WNL Season Preview: Peamount United

Manager: James O’Callaghan

Stadium: Greenogue

Players in: Sadhbh Doyle (Galway WFC), Tiegan Ruddy (Shelbourne FC), Alannah McEvoy (Shelbourne FC), Stephanie Roche (Florentia).

Extratime.com Key Player: Niamh Farrelly

This Peamount side is littered with Republic of Ireland internationals, but it’s Farrelly in the centre of midfield that pulls it all together seamlessly.

One of the first names on the team sheet, Farrelly arrived in Peamount in 2017, and has spent the last three seasons making the midfield position her own. A player of rare positional awareness and passing ability in the final third, her form is sure to prove pivotal to all Peamount hope to achieve.

Extratime.com One to Watch: Alannah McEvoy

A new acquisition from Dublin rivals Shelbourne, McEvoy is one of the most exciting young players in the league at the moment, and this season is set to be a big one for the Wicklow native.

McEvoy has represented Ireland at both U17 and u19 level, and her speed off the mark and ability to dribble through opponents adds a new, exciting forward mindedness to the Peamount attack.

How they did last season:

League: Peamount will find it incredibly hard to top last season, as they won the league by two points over Shelbourne.

They were prolific in front on goal, scoring a whopping average of 4.4 goals a game. This, combined with a rock solid defensive unit that kept 11 clean sheets, contributed to the best season in the club’s history

Their only dropped points came with a 1-1 draw against Shelbourne at home, which was followed by 2-1 loss in the away fixture. They also drew 1-1 away to Galway United.

In the end, though the table may tell a different story, Peamount were the runaway winners of 2019 and it will take a lot to overtake them.

WFAI Cup - Peamount started their cup campaign with a brilliant 5-1 win against Limerick in the quarter final, which will be remembered for Peamount’s blistering first half performance. Goals from Naima Chemaou, Eleanor Ryan-Doyle, Louise Corrigan, Claire Walsh and Aine O’Gorman gave O’Callaghan’s side a 5-0 lead going into the interval. Limerick needed a miracle from that point on and, despite scoring a goal with 15 minutes to go, in the end it failed to materialise.

The semi-final against Shelbourne was a cagey affair decided by two second-half goals from Megan Lynch Smith and Aine O’Gorman helping them to victory. And with that they were in the Cup final.

Another cup final appearance was marked by another cup final defeat, however, as they fell at the last hurdle against the same opponents they failed to conquer in the previous year’s finale. Wexford Youths edged a 5-goal thriller in the Aviva in November.

Despite twice pulling themselves level with a crisply struck volley from Karen Duggan and Ryan-Doyle’s long range strike, this never seemed like a game Peamount looked capable of winning, and it’s this loss that may prove to be their biggest motivator for the new season.

League Cup: Peamount succumbed in the semi-final 2-1 to Shelbourne in the League Cup, following a 2-0 over DLR Waves in the quarters.

What to expect this season:

Peamount will be looking to continue their fine form in the league, and with new attacking additions could well look to increase their goal tally.

While success in the league will always be a focus (they’ve never won the title in two successive years), breaking the WFAI Cup vodoo should be a major focus following their previous defeats. Having come so close, it would be a shame to see this golden era of Peamount football go without a cup.

Peamount are also due to take part in the Uefa Women’s Champions League following their league victory last season, with preliminary dates for the qualifying rounds set for the first two weeks of October.

Given current circumstances regarding COVID-19, however, it is unclear as to when or where these matches are set to take place. Success for Peamount would be considered a place in the Round of 32, and from there anything is a bonus. Their solid defence could prove pivotal to making moves through Europe.