Shelbourne completed the domestic Women’s football double yesterday by lifting the EVOKE.ie FAI Women’s Cup following a 2-0 victory over Athlone Town in front of a record crowd in Tallaght Stadium.
Goals from Player of the Match, Jessie Stapleton, and club captain, Pearl Slattery, saw Shelbourne overcome Athlone on a day that showcased the best of women’s domestic football with 5,073 spectators in attendance.
The game was televised live on RTÉ2 television and broadcast as a main element of Sunday Sport on RTÉ1.
The game started brightly with both teams creating openings within the first three minutes. But the opening goal was still a surprise, Niamh Coombes letting an Alex Kavanagh free from the right slip from her grasp. The ball then bounced into the net off the back of Shelbourne’s Stapleton with just six minutes on the clock.
It was the start Athlone didn’t want and while they pressed forwards at every opportunity it was Shelbourne who looked the more confident on the ball. That confidence turned into an end-product on 23 minutes when a Megan Smyth-Lynch corner from the right was only half dealt with by Coombes and, as the ball popped up dangerously, Slattery powered in to hammer home a header from point-blank range.
Shelbourne become the fourth team in the past decade to land the double of domestic competitions, as healthy a spread of competition as you would hope to find in any league. They join Peamount United, Wexford Youths, and Raheny United who have all won the double in recent years.
This was the second year of Evoke.ie’s sponsorship of the tournament.
“We’re very passionate about leveraging women’s sport to its rightful place and encouraging young women and girls to stay in sport which is why we launched the #StrongerWithSport campaign within this partnership,” said DMG Group Head of Marketing Dearbhla Meaney earlier this year.
Shelbourne will now bid for a rare double by adding the Extra.ie Men’s FAI Cup next Sunday at the Aviva Stadium. This double was only ever completed in 2017 by Cork City.
