Reporting from Tolka Park
Shelbourne FC won 1-0 against their northside counterparts, Bohemians at Tolka Park on Saturday.
Of all the weekend’s Women’s Premier Division (WPD) fixtures, this was the one that was the most intriguing. Shels had not lost any of their past five matches which they had either won or tied. In contrast to their neighbours up the road, Bohemians had only won two of their last five games, losing the remaining three.
Played Tolka Park, the odds looked to be in their favour, indeed a home win was just what the audience of red and white needed.
Shelbourne dominated possession for much of the first half keeping Bohemians on their toes. A handful of Shels players formed the backbone of the team during the first forty five minutes. Keeva Keenan headed the ball away and weaponised her outstanding long form pass down the field on multiple occasions. Leah Doyle also wowed spectators with her quick pace down the wing.
In the later part of the first half, Bohs were on the offensive, showing that they were not ready to concede just yet. As the sound of the halftime whistle was eagerly anticipated, a shot by Sarah McEvitt went just wide of the Shelbourne goal.
The second half saw the substitution of the Canadian player, Kristie Gray, who played a tremendous part on the wing. Her crosses into the Bohs goal box were unmatched by any other player on the pitch and created the perfect setup for a potential goal.
This goal would come at around fifteen minutes into the second half when Noelle Murray belted the ball past Bohemians keeper, Rachel Kelly at a distance from outside of the goal box. This was a special moment for the player as it marked her 100th goal for Shelbourne.
🎥 | GOAL!
Oh my word Noelle Murray 😳
Shels are ahead at Tolka Park!#WLOI | #SHEBOH pic.twitter.com/MqMh9E0T3E— LOI Women (@LoiWomen) May 4, 2024
Murray spoke to Balls.ie about scoring the sole point of the match. Reflecting on a home win at Tolka Park she said, “Look, I think three points are very special in any game no matter who it’s against or where you play, whether you’re home or away. So I just thought we were well set up today and we really brought our game on to them in the second half and I thought we were deserving of the three points at the end of the game.”
🔴 | 173 Shels appearances
⚽️ | 100 Shels goals
🏆 | 5 League of Ireland
🥇 | 4 FAI Cup
🏅 | 3 WNL Cup
🐐 | 1 Noelle Murray pic.twitter.com/hJNL8BeAvC— Shelbourne FC (@shelsfc) May 4, 2024
Last month marked the release of an RTE Irish language documentary, “Pass it On” which focused on telling the in depth story of three WPD teams including Shelbourne. Murray shared her thoughts on the increased exposure of the Shelbourne women’s team. “Look I thought that was a great documentary, I haven’t seen all the episodes but I really think it’s highlighting women’s football, the upcoming of it, how big it’s getting and how big it’s going to be in the next couple of years.”
Those present included prominent figures in Irish international football such as Abbie Larkin, an ex-Shelbourne player who watched from the sidelines supporting her former team. Larkin, who over the past year has become a household name within the realm of Irish sport, saw her club Crystal Palace promoted to the Women’s Super League (WSL), the top tier of women’s football in England at the beginning of the week.
