Shelbourne 5

Cork City 0

SHELBOURNE MADE LIGHT work of Cork City to keep their double hopes alive and book their place in the Women’s FAI Cup final on 20 October.

Shels, who are 20 points clear of City in the Women’s National League table, put five past the Leesiders at Tolka Park to book a date with either Sligo Rovers or Athlone Town.

An spurned first-half opportunity for City’s Becky Cassin seemed to spring Shelbourne into action and the Dublin side were two goals to the good just five minutes later.

Kate Mooney opened the scoring for the hosts, diverting the ball past Una Foyle after a low cross by Christie Gray who had cut in from the right.

Noelle Murray added the first of her brace of goals just moments later from the penalty spot having been fouled herself by City midfielder Dorothea Greulich, while Gray continued to run the show for title-chasing Shels.

City, cup finalists in 2020, are winless in their last six in the league and there was no way back from a 2-0 half-time deficit.

Gray teed up Murray for her second just 35 seconds after the restart and, at 3-0, she got in on the act herself.

Again, she cut in from the right wing but rather than supply a teammate, she curled a left-footed strike beyond Foyle into the far corner.

Subsitute Megan Smyth-Lynch completed the rout in stoppage time, her free-kick from 30 yards beating the City ‘keeper to make it 5-0.