Noonan notches Shels to semis

League leaders Shelbourne advanced to the semi-finals of the Evoke.ie WFAI Cup courtesy of Saoirse Noonan’s second half winner against her former colleagues at Cork City.

Shelbourne were frustrated for the majority of the contest by brilliant shot stopper Abby McCarthy who made numerous wonderful saves.

But Shels eventually found a way through and continue their ambitions of winning the double.

Inspired by Afghanistan’s women’s football team, many of whom have reportedly fled the country after the Taliban’s takeover, today Shelbourne’s jersey bears a message of solidarity.

Shelbourne were boosted before kick off when news broke that they had re-signed striker Sarah Rowe after her stint with the Mayo Senior Ladies Gaelic Footballers.

Early on, Jessica Ziu hit the post after great build up play by the Shels attack, with Noelle Murray holding the ball up well causing the City defence problems.

Noonan went through on goal but was denied by a strong save and the shot stopper followed it up with another vital stop to deny Alex Kavanagh.

The City defence continued to struggle with Shelbourne’s lively attack as McCarthy continued to get them out of jail with some fine stops in the first half.

City improved in the second half and went close through Sarah McKevitt but other than that failed to create any clear-cut opportunities.

Noonan was denied by the brilliance of McCarthy multiple times as a frustrating day looked to be on the cards for the in-form striker.

But eventually Noonan got her vengeance as she scored against her former club, with the winner being her 12^th goal of the season in just nine games.

She broke the deadlock after lively substitute Rowe’s effort was blocked but Noonan was on hand to place the ball into the empty net.

City pressed for a late equaliser but failed to create enough to seriously threaten Amanda Budden’s goal.