Shelbourne midfielder Rachel Graham is hoping for one more twist in the Women's National League title race as her side go into their clash against Wexford with an eye on the league title.
Graham’s side trail league leaders Peamount by two points and a final-day victory for Shels, coupled with defeat for the Peas at home to Galway would see them crowned champions for the first time since 2016.
Should the sides finish level on points with a Peamount draw and a Shelbourne win, there would be a play-off title decider on Tuesday evening.
Many expected to see Peamount wrap things up last weekend but a surprise 0-0 scoreless draw against a dogged DLR Waves side in Greenogue means that the title will go right down to the wire.
That didn’t look like being the case back in September when Peamount thrashed Shelbourne 5-0 to go top of the table with a game in hand, but Shels have kept pace in the title race since then and now face third-place Wexford knowing a win could potentially be enough.
SSE Airtricity National Women's League table
"We would have took this with both hands a couple of weeks ago after we lost that game with Peamount," Graham told RTÉ Sport.
"We always said in our camp that we’ll keep winning our games to put pressure on them and you never know what’s going to happen.
"We would have taken it a few weeks ago so we’re happy with how it’s turned out but surprised a little bit to be honest.
"Obviously we’d rather be in Peamount’s position. The toughest scenario in all this is facing Wexford - I think we have the toughest job to do and that’s what we’ll focus on.
"If Peamount drop points, brilliant, but we need to focus on beating Wexford. We drew with them in Tolka and lost down in Ferrycarrig.
"Wexford are always a good team, even when they’re missing players, it’s always very tough. Even if we’re 2-0 up with ten minutes to go, I still feel like they’re not going to lie down and they keep coming back.
"It’s always going to be a tough game."
There’s an extra dimension to Shelbourne’s clash with Wexford as it serves as a dress rehearsal for the FAI Women's Cup final a week later.
There’s also the possibility of Wexford leapfrogging Shels into second place in the table with a win and having dropped four points against Wexford in this league campaign, Graham expects another testing encounter.
"Obviously the Cup final is a week after so neither team is going to want to go into that game having lost the previous week," she said.
"The other side of it is that second place is up for grabs in the league as well. We could end up coming third if Wexford win and they’re not going to roll over and just take a defeat.
"The Cup final adds an extra layer to that.
"We go into every game to win it, this is no different but there’s obviously that little bit more excitement there."
While Shelbourne face Wexford, Peamount take on Galway, a side that have a knack of pulling a surprise result out of the bag and Graham is hoping that they can repeat the trick against the defending champions.
"We beat them, I think it was two weeks ago and Galway like Wexford are always a tough game," she said.
"Galway sometimes decide whether you win or lose the league because they’ll take points off the top three which then ultimately at the end of the season is the defining two or three points.
"We’re hoping that they can do us a favour but they don’t owe us anything. We always have a tough game against them and Peamount will as well."
