AFTER last week’s 6-0 defeat to double winners Shelbourne at Tolka Park, Cork City FC Women turn their attention to their first home game of the season, against Galway United at Turner’s Cross on Saturday evening (5pm).

The league newcomers started life with a 1-0 loss to Wexford Youths last weekend at Eamonn Deacy Park, and they will be looking to build on that when they travel to Leeside for their first away game.

There’s a genuine unknown quantity circling the club, a feeling enhanced by their showing against an experienced Wexford team that featured Ireland international Rianna Jarrett, who has returned home after a brief spell with London City Lionesses in England.

The Tribeswomen were able to covert this solid defensive structure into genuine chances at the end of the first half, and they thought they scored in the final seconds when Jamie Erickson headed in but this was ruled out.

Other opportunities to score fell to Lysney McKey and Abbie Callanan, and each of these was put narrowly wide. Even though they were beaten, it was still considered an impressive performance by team playing their first-ever competitive match.

New teams traditionally start well, Cabinteely won their first two games after election in 2015 and Shamrock Rovers started in the Women’s National League last week with a 2-1 victory over Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds.

Cork City and Danny Murphy will certainly know the history, and what a new start can mean for a team.

The manager’s appointment in May 2022 sparked an upturn in results that accumulated in victories over Sligo, Galway, and Treaty United. That continued throughout preseason 2023 as they enjoyed a draw with Shamrock Rovers and a narrow defeat to Wexford.

But everything seemed to come to a shuddering halt when Shelbourne knocked six goals past them.

City can take encouragement from some of the individual performances, with goalkeeper Abby McCarthy’s showing the pick of the bunch.

Murphy also brought on Fianna Bradley, who caused a number of problems with her close control of the ball in the final third. Their work was complemented by an organised defensive trio consisting of Ciara McNamara, Heidi Mackin, and Daniele Burke.

They often frustrated and kept out a free-flowing Shelbourne team that was out to make a statement.

As the full-time whistle went at Tolka Park, Murphy was immediately thinking of the Galway game.

“We’ll start planning ahead towards that and we have to go into that game and we have to be prepared and we need to be prepared to try and get a result,” he said.

Saturday will be a real measure of the ability of this City team, as they look to pick themselves off from a difficult weekend that brought a shuddering halt to any early-season optimism.