FAI Cup Preview: Shamrock Rovers -v- Shelbourne

SHAMROCK ROVERS

The Hoops might well have some revenge on their minds when they welcome the Reds to Tallaght Stadium on Monday night for their Women’s FAI Cup quarter-final (kick off 7.45pm).

In last year’s competition Shelbourne defeated Shamrock Rovers 2-0 in Tallaght at the semi-final stage so Collie O’Neill’s side won’t want to make it back-to-back FAI Cup exits at the hands of their rivals.

O’Neill’s women did beat the Reds in the semi-final of the All-Island Cup earlier in the season and might still be smarting from their penalty shoot-out loss to Galway United in the subsequent final. With the Hoops well off the pace in the league, this competition now is their last realistic chance of some silverware this season.

“We want to try and get to finals,” said Hoops Head Coach Collie O’Neill when speaking to shamrockrovers.ie. “It’s where we want to be so it doesn’t matter the opposition.

"It’s not about trying to get one back (on Shels) for last year, it’s about just trying to get some rewards for an awful lot of the hard work that’s being put in this year and trying to live up to our potential that is there within the squad.

“I thought the (All-Island) semi-final game was a very, very high-end quality game.

"It’s one of them where if you had gone as a neutral to watch the game, you would have seen just two good sides going at each other. I expect something similar again this time around but this Shels team have quality all over the pitch.”

Reflecting on the talent at his disposal, O’Neill said: “Joy (Ralph) can be a handful for any defender. Again, I think Áine (O’Gorman) doesn’t get the credit that she deserves for her performances. Week in, week out she’s one of those players that never drops below an 8/10, she’s consistently good.”

SHELBOURNE

The Reds have reached the last three Women’s FAI Cup finals but the 2022 final in Tallaght is the only one that they have won in a season where they won the double.

When the sides played in Tolka Park earlier in the season in the league, the teams played out a scoreless draw.

The Hoops Head Coach had this to say about the threat from Eoin Wearen’s Shels side: “Noelle Murray is a game winner, she has a vast amount of experience and is one of them that in the flick of an eye, can create a little bit of magic and cause you harm.

"You have Megan Smith Lynch, Gemma Quinn who is a very powerful runner in behind, so there’s big threats there all over.”

The other three teams in the semi-final of the competition are known after this weekend’s games with holders Athlone Town joined by Cork City and Sligo Rovers.

The semi-final draw will take place at FAI HQ at 12:15 on Tuesday 27th August.

Referee: Oliver Moran

MATCH STATS

Shels have lifted the FAI Cup trophy twice – the first time in 2016. They have been runners up on five occasions.

The Hoops haven’t lifted the FAI Cup since 2001.

PREDICTION

2-1 home win