Tickets are available online – the match kicks off at 5.30pm

Amanda Budden grabbed the headlines with the last-minute penalty save and another outstanding save in injury time last Saturday. So, were you more than happy to come away from Peamount with a point?

“I’m very, very happy with the point. It’s probably a little bit more than what we deserved on the whole balance of play, but overall, to come away from there with a point against the current league leaders is good. And it’s great to have good players like Amanda that can stand up in those vital times towards the end of games to get us something.”

Did you feel the teams cancelled each other out in the first half but in the second half Peamount had good spells and created more chances?

“Yes, I think that’s exactly how it went, both teams did just cancel each other out but then towards the end of the second half, Peamount were the ones pushing on. They were trying to get that winner and it was us that looked a bit tired, leggy or a little bit out of sorts. So overall we were lucky to get out of there with a point.”

They’re a good team and they pressed us in attack but were you pleased with our defensive guard to cope with that, often led by our April Player of the Month, Jess Hennessy?

“Yes, because overall there were only about two or three clear cut chances in the whole game and one of them was the penalty, which I still have my doubts about, whether it was a penalty or not. But overall, defensively we have been good, and hopefully that continues on into this weekend. We don’t give up many chances. It’s nice being able to have more or less the same back four for a few weeks now and you can see that they’re beginning to build that kind of partnership together.”

In terms of attack, Shauna Fox probably had our best chance at Greenogue with the header but you’ve said that you felt we never got into our full flow on the day?

“That was the one, just before half-time. I actually thought it was in with the little flick that she got on it. With the attacking players we have, I suppose that is the disappointing part of it, the quality and strength we have, that we didn’t create enough chances on the day.”

Cork City are second last with just one point from seven games. What have you made of their performances and do they have certain key players?

“The results haven’t done their performances justice really. Even when you look at their game against Bohs the weekend, for very large periods of it I think Cork were the better side. They’ve just got done by a silly mistake or a set piece and it’s cost them in games but overall, their performances have been very good. Even though they conceded six against Shelbourne on the first day of the season, they don’t actually give up too many chances. It’s a set piece or against the run of play that are the only kind of goals they’ve been conceding. It is going to be a tough one on Saturday, they do have some top players in Jesse Mendez and Eva Mangan, particularly in the middle. They’ll be the ones who’ll look to get Cork ticking on Saturday.”

That said, is it a different type of game than Peamount as there’s an expectancy around Rovers and the result this time, at least from the outside?

“I think there’s always going to be an expectancy around Rovers no matter who we’re playing, whether it’s home or away. There’s always that expectation because you have the name Shamrock Rovers. You’re expected to win, particularly for games in Tallaght where there’s an even higher expectancy put against us. It’s something we’re used to. You’ve just got to live with it and get on with it.”

It was a good crowd at Greenogue but do the players always look forward to getting back to Tallaght and taking on teams there with our own fans behind us?

“They do. They absolutely love it. The buzz in the last game against Bohs, the players fed off it. It really is fantastic. We wish we could play every game in Tallaght. Hopefully this Saturday it won’t rain and we can look to try and even get a little bit more of a crowd than we did against Bohs.”

Do we have any injuries aside from Stephanie and Maria?

“We’ve had two knocks during the week. Jaime got a kick on the ankle in training so she ended up missing the home-based training. The same with Jess Hennessy, she’s carrying a knock from the Peamount game and she hasn’t trained this week. We’ll have to see how they are after tonight’s training session and see if they’re in contention for Saturday.”