Frank Kelleher says 'result was coming' as Cork City bag huge win

It’s been a turbulent number of years for Cork City. The Women’s Premier Division has not been kind to the team. But the defeat to Peamount United offered encouragement.

That encouragement worked a treat last Saturday – as Cork City dominated at home in another exceptionally hard-working performance for Frank Kelleher’s side, as they picked up their first points of the season.

“An absolutely excellent performance from start to finish,” Kelleher said. “I think we dominated the game at every stage, and this result was coming for this group of players.

“I think they’re a very good group and we showed our character today. Our mentality, even in the last four or five minutes when we had to defend for our lives, we did.

“The save by Una Foyle and then clearing our lines, it was the complete performance for me.

“I think even when we played in the Peamount game, we came off the pitch after that game and we were disappointed,” he explained. “We had a tricky five minutes in that period where we lost two goals, but I think we matched Peamount stride for stride.

I knew the momentum would be there this week and I was right.

While City came away with a four-goal winning margin, it easily could have been much tighter. The team faced severe pressure from Sligo in the closing stages, but they held firm. Foyle’s penalty save the standout moment, but some of the work done by Christina Dring and Aoibhin Donnelly was phenomenal.

“It’s something we’ve worked on in training, like we’re very blessed to have someone like Orla [O’Regan] who is our strength and conditioning coach.

“I think she’s made a massive difference in pre-season and starting our season. The girls are really fit from an athletic point of view, and we’ve got some really good coaches to work on that intensity,” he remarked. “It shows on the pitch. If you train with that intensity, then game day is pretty straightforward.” 

City haven’t finished higher than eighth in the table since 2020. They won one game in the 2023 season, five in the 2024 campaign. Can this be the turning point they desperately need?

CHARACTERISTICS

“I really do [think so], I think we have a really good group,” Kelleher replied. “I think we have a group who are motivated, enthusiastic and want to work hard.

“Those are the characteristics I want. I want characters in the dressing room, I want characters on the pitch and I think we do have them.” They’ll have their work cut-out next week with a tough test away to reigning champions Athlone Town, but so far they’ve shown promise.

A result would be fantastic – even if it’s a tall order. But another committed and commanding performance from this group could go a long way in garnering some traction.

“I think it’s going to be a big game for us, we have momentum – we’re going up to the champions backyard, I think we’ll give a very good account of ourselves up there.

“I’m confident that we’ll do our absolute best and match them.”