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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Michael Scully

'There's no hiding now' - Peamount's Lauryn O'Callaghan on the gripping WNL title finale

It's do or die this week as the WNL title race reaches boiling point.

With the TG4 cameras in PRL Park tomorrow evening (5.20pm) the focus is on leaders Wexford, who require four points from their last two games to secure a fifth League title.

Problem is, those games are against Peamount and Shelbourne.

READ MORE: Wexford's Kylie Murphy not ready to slow down after reaching latest milestone

With Shels just one point adrift of Wexford and the Peas and fourth placed Athlone three points behind, the trophy is still up for grabs with two weekends remaining.

The Peas appeared to have out of the race but, since a 4-0 loss to Shels in July, seven wins from their last eight games has them within striking distance.

"There's loads of different scenarios but, for us, we just have to win," said Peamount's Lauryn O'Callaghan. "We're all really excited.

"A few weeks ago we wouldn't have thought we'd be in this position, we were in a very difficult spot.

"Everybody doubted us and people are probably still doubting us, but we don't mind.

"We stuck together. Our past experiences stood to us and we made a significant jump.

"There's no hiding around it now or pretending we're underdogs or any of that craic. There's no other team I'd rather be with this weekend. We're all buzzing for it."

A year ago, O'Callaghan watched Peamount's last day implosion from her hospital bed, having suffered a broken ankle the previous week.

The Peas went 2-0 up against Galway and were cruising to glory but it all went wrong and they lost 5-2, handing the title to Shels.

"That was such a significant moment," O'Callaghan said. "It was awful, the way it happened.

"I was just out of surgery and watching on the laptop, thinking, 'Oh my God'. It was awful, just seeing the girls so upset after giving so much."

This time around it was a five-game mid-season slump that looked to killed their hopes.

O'Callaghan's father, James, is the Peas' manager so Lauryn could feel the tension from both sides, from the players and the coaching staff.

"We were going to training and it was awful, no-one wanted to be there," she recalled.

"We had a chat and said we needed to push on and just focus on ourselves.

"It's tough sometimes. I see things from a players' perspective but also from a management perspective as well because of the situation.

"I'd be more conscious of things and that can be hard in conflict situations.

"But we were united when we spoke as a team and management team. It was never one-sided. That helps during a tough time.

"Performances did stay high. We realised we're capable of winning games."

O'Callaghan, who recently started a Masters in Sports Management in UCD, predicts another ding-dong battle with Wexford.

"They're always up for it," she said. "Even if they were bottom of the table it would be the same.

"You have to give them credit, it's what they're really good at."

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