Emma Duffy

DANA SCHERIFF WATCHED last year’s FAI Cup final defeat to Shelbourne from the stand, but she’ll be leading the line for Athlone Town this afternoon.

The US-born striker is enjoying a rich vein of form, fresh from winning the Golden Boot for top goal-scorer in the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division last weekend.

Eight days ago, on the same Tallaght Stadium turf, she bagged her decisive 13th goal of the season in a sensational 4-4 comeback draw against Shamrock Rovers.

Scheriff headed home in the 94th minute to separate herself from Áine O’Gorman, and more importantly, secure a confidence-boosting result heading into their second consecutive FAI Cup final.

“I wasn’t really thinking about it much during the game,” she said of the Golden Boot race during the week. “It was more when I scored my first one, I was like, ‘Oh we we can actually come back into this match.’”

To land the killer blow in the 94th minute was special, but coming from 4-1 down meant more than anything else. That epitomises the 25-year-old striker, who is in the process of securing her Irish passport and holds ambitions to play for the Girls In Green.

Early on in her debut season for Athlone in 2022, Scheriff tore every ligament in her ankle. She underwent reconstructive surgery and spent over a year on the sidelines, determined to come back fitter, faster and stronger.

Having played collegiate soccer Stateside, the New York native arrived in the Midlands via England and Iceland where she mixed football with studies, and stayed put through her arduous recovery period.

“I think the biggest thing about Dana is her mentality,” captain Laurie Ryan tells The 42.

“She came over last year and played six games and didn’t get to play another minute for the rest of the year. To stay and come back and do what she’s done this year is just phenomenal.

“The way she done it, she didn’t even have a clean run of it this year around either. She had a couple of setbacks at the start of the year, but she just kept coming back and pushing herself. She’s a real asset in terms of leadership within the squad. You could see that at the weekend: she never gave up, and it was brilliant for her to get the Golden Boot.

“I think you could see how happy all of us were for her to get over the line. It’s brilliant. When you have someone like that, you know you’re always in with a shout.”

Scheriff’s 2023 record speaks for itself, with the variety of her goals particularly striking. Header, first-time strike, tight angle, long-range, individual effort, tap-in; you name it, she has nailed it.

Ciarán Kilduff knows a goalscorer when he sees one, and she’s added a real attacking threat to the XI this season. She was almost like a new signing.

“Dana has been unbelievable since she came in,” Kayleigh Shine enthuses. “Obviously she had the injury and then she came back this year so we actually didn’t really know much about her, but once you get the ball to her feet she’s just amazing.

“She finds the back of the net every single time. I’ve never seen a striker like her before, and for somebody who never played striker mostly in her college career, to just go into that position and sit into it perfectly, she’s just been such an asset to the team.

“After she got injured she strengthened up so much. She knew then watching games what she had to work on. She analyses everything so she knows what she’s going to do before she even gets on the pitch.”

And she’s instrumental off it too, Shine adds. “We’ve become such good friends since she’s been here. Everybody’s gotten so close with her, she’s such a likeable person and on the pitch you just know when you give her the ball she’s going to do something with it.”

Perhaps it’s Scheriff’s all-round game that’s most impressive. Not only is she a top finisher, but she’s a livewire across the front line. She just make things happen, whether it’s holding the ball up or getting in behind, before it comes anywhere near finding the back of the net.

Her team-mates have no doubt she’s good enough to wear the green jersey should that come to fruition, with goalkeeper Katie Keane particularly complimentary given their heated battles in training.

“Dana is incredible, she really is,” 17-year-old Keane, who made the switch from Shelbourne mid-season, beams. “Her work ethic is unbelievable, her communication, her skill, her technique — everything about her is just unbelievable.”

Ryan wholeheartedly agrees, paying particularly close attention to the former. “She’s a phenomenal tackler.”

At that, the skipper thinks of Athlone’s North American influence, something that has been widespread across the league in recent seasons, as detailed by The 42 in March.

“We’re really lucky that Dana and Madie [Gibson], and Lauren [Karabin] and Jesi [Rossman] have played together before so you can see that they link up so well together and that kind of brings a fluidity throughout the team that we have someone in each line of the field that played together previously.

“We were rebuilding, they nearly became our focus point which is kind of funny, but they’ve been fantastic to have the four of them over, to know each other and have that link between them.”

And no one better than Kilduff moulding it all together from the top, having filled the vacancy left by Tommy Hewitt mid-season. You’d imagine the former League of Ireland striker has given Scheriff, in particular, a real helping hand.

“Ciarán has really helped everyone,” Keane assures. “Ken Kiernan coming in as well has also helped everyone. The mindset is unbelievable.

“The perfect example is our game at the weekend: we came from 4-1 down to drawing 4-4. It shows how together we are as a team. And look, it’s that belief within each other, that’s absolutely incredible. It’s that urge to get up and go and stay in the game. And to make sure that we’re working for each other.”

Of course it’s all about the team, but Dana Scheriff could make the difference for Athlone Town today as she enjoys a real full circle moment.

She’s just happy to be on the pitch this time.

“I’ve watched the team play in some pretty big games and now I’m really excited to be a part of one,” the Golden Boot winner smiles.

Watch this space.

• 2023 Sports Direct Women’s FAI Cup final: Athlone Town v Shelbourne, Tallaght Stadium, Sunday 19 November, 3pm — live on RTÉ 2.