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The ball is recovered at the top of the field and then the next move is to turn towards the goal and unleash a rocket.
There are no chances for the goalkeeper and Peamount United are even.
Unfortunately, from Karen Duggan’s perspective, while her goal was the kind that people dream of scoring in a cup final, Peamount ended up on the losing side in the decider of 2019 at Aviva Stadium.
Fast forward to this Saturday and Duggan and company aim to correct that when they face Cork City in the FAI Women’s Cup final at Tallaght Stadium.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the build-up has been low-key for the Kilkenny native.
“It’s a bit different. You would be talking about getting new clothes and going to see the stadium and things like that,” he tells RTÉ Sport.
Here’s Karen Duggan’s lovely grader for Peamount in the FAI Women’s Cup final #RTEfutbol https://t.co/KhlHYpPT7X pic.twitter.com/8dHuQdTLT0
– Soccer Republic (@SoccRepublic) November 3, 2019
“We don’t have that this year. We’ve just kept our normal routine and I’m all for that. Sometimes it can overdo it too much. I think we’ve definitely fallen prey to that before we overreacted. He promoted the game and ended up non-performing, so I think we are all a little wiser to start this one.
“There is a little less publicity and we can concentrate on football.”
Peamount and Duggan have unfinished business with the cup. While they won the league last month by beating title rivals Shelbourne, they lost back-to-back cup finals to Wexford Youths in 2018 and 2019, while their drought in competition dates back to 2010.
That includes a losing final in 2012, Duggan’s first, and the former Republic of Ireland international also lost another decisive match while playing for UCD Waves in 2014.
Duggan feels the 2018 loss was due to the fact that Peamount never got going, while last year he believes the team “showed up to some extent, but it was difficult for them to rise to the level that we had done in the league.”
“I think the league cost us a lot last year. It took Peamount seven years to get back on the winning track in the league and we had all those celebrations and we had a hard time reaching those heights again,” he said. keep going.
“It was the fourth time I played Wexford that year, having beaten them three times in the league. They knew us very well and got off to a fantastic start.
“So I think that’s something we really need to focus on this year, just be solid for the first 10 minutes.”
Similarly, last month, Peamount beat Cork City in the league by a comfortable 3-0 margin, but last year’s experience at Wexford means they will be wary of being surprised in a unique final format.
“Last year showed us that the league means nothing when it comes to the cup,” he says.
“I think the year I lost to UCD Waves, I think we won [Raheny] in the league, but they came to Aviva and beat us there, so we have experience in knowing that the form of the league doesn’t mean anything. “
The 2012 final against Raheny was held at Dalymount Park, while the subsequent ones were held at Aviva Stadium.
Duggan feels the backdrop has a huge impact on proceedings and enjoys the prospect of playing Saturday’s final in a more compact venue like Tallaght Stadium which, he hopes, could become a stronghold for Irish women’s football given that the national team also uses it regularly.
“I think the game at Dalymount had the best quality when you look back,” he explains.
“We want to make Tallaght a strength, especially for the national team.”
“The Aviva, while it is an incredible experience and something that I will appreciate, is not a fantastic game, just because of the size of the field. You are devastated after about 60 minutes so sometimes that can take a bit of a shift away from quality. of the game.
“I am quite happy that I am in Tallaght. It is the home of women’s football in this country, a little more closed than Aviva, which is huge, resonates and weighs a little on you.
“So I’m happy with the move. I know there has been some criticism about it, but I think if you’re building this as a women-only day, which is now, and a day for women’s sports on Saturday, I think you should do it at the home of women’s football.
“We want to make Tallaght a strength, especially for the national team and it will be good for the girls trying to make their way into that team to gain experience in Tallaght as well.”
The progress of the Irish national team is one that Duggan has watched with great interest from afar, two years after retiring from international service at age 27.
Vera Pauw’s team did not fulfill the mission of trying to reach the qualifying play-offs for the European Championship that will now take place in 2022.
While Duggan believes that progress has been made, he is still a bit far from where the game should be.
“The girls that are involved now, there is great talent on the team and they are getting along phenomenally well at the club level,” he says.
“But we’ve been saying the same thing ‘we’re getting better and we’ll get there’ for a few seasons. Last time for the World Cup qualifying campaign, it was a tough group to have the Netherlands and Norway, so it was just a bridge too much. far.
“But I think that when the draw for this European Championship was made, I think everyone thought that this would be the one and yet we are still in the same position saying ‘we’re going places.’
“The World Cup is notoriously harder to qualify for and that’s what’s next, so are we really looking at a four-year plan, looking at the next few euros?
“It’s still a bit disappointing, but I think there are improvements.”
However, a four-year period going back in time would take Ireland beyond the April 2017 press conference at Liberty Hall, when key members of the team from that time, including Duggan, described the many problems they had to face. in terms of logistics and facilities, as well as the lack of designated tracksuits, which meant having to change in the airport bathrooms.
From the feedback Duggan has received from his teammates, many of the basic problems have been resolved.
“All the little things that were quick fixes are definitely there and some progress has been made,” he says.
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“Under the Colin Bell regime, there was more training at home and things like that. Vera talked about it after the game that they’ll be on a weak base next year and that he’s going to help the girls train with boys’ teams and stuff. is What is needed.
“But for me, it will come a couple of years too late. This was the qualifying campaign we had to win.
“So I’m a little frustrated that that was in 2017, and I know the tracksuits got a lot of press, but the main thing we asked for was more training and better conditions around those training sessions.
“Those things started, but there hasn’t been enough consistency around them and I think we also need to make sure that attention is paid to the National League for Women and that girls have the opportunity to get into development teams from there. It’s great that the girls are turning pro, but the Women’s National League is their springboard for that.
“The focus should go back to basics on the field in Ireland and maybe not pass the buck to the girls at club level.”
Watch the FAI Women’s Cup final between Peamount United and Cork City live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player starting at 2.30pm on Saturday, listen to the commentary live on RTÉ Radio 1 or follow our blog live on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News application.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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