Killester DonnycarneyVideo
Details
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 August 2023 | 5:30 pm | FAI Women's Cup | 2023 |
Match Report
Dominant Rovers Ease Past Killester
Shamrock Rovers booked their place into the next round of the FAI cup with a dominant 8-0 win over Killester Donnycarney in Tallaght.
Rovers were painstakingly superior throughout, with Abbie Larkin-fresh from a dazzling World Cup campaign-opening up the scoring in the 4th minute. Killester afforded the hosts far too much space in the central areas, Lia O’Leary drifting into the final third and teeing up Jaime Thompson in the 8th minute to make it 2-0.
Rovers never looked back from that point, Joy Ralph, Stephanie Zambra, Lia O’Leary and Larkin netting trice more to put the game beyond doubt.
The floodgates opened early, Abbie Larkin jinxing through the Killester midfielder and firing an effort from outside of the box in the 4th minute, Shauna Whelan only able to get a weak hand to the shot.
Minutes later it was O’Leary presented with too much space to operate in, carrying the ball from the half-way line before teeing up Jaime Thompson on the right side of the box, Thompson making no mistakes as she rifled the ball into the top corner.
Rovers’ superiority became painstakingly obvious as the minutes passed, the levels between the sides abundantly clear as the hosts lapped up the ball with ease, physically overrunning the opposition and slicing Killester up with their seamless passing and deft movement.
Killester were simply unable to get close to the likes of World-Cup calibre players like Larkin, the winger adding to her tally in the 22nd minute as she latched onto the end of Melissa O’Kane’s cross and fired her shot into the roof of the net.
Joy Ralph opened up her Rovers account on her debut, the Irish U-19 forward heading from Abbie Larkin’s cross at the front post.
The visitors routinely struggled to maintain hold of the ball and progress the ball up the pitch, starved of a sight of goal for the entirety of the first half.
The second half proved to be a much more sluggish affair, neither side forcing many chances with Rovers content to take the tempo of the game down a notch.
Larkin was again imperious, producing a curling finish in the 63rd minute to beat out Whelan and complete her hattrick.
Stephanie Zambra made her long-awaited return to the pitch following months plagued by injury. Zambra made an instant impression, cutting through Killester’s back line with an incisive through ball, Lauren Kelly latching on and squaring a cross to O’Leary to make it six.
Zambra got her goal a mere minute later, producing a powerful effort from outside of the box, Whelan unable to get firm hand to the shot as she plundered the ball into her own net. Larkin got her fourth off the game with a thunderous strike in injury time.
Shamrock Rovers make their return to league life next weekend, making the trip down to Turner’s Cross as they try bridge the gap to Peamount United at the top of the league.
Timeline
| 3' | 9. Niamh Hennessy | |
| 27. Abbie Larkin | 4' | |
| 21. Jaime Thompson | 8' | |
| 27. Abbie Larkin | 22' | |
| 19. Joy Ralph | 27' | |
| Alannah McEvoy Savannah McCarthy | 46' | |
| Jaime Thompson Stephanie Zambra | 46' | |
| Aoife Kelly Scarlett Herron | 46' | |
| 46' | Shauna Lyndon Natalie Walsh | |
| 27. Abbie Larkin | 63' | |
| Shauna Fox Lauren Kelly | 66' | |
| 66' | Niamh Hennessy Laura Donnelly | |
| 70' | Katrina Lawless Courtney Masterson | |
| 11. Lia O'Leary | 73' | |
| 10. Stephanie Zambra | 75' | |
| Jessica Gargan Orlaith O'Mahony | 75' | |
| 87' | Sarah Murray Chloe Clark | |
| 87' | Simmone Reilly Laura Chambers | |
| 27. Abbie Larkin | 88' |
Ground
| Tallaght Stadium |
|---|
| Tallaght Stadium, Whitestown Way, Tallaght, Dublin 24, D24 XC9W |
Alex Cunningham
Alex is a second-year Journalism student at DCU. As well as being a soccer enthusiast, he's also an avid athletics fan, competing in the sport for over ten years.
Full-time. Shamrock Rovers 8-0 Killester Donnycarney.
Larkin makes it eight as she rifles the ball home from point-blank range.
Kelly flashes a cross into the Killester box, no one able to make contact.
