WNL under-19 Cup Final Report: Galway 1 - 0 DLR Waves
Paul Corcoran reports from Eamonn Deacy Park
Galway have been crowned the inaugural WNL under-19 Cup winners after a 1-0 victory over DLR Waves at Eamonn Deacy Park on Sunday evening.
The Tribeswomen completed the League and Cup double thanks to today’s win having claimed the title on Tuesday when they defeated Athlone Town.
This was a tight affair that went all the way to extra-time and was only decided in the cruellest of fashions with Waves conceding an own goal minutes from the final whistle.
Waves were on target first in this final with Aoife Brophy’s 12th minute free-kick taking a deflection off the wall but Hannah Walsh was able to deny the Dublin side the lead.
They went closer again with a free-kick four minutes later when Oleta Griffin rattled the crossbar with a shot of her own from the edge of the box. The ball then fell to Robyn Bolger but her close range effort was deflected behind for a corner.
It wasn’t all Waves in the first half however. A well worked corner-kick routine in the 13th minute came close to nudging them in front with Saoirse Healey finding Aoibhín Donnelly in the box. The forward played a tidy pass to the edge of the box to Abbie Callanan, but she couldn’t keep her shot down and it went inches over the crossbar.
Callanan had an effort on goal again mid-way through the half when Donnelly refused to give up on a long ball forward and managed to strip the ball from Waves’ shot stopper Rugile Auskalnyte. She played the ball from the end line back to Callanan on the edge of the box, but Auskalnyte stood firm to deny the midfielder.
On the stroke of halftime Griffin sent a long ball up the field to the edge Galway’s box and into Zoe Leonard’s path with Galway’s Sorcha McCarney making a vital intervention to steal the ball off the forward and keep the side level going into the break.
The Tribeswomen went close shortly after the re-start with McCarney narrowly heading the ball over the bar from a Kate Slevin free kick.
Slevin threaded a pass to the right flank to Callanan just past the hour mark and the midfielder went on an impressive mazy dribble into the box before firing off a shot on goal – Auskalnyte again denying the home side at her near post.
Galway had a penalty shout with 20 minutes to go as Oleta Griffin put in a full-blooded challenge on Saoirse Healey in the box as the midfielder was through on goal. The referee saw nothing wrong with the challenge and possession returned to Waves.
Aoibheann Costello was denied a goal five minutes later when she leaped to head a corner-kick inside the box. The ball was destined for the top corner only for Jodie McQuillan to offer a second pair of hands in goals as the defender put her hands up to block the ball on the line.
The defender received her marching orders immediately, but Callanan’s penalty following the incident was saved Auskalnyte and Donnelly nearly scored from the rebound, but the striker hit the side netting giving a huge let off for the Dublin side.
With Waves down to ten players the Tribeswomen were well on top for the rest of the game.
Substitute Olusola could have had Galway in front after a perfect low cross to the back post by Callanan but the striker was just a fraction of a second too late to turn the ball into the net with just ten minutes to go.
McCarney found Costelloe on the edge of the box with a long through ball a minute later but the midfielder sent her shot whistling past the post. Olusola went close again two minutes from time with Calanan providing the through ball – the forward’s shot was dragged just narrowly wide of the goal much to Galway’s frustration.
The breakthrough finally came four minutes from the end of extra-time. Costello took the ball into the box before laying it off to Olusola. The striker turned in the box and fired a shot towards the bottom right corner but it deflected off Oleta Griffin and rolled into the opposite corner to give Galway a slender lead and ultimately the win.
Galway WU19: Hannah Walsh; Emer O’Neill, Sorcha McCarney, Emma O’Donoghue (Ella Gilmore, 117), Aoife Staunton, Ailbhe Whyte, Aoibheann Costello (Jane Trehy 119), Kate Slevin, Saoirse Healey, Aoibhín Donnelly, Abbie Callanan.
Subs not used: Peggy Forde, Rola Olusola, Shauna Brennan, Bryna Milton, Elisha Bohan, Kate Thompson, Alva Munnelly, Eve Dossen.
Booked: Emma O’Donnoghue (15).
DLR Waves WU19: Rugile Auskalnyte; Chloe McCarthy, Jodie McQuillan, Nicole Keogh Naoise Rutherford, 120), Oleta Griffin, Aoife Waldron, Shannon Gibson, Robyn Bolger (Shannon Guildea, 50), Zoe Leonard (Joy Ralph, 50), Ella Maree (Lucy Edwards, 78), Aoifa Brophy.
Subs not used: Aja Chambers, Nikki Brown, Emily Flynn, Leah Hartigan, Holly Rutherford.
Booked: Aoife Brophy (79), Lucy Edwards (110).
Sent off: Jodie McQuillan (76).
extratime.com Player of the Match: Aoibheann Costello (Galway)
Last day drama as Shelbourne claim Women's National League title https://t.co/Lqs1ILE5R6pic.twitter.com/mpNXa05AqV
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