Waves looking to wash out final Rebel rising

UCD Waves will look to lift their first major piece of silverware when they take on Cork City in the final of the FAI Cup at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.
Waves have already won the Women’s National League shield this season with victory over Galway but could lay down a marker should they scoop the big prize.
Waves – formed by the merger of UCD and DLR Waves in 2014 – led the league early on but saw their challenge taper off as injuries and inconsistency hit hard.
“We’re probably slightly favourites,” says captain Aine O’Gorman, who will cheer her team on from the sidelines as she misses out with a knee injury.
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing but that gives us confidence that we know we can beat them. It’s a cup final and anything can happen in cup games.”
The striker sustained medial ligament damage representing her country in September’s World Cup qualification win over Northern Ireland in Belfast.
O’Gorman is one of a handful from the current squad who suffered heartbreak in the 2014 final against Raheny United.
The 28-year-old scored an equaliser that day but couldn’t prevent her side falling to a 2-1 defeat, and O’Gorman reveals the pain of that afternoon helped fuel their desire this time around.
“It’s a big thing every season, the cup final, with it being in the Aviva.
“It’s probably what every player in the league wants to do.
“I think there’s a good couple of us that played [in the final] before so I think we probably were driving on to relive that experience and hopefully do one better this time.”
Having beaten Cork in each of their three meetings – without conceding a goal, and scoring eight – UCD are rightly considered favourites.
However, O’Gorman is careful to guard against complacency, noting Cork City is very much a club – and a squad – on the up.
“It gives us confidence beating them three times, but you can’t take anything for granted. They’ve improved a lot as the season’s gone on – they’ve gone from strength to strength.”
One factor in Cork’s corner could be the crowd – with the senior men also facing Dundalk on the same bill, a large travelling support is expected from the banks of the Lee.
“[That’s why] we need to push for people to get out and support us.
“I’ve seen tweets of busloads of them being organised to come up for the double-header, so it looks like they’ll have good support there on the day.
“When you go on the pitch, you need to still just focus despite what’s going on in the crowd, stick to our gameplan and get the job done.”