Skippers Pearl Slattery & Laurie Ryan ready for Part 3 of FAI Cup final trilogy

October 19, 2024
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It's Part 3 of a Sports Direct FAI Women's Cup final trilogy on Sunday as Shelbourne and Athlone Town collide once again at Tallaght Stadium.

Ciaran Kilduff's Athlone beat Shels on penalties last year to gain revenge for the Reds' 2-0 victory in 2022.

Athlone kicked on in 2024 to win their first ever SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division, just four years after they first entered the division, and are now potentially 90 minutes away from winning a double.

But doubles aren't easy to come by.

Shels only finished two points behind Athlone in the league and will be desperate to end what's been a positive campaign under Eoin Wearen with some silverware.

Pearl Slattery and Laurie Ryan shake hands before last year's FAI Women's Cup final

"I think our motivation is, we don't want to feel the way we did last year," said Shelbourne captain Pearl Slattery.

"This is why we train so much in the off-season, pre-season, all the way through the season. You have to enjoy these weeks together as a group. Every year it's a different experience."

A rivalry has bubbled over the last three years between these two clubs, and if their league meetings are anything to go by, Sunday should be a spicy affair.

"That's what you want," Slattery said. "I think in the women's game, sometimes we're too nice. There's no harm in rivalry. I think it's healthy. No doubt about it, off the pitch we have respect for each other... but once we cross the white line we want to beat each other.

"When cup finals come around, it's not just about the players and the staff. It's about the club, your family and friends. We want to be enjoying Sunday with them. That's the motivation really."

For, Athlone, the dymanics have changed.

They are no longer the underdogs trying to unsettle the established big guns. Now, they're the team to beat.

Kilduff has blended some excellent young talent into a side with seasoned players from overseas, including American Madie Gibson and the impressive Cameroon striker Brenda Tabe.

It's been a great journey for the midlanders, and they don't want it to end any time soon.

"You don't have to be the best to be a leader."

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind," reflected their skipper Laurie Ryan.

"To finally get over the line and win that league title was amazing. It probably started last year with that cup success, it gave us the drive and belief we could go on and compete and win trophies.

"We're really looking forward to finishing this year off, playing in Tallaght again and having the chance to defend our trophy."

Ryan has been with Athlone ever since they took their first steps into the League of Ireland in 2020.

She's been a towering presence, her tenacity and leadership a constant through the bad times and the good.

However the Clare native is as grounded now as when she first arrived, admitting she's still got an insecurity that drives her to graft day in, day out.

"When I first came in and (former Athlone boss) Tommy Hewitt made me captain I was a bit taken aback, probably because I wasn't really as technically gifted as everyone else in the team at the time," added Ryan.

"That's something I've been working on, to feel like I deserve my place in the team.

"I don't know why but obviously people see something in me. I was captain of Clare (GAA footballers) before I came to Athlone. I just really enjoy talking to people and getting on with everyone.

"You don't have to be the best to be a leader. You just have to try and see everyone's point of view and make sure that you make everyone feel part of it."