WNL Preview: Shelbourne -v- Limerick

• Brendan Graham
• Sat, Mar 16 2019




SHELBOURNE

Shelbourne couldn’t have asked a better start to their season last weekend, defeating Kilkenny 10-1, and will take huge confidence from that result as they welcome Limerick to Tolka Park (kick-off 4pm).

Manager Dave Bell will be delighted with how the season has started and will be encouraged that six different players managed to get themselves on the scoresheet in the opener against Kilkenny.

Alannah McEvoy, Rebecca Creagh, Jessica Ziu, Jessica Gargan, Emily Whelan, Alex Kavanagh all got off the mark and will hope to add to their individual tallies in their second game of the season.

Rebecca Creagh has returned this week to the club for her third spell with Shels with Chloe Mustaki and Jessica Gargan announced this week as having signed for the 2019 season too.

LIMERICK

Limerick suffered defeat in their 2019 league opener against Galway on a 6-3 score line last weekend at the Markets Field.

To their credit, they never gave up against Galway last weekend and scored three goals in the closing minutes from Sylvia Gee, Aoife Horgan and Sophie Liston.

Manager Dave Rooney still took plenty of positives from their league opener despite conceding six goals.

“It was a crazy game,” he said. “I thought we were well in the game early on in the first half. Obviously conditions played a big factor.”

“We probably had the best chances early on – I think it was probably one of those games when you have the conditions in your favour, you need to score first.

“They will learn a lot from the game and that’s where we are – we are a very, very young side.

“I think we are a far better side than we were last year, a far better class of player, but they are only babies.

“They are only 16 and 17 years of age so we just need to nurture them and bring them forward.”

MATCH STATS

The sides met on three occasions in the league last season with Shels coming out on top in all three fixtures.

The Reds enjoyed a 4-1 home win and also recorded 6-0 and 5-1 away victories against Limerick last season

Shelbourne enjoyed a good season last season finishing second, just two points behind winners Wexford Youths.

Limerick ended their 2018 WNL campaign in seventh with ten points.

Prediction

Shelbourne 4-0 Limerick

Shelbourne

Injured: Unknown.

Doubtful: Unknown.

Suspended: None.

Limerick

Injured: Unknown.

Doubtful: Unknown.

Suspended: None.