Goal! Zambra gets her goal on her return from injury, firing a shot from long-range that's spilt by Whelan and plundered into the back of the net.
Goal! Zambra produces an incisive pass to cut through the Killester defence and play in Lauren Kelly, who squares it to O'Leary.
Matterson comes on Katrina Lawless.
Fox goes off Kelly. Niamh Hennesy is replaced by Donnelly.
Goal! Larkin gets her hattrick! Ralph latches on to a through ball and drags the ball back to Larkin, who produces a curling effort to beat out Whelan.
Little to report on in the second as half as the tempo of the game's taken a downturn, little chances for either side so far.
Ralph catches the ball on the edge of the box and flashes her shot over the Killester bar.
O'Neill introduces three subs for Rovers. Zambra, McCarthy, and Herron replace Thompson, McEvoy, and Kelly. Walsh replaces Lyndon for Killester.
Killester get proceedings back underway in Tallaght.
Half-time: Shamrock Rovers 4-0 Killester Donnycarney.
Ralph breaks down the left-wing, squaring the ball to Thompson six yards out. Thompson squanders the opportunity, unable to sort her feet out as the ball falls behind her.
Thompson tries her luck from the outside of the box again, Whelan pawing the ball out for a corner.
Thompson fires from outside of the box and her effort looks to be sailing over. However it dips down at almost just the right time, crashing on to Whelan's bar. Ralph picks up the rebound but is unable to get the ball out of her feet.
Goal! Larkin swings a corner in and finds Ralph at the front post, Ralph opening up her Rovers account with a well-placed header.
Goal! O'Kane picks up the ball on the right flank and drills the ball into the box, Larkin there six yards out to get her second of the game.
Killester have yet to have a sniff of the ball so far, Rovers showcasing their complete and utter superiority as they go looking for a third.
Goal! Again Rovers afforded too much space in the centre areas, O'Leary picking up the ball and drifting into the box, laying the ball to Thompson on the right. Thompson makes no mistakes as she rifles the ball into the top right.
Goal! Larkin breaks through the middle and fires a shot from outside of the box. Whelan gets a weak hand to the ball and is unable to prevent Larkin's shot from hitting the back of the net.
McEvoy picks up the ball on the left side of the box but scuffs her effort and fires wide.
Action gets underway in Tallaght!
New Rovers signee Joy Ralph leads the front line with Jaime Thompson, while Scarlett Heron starts on the bench.
Abbie Larkin is named in the starting XI for Rovers while Áine O'Gorman begins on the bench. Both featured at the World Cup, Larkin appearing in all thee group games including a dazzling cameo against Australia, while O'Gorman (subsequently retired after 119 caps) started against Canada where The Girls in Green fell to a bitter 2-1 loss. O'Neill spoke glowing of the two's contribution on the international stage: “Extremely proud of what they’ve done, not just for Shamrock Rovers but what they’ve done as a whole for all of women’s football and the role models that they’ve become. “As for Áine on her international retirement, she’s been an absolute top pro and it’s one of the reasons she is captain of this club. She leads by example on and off the pitch. The influence that she has, it’s very hard to put into words.”
O'Neill believes the cup represents a realistic opportunity for silverware but will be cautious not to fall at the first hurdle, wary of the threat Killester present despite their non-league status: "“They’re managed by a really good guy in Thomas Heary, a former League of Ireland player with Bohs…I know everybody will say they’re non-league and it should be an easy game for us, but it’s not really because they’re really well-organised. “For us, we won’t just have to play to our best, we’re going to have to make sure to play our normal, quick tempo if we’re going to get through this round.”
It's been close to two months for Shamrock Rovers without a competitive fixture, The Hoops last match a 3-2 win over Glentoran as they bowed out of the Avenir All-Island Cup. Manager Collie O'Neill insists valuable lessons were learnt in the cup despite his side's early exit: “It was good because we used the cup to look at different squad players, different styles of play and systems. For what we wanted to get out of it, it was a very worthwhile exercise,” O’Neill said, speaking to club media. “We got some good education and some extra good work done with the players, and tried different systems that we can use going forward.”
Afternoon all and welcome to this evening's match coverage of Shamrock Rovers vs Killester Donnycarney.