Numbers game key as Athlone and Bohemians prepare for FAI Cup final

Two of the best stories of the 2025 Women's League of Ireland season - Athlone Town and Bohemians - will come face to face when the season culminates in the FAI Cup final at Tallaght Stadium this Sunday.

Athlone Town became back-to-back champions, enjoyed historic success in Europe and now will compete in their fourth FAI Cup final in as many years.

Bohs, meanwhile, have been the cup specialists of 2025. After already making the All-Island Cup finale, this will be their second of the season having never previously reached one before this year.

The gap in opponents' league position will be the biggest between cup finalists since the formation of the league in 2011. By the end of the league, the sides were separated by 20 points and 35 goals with six places from table-toppers Athlone to seventh-placed Bohs.

The lowest placed finalists previously were Cork City when they won the trophy after finishing fifth. However, their opponents, UCD Waves, had only come in one place higher.

But Bohs have shown an ability to rise to the occasion this season and cause upsets with their journey to the All-Island Cup final including a win over Shelbourne. That game saw them come from behind twice before winning on penalties. They would fall to Wexford by the same method in the final.

The performances of Alban Hysa’s side in the league against the top two of Athlone Town and Shelbourne was also impressive. Their four points, equalled by Galway United, won from the four games was second most to Shamrock Rovers (7). Key to their ability to raise their game when meeting top opposition was a spine of experience through an otherwise largely young team.

In goals stands Rachael Kelly. Since her first season with the club in 2022, when she made the league’s team of the year, she has made 83 league appearances. That’s the most for any keeper during that time ahead of Eva Badana (74) and Amanda Budden (74).

30-year-old Lisa Murphy has been at the heart of the Bohs defence since 2021 and in June of this year became the first woman to make 100 appearances for the Gypsies. She is third in the league among centre-backs this year for aerial duels and joint-first overall (with Natalie McNally) in shots blocked with 20.

Fiona Donnelly is in her third season at Dalymount Park and didn’t miss a single game in her first two. She is third among midfielders in defensive duel success rate at 78% for 2025. Donnelly is also effective on the ball with the team’s highest pass completion rate for an outfield player of 81% and not just from playing conservatively as she ranks in the top 12 in the league for successful passes to the final third (65%).

Up front, Alannah McEvoy is the only player in the squad to have been a starter in an FAI Cup final winning team (Hannah Healy was a sub for Shels last year), contributing an assist in Peamount United’s 2020 win.

This season, McEvoy is on eight goals in league and cup with two more in the semi-final and final of the All-Island Cup. At just 24, she has been in the league since 2017 and is having her best scoring season since leaving Peamount in 2022.

She is also a creator with her five assists the most for the club. In the league overall, only three players have more.

This experienced core has enabled six different teenagers to get on the scoresheet at least once this season in Aoibhe Brennan, Hannah Healy, Leiagh Glennon, Savannah Kane, Hannah O’Brien and Katie McCarn. The club’s win in last Sunday’s under-19 cup final shows they have one of the most exciting groups of young talent in the country.

Goalscoring is one area where Bohs may feel they can compete with Athlone, 42 scored in the league this season is 79% of Athlone’s total. Worryingly, they have conceded more than three times as many goals – 34 to 10.

There is one particular strength of Athlone where they may be able to attack a vulnerability of Bohs. Town lead the league in dribbles attempted per game (31) and are second in success rate (58%) largely due to their flying wingers Madison Gibson and Roisin Molloy.

This leads to them delivering the most crosses at 23 per game with the best accuracy (33%) and as a result they have the second-most headed shot attempts with 53. The main source of these is the left flank, they are one of two teams with more crosses from the left than the right where Gibson leads the league in crosses (8.2) per game. Molloy is just behind with 5.3 in fifth.

Bohs have conceded nine headed goals this season, the third-most in the league. Left-wing crosses against Athlone caused the second goal in the first meeting and both the first second goals when Gibson created two in a comeback for a draw.

Bohs expected right side of Sarah Power and Sarah McKevitt will need to do plenty of work to try and prevent these types of crosses hurting their side again.

Athlone’s form in the second half of the season shows that they are slightly more vulnerable than the juggernaut of spring and early summer. They registered seven fewer points in the final 11 games with significant drops in their goals scored while they conceded more.

Athlone's big-game pedigree is unmatched whether they be in cup finals, European competition or critical league games. But Bohs have proven themselves with several big cup wins and some impressive results when facing Shelbourne and Athlone in the league to indicate they can have confidence going into this weekend’s final.

If Bohs do draw on the mix of experience and youth they have to take the win, it would be one of the greatest cup final upsets in Irish football history.

Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.