Athlone Town’s FAI Cup double bid in safe hands with rising star Katie Keane

One day last July, in a Lithuanian city most had probably never heard of, Katie Keane performed netminding feats many had never witnessed before.

Seldom has a scoreless draw housed so much drama, most of it shoehorned into one penalty area.

As Ireland began their first Euro U-19 campaign in a decade against the holders, and eventual two-time champions Spain, Athlone Town's Keane made a purported 15 saves in a game where the shot count finished 29-0.

'Purported,' that is, as that official stat was contradicted by another, which indicated that apparently just 12 of the Spanish efforts were on target; UEFA still listed her as a Shelbourne player at the time, too.

But those who witnessed the astonishing display, on the eve of the senior team's notable win against France in Cork, did not need the confirmation of numbers to illustrate the evidence of a remarkable display.

Tim Howard holds a World Cup record of 16 saves in one game but his USA side lost their 2014 tie against Belgium.

That same season, Newcastle stopper Tim Krul denied Spurs on 14 occasions but also kept a clean sheet in a 1-0 win.

​It is a rare feat; to deny an obviously superior side on so many occasions without the barrier being breached.

Dave Connell's side had other heroes that day, spearheaded by the languid elegance of Galway's centre-back Eve Dossen and Wexford FC's full-back Méabh Russell.

But from her opening salvo, a sweeping dive to deny Pau Cabanes, the day was all about Keane.

Ireland would not progress to the knockouts, despite shocking Germany with a Lia O'Leary goal in the second game of a fiendishly difficult group that also included eventual beaten finalists from The Netherlands.

But for Keane, who was still only 17 at the time, it was another significant career step.

"It's incredible, it's the only word I can use for it. Especially for me when last year I was biding my time on the bench, doing what I could to improve and get better," she says.

"And then...if anyone told me before I signed for Athlone I'd win an FAI Cup, be in a Euros I would have said you were mad.

"Look, we didn't get to the semis or the final like we were hoping. But to be honest, every game we played we were so together, we had each other's back and it was absolutely unbelievable.

"To draw against the eventual champions was absolutely incredible. People look and say little old Ireland, what a draw.

"Our attitude is, 'No, it's time to prove everyone wrong, it's time for us to showcase what we do here at home in the league as well'. It's a great boost because all the squad were home-based, we are all working together whether it is in our schools or clubs or our gym clubs. It's all leading towards those big moments, and that 0-0 draw was something else taking it all in.

"Look, you prepare for these moments, it's absolutely huge, everything you do is leading towards getting the best out of your ability on the day. We prepared so well. We got over there early to acclimatise. We did all our work on and off the pitch in terms of recovery.

"I brought the PlayStation with me so that the girls could enjoy that on their downtime as well. Because now at the moment, a lot of the girls are in the middle of Leaving Cert."

She will not encounter hers until next summer, sitting it at Dunshauglin Community School. Given her ability to pass every sporting test, you sense that exam may not overawe her.

With the FAI as yet unable to fund an underage international side to bridge the gap to a senior side, Keane may be forced to wait for her next big chance.

Arguably, given Courtney Brosnan's eminence for Eileen Gleeson's side, there is a case to be made that Keane is now the second best Irish goalkeeper around. Two years ago, the then 16-year-old was drafted by Vera Pauw into a Marbella training camp and, given Ireland will certainly sweep aside Georgia in the first leg of next month's Euro 2025 play-offs, there may be a chance of a recall.

She would be ready if it happened.

"Yeah, deffo. Like, it's a major thing to be called up into a senior team and it's really important that you are ready.

"So if you're called up, you need to make sure you are doing the right training, and doing the right things for yourself. The best you can do is what you can do yourself. That's what I believe. Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.

"No matter what you do on and off the pitch, if you've a bad training session, that's OK. You're not going to have a perfect day every day.

"But you know the hard work is behind you, your dedication is behind you as well. So that is sacrifices, that is life choices, that is everything. You just need to be ready and prepare yourself in the best way possible. So it's really a bit on yourself to be ready for that as well."

Keane would seem an obvious flight risk from the domestic game given her prowess. Education will delay that decision.

"The Leaving Cert and education is so important," she insists."It gives you that fallback plan; look at Jamie Finn with her injury which is really unfortunate but we know she has all that behind her as well and that makes her a role model for us to be honest.

"To know you have something to fall back on. You can see it with Chloe Singleton with us. She snapped her ankle but she has her work behind her and she has everything done in case anything happened.

"Players can go but I've made it clear that I'm finishing my Leaving Cert. To be honest, if I wanted to go, I wouldn't want to go without an education because that would mean you are sitting around, bored and on your own.

"But having this to do gives you something to concentrate on and keeps your mind focused which I feel Is really important. Especially as a 'keeper, you need to have that concentration for the 90 minutes. That's really important."

That focus will arm her tomorrow even if Athlone – also involved in a three-way title scrap – will be expected to return to Lansdowne Road following tomorrow's trip to basement side Sligo.

"Every team has that chance, it's a kick of a ball that can win you a game, or a save."

Knowing Athlone possess the best in the business will speed their journey.

​Sports Direct Women's FAI Cup semi-finals Today: Shelbourne v Cork City, Tolka Park, 2.0 Tomorrow: Sligo Rovers v Athlone Town, The Showgrounds, 3.0