A VERY IMPRESSIVE side, an emerging team, they’re going to be a force to reckon with going forward.
The words of Peamount United manager James O’Callaghan on Cork City after his all-conquering side put them to the sword in Saturday’s FAI Cup final. Peamount were 6-0 winners after a simply stunning second half, though O’Callaghan was full of praise for Rónán Collins’ young and ambitious outfit who really impressed in the first half.
Goalscoring hero Stephanie Roche also lauded the Leesiders, having commiserated with Saoirse Noonan and Danielle Burke shortly after the full-time whistle as Peas sealed the domestic double.
“They have some very good players,” she noted. “They’ve got a good chance of getting there, you just need to build up the experience. This is not being cocky but we’ve a very, very good team, even the subs we brought on maybe could have been starting as well.
“Cork are very well organised, they’ll always always give you a battle and credit to them, it was so cagey in the first half.”
While celebratory post-match interviews are always easier than ones with the losing camp, Collins was a pleasure to deal with and nothing but gracious in defeat as he faced the media following a difficult defeat.
He spoke brilliantly, taking the positives and learnings from the heavy loss, while heaping praise on their opponents and speaking optimistically about the future.
“That’s football,” he began his summation. “They always use that cliche, ‘It’s a game of two halves’.
“Well, what we need to focus on now is, we got one of them in. We now need to get to two. We’re going to obviously have a few weeks’ break. It has been a very long season. Now we have our focus for moving into next season and what we’ve got to get after.”
“I thought the first half was very good. We obviously are very young, but we went out with a real game plan of real bravery and to go play. I think we tried to put that on Peamount. They started to react very well to that and even the last 10 minutes of the first half, they put us under a lot of pressure.
“But I thought we reacted really well to that as well. We looked quite compact and solid. It looked like a very nervy, typical first half cup final. The second half they got those two early goals and when you’re trying to play as bravely as we do, at times this can happen.
Over the last few years, this has happened to us. We’re learning from that all the time, but we’re going to continue to play with that bravery. Because that’s our DNA.”
Sport can be brilliant, but of course, it can also be cruel. A 6-0 defeat was certainly harsh on Cork City, as Peamount flexed their considerable muscle in the second half and were nothing but ruthless and relentless. And Collins credits their class.
“Listen, they have a lot on show. A lot of quality, they’re set up really well. I think they’ve really pushed on the last while. I know James [O'Callaghan] would have had a chat with me previously as well about how they’ve found it hard in cup finals over the last while.
“It has been a real building for them. They’re those few years ahead of us at the moment. It has taken them time on their journey to get to where they are going to, but we’re making our own journey now and we’re setting our own path.
There is a lot of good stuff put in place and I think even some of that evident in the first half, but we now need to push on further with that. Obviously when you’re young, it takes time to bring consistency. We got 45 minutes of that consistency, we just need to double it.
Cork left Tallaght Stadium in downbeat form, of course, but with no regrets as they threw everything they possibly could have at Peamount.
They were left to rue one key missed chance, with Christina Dring dragging her shot just wide after going one-on-one with Niamh Reid-Burke when it was just 2-0, but Collins always focuses on the positives: “One thing we always say about chances, if you’re there, you’re doing something right. It was unlucky, but that’s something we’ve got to get working on to do a bit more of it.”
One player to come in for high praise online was Zara Foley, and Collins echoed those words before moving onto the future of the wider bunch, whose average age is just 20 with seven players starting Saturday that didn’t feature in their 2017 cup final win.
“I thought Zara was terrific today. Her energy, her strength. There was maybe a few times where she could go forward as well. We probably didn’t get to see that as much as we’d like to. That’s a real asset we’re working on with her as well.
“I think next year, you’re going to see her again and you’re going to go, ‘Wow,’ and I don’t think she’s the only one. Because when I was here at the start of the season with these girls, I’m looking at virtually all of them to a player, and they’re just bringing extra assets to their game.
“If you want to become a better player, it’s about putting your head down, focusing on what you need to do to become a bigger threat and to bring that forward. That’s what they’re doing.”
“And getting this experience,” he added of the year as a whole, which concluded in the cup final. “It’s an experience they’ve really enjoyed and savoured, but it’d make you hungry for more.
“I know when all this passes by a bit and we get our heads back down again, we’re going to be hungry for even more. We’ve set a really high bar this year, but we’re going to set that higher again. The competition in the squad is getting higher.
“I have to really compliment the work done by our academy and young set-up. I think it’s evident on the pitch, it’s just terrific. What’s coming up behind is even stronger. They’re putting pressure on the girls that are there to keep pushing forward, but I’ve confidence in that group that are there to push forward and the young girls beyond that.”
