Women’s FAI Cup final: Athlone Town 1 (Waesch 90), Shelbourne 3 (Harcourt 9, Kavanagh 36, Wollmer 43)
It was shaping up to be a dream weekend for Athlone Town. On Saturday they became the first club to win the league for the third year running when Galway, their closest challengers, lost to Wexford. And on Sunday they had the chance to complete back-to-back league and cup doubles. Shelbourne, though, proved to be the party poopers supreme.
A devastating first-half display by the Dublin club, who were meeting Athlone in the final for the fourth time in five years, had the final all but settled by the break – by which time they led 3-0.
They took a grip of the game from the off, having the bulk of the possession in the first half and keeping Athlone pinned back. They should have scored from the first clear opening of the game, on eight minutes, but after turning Kelis Barton in the box Bella Flocchini hit her shot straight at Maria Matthaiou.
A minute later, though, they took the lead when Matthaiou could only bat Alex Kavanagh’s free-kick straight to Halle Harcourt, the 16-year-old Dubliner turning it home. A year ago, Harcourt marked her senior debut for Shelbourne with a goal, but this occasion was proving even more momentous for the gifted youngster who shone throughout.
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But for a superb Mya Sanchez save, Athlone might well have been level soon after, Izzy Ryan picking out Alexis Strickland in the box, Sanchez tipping her bullet of a strike over the bar. Strickland had Athlone’s only other first-half chance of note later but hit a tame effort straight at Sanchez.
Other than that, it was one-way traffic, Shelbourne threatening to blitz Athlone much like they did in the 2024 final when they beat them 6-1. And if they had taken their chances, they could have quite easily reached that tally by half-time.
Harcourt had a goal disallowed when she drifted in to an offside position before Flocchini squared the ball to her in the box, and the teenager was denied again soon after by Matthaiou after she broke through on the left.
By then, Harcourt was causing Athlone no end of pain, and after Kayleigh Shine hauled her down at the edge of the box, Kavanagh brilliantly whipped the resulting free-kick in to the top left corner. A well deserved reward it was too for the player-of-the-match who ran the show from midfield.
It was 3-0 seven minutes later, this time Harcourt playing the ball in to Maeve Wollmer’s path, the former Athlone player brushing past Phoebe Hampson to score from a narrow angle on the left.
And just before the half-time whistle, which couldn’t have come soon enough for Athlone, Flocchini had a chance to make it 4-0 having been put clear by Harcourt, but her attempt at chipping Matthaiou drifted just wide.
Athlone manager Lily Agg, who had yet to experience defeat since being appointed to the job in May, replaced both her full-backs at the break, and while Shelbourne continued to threaten, her side finally began creating chances.
Their problem was that Sanchez was proving unbeatable, her finest save coming from Kerrieanne Brown when she tipped her shot on to the crossbar and then saved the rebound from Ryan. Before and after she thwarted Dana Scheriff, before Athlone captain Hannah Waesch finally found a way past her in the 90th minute.
Too little, too late, though, from Athlone who looked far from the side that are currently 12 points clear of Shelbourne in the league with just three games to go.
With eight Americans, five of them on the Athlone team, one English and one Cypriot player in the final, Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward, who was watching on from the stands, had limited enough scouting options. But she can’t but have been impressed by Kavanagh who she called up once last year – 10 years after she made her senior debut for Ireland as a 16-year-old.
Athlone Town: Matthaiou; Hampson (K Brennan 45), Shine, Barton (Mooney), S Brennan (O’Kane 45); Brown, Waesch (capt); Ryan (Molloy 64), Scheriff, Gibson; Strickland (Murray 82).
Shelbourne: Sanchez; Gargan, Hannon (Graham 83), Slattery (capt), Doyle; Kelly, Kavanagh; Damico Mooney 60), Flocchini, Wollmer (Keenan 75); Harcourt (Watkins 60).
Referee: Mark Patchell.
