By Conall Collier
Sligo Rovers exited the All-Island Cup in the final group game against Shelbourne at the Showgrounds on Saturday.
Two goals in each half from Noelle Murray and a lone Mackenzie Anthony strike gave a Dublin side a merited success, although the scoreline doesn’t reflect the chances that the hosts created, especially in the opening half.
The Bit O’Red could have had two goals in the opening three minutes from Kya McKenna and Anna McDaniel, while midway through the half, Muireann Devaney’s shot flashed across the Shelbourne goal with ‘keeper Amanda McQuillan getting a vital touch at the expense of a corner.
Shelbourne also created some chances, but Rovers keeper Bonnie McKiernan was in excellent form.
However, the final 10 minutes of the half proved fruitful for the Dublin side, with Murray claiming her first goal following a poor Sligo clearance, and she added a second soon after in somewhat similar circumstances.
Anthony put the game out of Sligo’s reach with a good finish in the 41st minute to leave it 3-0 at the interval.
Sligo Rovers resumed smartly, and Eimear Lafferty’s effort skimmed the woodwork on 47 minutes, but Murray completed her tally with a couple of opportunist long-range efforts on 60 and 68 minutes.
In typical Sligo Rovers style, the home players kept battling, and while they had a goal disallowed for offside, Alanah Doherty was narrowly over with a good effort in the 87th minute.
It wasn’t all negative for the Bit O’Red either, as Katie Melly returned from injury for the final 15 minutes when she replaced Leah Kelly, and 15-year-old Ava Hallinan made her senior debut when she replaced Alice Lillie in the closing minutes.
Ava was nominated for the Under-15 FAI Schools’ International Player of the Year in May and has a bright future in the game with Sligo Rovers.
Sligo Rovers – Bonnie McKiernan; Eimear Lafferty, Alice Lillie, Keeva Flynn, Sarah Kiernan, Leah Kelly, Muireann Devaney, Alanah Doherty, Cara King, Kya McKenna, Anna McDaniel.
Subs – Katie Melly for King and Morgan Burnap for Kelly, both 77 mins; Róise Burke for McKenna and Lauren Devaney for Kiernan, both 82 mins; Ava Hallinan for Lillie, 87 mins.
Shelbourne – Amanda McQuillan; Nia Hannon, Pearl Slattery, Leah Doyle, Noelle Murray, Gabrielle Del Pico, Roma McLoughlin, Jessica Gargan, Aoibheann Cleary, Lucy O’Rourke, Mackenzie Anthony.
Subs – K. Mooney for McLoughlin at half-time, R. Devereux for Slattery and K. Keenan for Anthony, both at 67 mins, and C. Maguire for McQuillan and A. Sheridan for Clancy, both at 73 mins.
Referee – Robert Dowling.
Assistant referees – Darren Corcoran and Richard Storey.
Fourth official – Michael Connolly.
