Athlone Town are Women's Premier Division champions once again following a 4-0 victory over Cork City at Turner’s Cross.
Kelly Brady netted a second half hat-trick on a night that saw local girl Kayleigh Shine open the scoring in the 19th minute with a close range finish.
The champions will have a chance to make it a double later on this month when they face Bohemians in the Women’s FAI Cup final, just weeks after a historic run in the Champions League that led to qualification to the Europa Cup.
As for Cork City, the club remain stuck to the bottom of the Women’s Premier Division.
Wednesday was all about Athlone, a team that played without pressure or expectation.
They were clinical from the start, beginning with Hannah Waesch drawing a low save from Una Foyle in just the second minute.
The midfielder also hit the roof of the net which won her side a corner that came to nothing during a frantic opening.
Israela Groves followed that up by getting underneath a free-kick at the back post and heading the ball centimetres wide.
Something was coming and it arrived when a corner was cleared to Shine by the penalty spot. The defender adjusted her stance before unleashing a shot that cruised in, making it 1-0 in the 19th minute.
The closest City got to responding was Christina Dring chipping the ball over the bar, and Athlone responded with a number of close range chances that were stopped by a diving Foyle at the Shed End.
It was 1-0 at the break and the visitors doubled their lead in the 58th minute with Brady firing in at the back post after collecting a low Roisin Molloy pass.
The forward’s second goal was the pick of the punch as she nodded in a Kellie Brennan cross at the Shed End.
It was two quick moments that effectively killed the game as any hope of a comeback by City was extinguished following a burst of activity after the interval that finished without a shot on target.
The rest of the game was played out with ease as the visitors dominated possession in search of a fourth.
It was a penalty in the 88th minute that rounded out the win, and Brady completed her hat-trick by hitting the bottom corner after Foyle dived the right way.
Cork City: Una Foyle; Zoe Finnerty, Ciara O’Driscoll, Ciara McNamara (Sadbh McGoldrick HT), Shaunagh McCarthy, Cliodhna Malone (Sophia Redmond 55), Lauren Homan, Heidi Mackin, Eva Mangan (Eva Loftus 78), Amy McCarthy (Jodie Griffin 74), Christina Dring.
Athlone Town: Maria Matthaiou; Kellie Brennan, Kayleigh Shine, Natalie McNally, Shauna Brennan (Sarah Rice 73), Hannah Waesch, Israela Groves (Kate Slevin HT), Roisin Molloy (Isabel Ryan 72), Maidson Gibson (Aoife O’Connor 73), Alexis Strickland (Emma Mooney HT), Kelly Brady.
Referee: Alan Franklin
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