons, Lougheed was quick to point out that there is a lot of youth among his side, but they also have many underage internationals like their counterparts.

“Last week, we played in Castlebar and there was only one player over 19, ten of the players were 19 or younger. Like Shelbourne we have lots of under 17s and under 19s internationals. The difference is we don’t have any senior internationals at the moment, but hopefully we will reach that goal in our development perhaps this year or next year. “

Despite missing key players in Captain Clare Kinsella and Vice-Captain Mags Doyle the Peas boss was pleased how others stepped up to replace the influential pair and he was quick to praise substitute Lauren Kelly for her impact, but he also agreed that several other youngsters such as skipper on the night Lauren Kealy, Amber Barrett, Roma McLaughlin and Sarah McKevitt had a huge impact on his side’s performance.

“Indeed” he said when asked about if the quartet had a great performance.

“Even our 17 year old who come on near the end, Lauren Kelly showed a good deed of physicality and she was able to cope with that level of football. I think we actually had three 16 year olds in the team. For them young players to be able to step up to this level is very encouraging for the future.”

After collecting four points from their opening two outings, Peamount know that a result against Galway in Greenogue in a fortnight’s time would see them advancing to the semi-final, but Lougheed is not taking the Westerners for granted having beaten them just once in three meetings this season.

“We just take it one step at a time. [We have the] highest respect for Don O’Riordan and Galway. They also have improved and have a very good side. Until now justifiably, there is a little bit ahead of us in the league, but tonight’s performance will give us great encouragement and confidence and again it should be another great game.”