Irish woman’s Ronaldo-esque strike wows pundits

When Peamount United's Stephanie Roche rifled a left-footed volley into the top corner of Wexford Youth's net over the weekend she didn't realise the shot would be heard around the world.

But a YouTube video of the goal has already clocked up more than 600,000 views, has been reported on by media across Europe and drawn plaudits from Premier League players.

On a weekend that saw world class efforts from Paris Saint-Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, ITV Sport asked: “Who thinks this stunner from [Roche] is the best goal scored anywhere this season?”

The 27-year-old Irish international controlled a tricky pass, shook her marker with a deft flick and drilled the long distance shot towards goal.

“We can’t say we’ve seen a lot of this season’s games in the Bus Éireann Women’s National League of Ireland,” the Daily Telegraph admitted. “But we’re reasonably sure Stephanie Roche of Peamount United has scored its best goal of the season.”

David Meyler of Hull City praised the strike while former Southampton midfielder Matt Le Tissier tweeted it was “goal of the season”.

The goal was also covered by media in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Roche herself was a bit surprised by the reaction. “I didn’t think at the time how good of a goal it was,” she told extratime.ie. “But the hype over it is unbelievable. I can’t believe it.”