Athlone Town advanced to their fifth FAI Cup final in a row after a penalty shootout victory over Galway United. Alexis Strickland opened the scoring in the 9th minute, but Cara Griffin equalized with a stunning strike. After 120 minutes of tense action, Maria Matthaiou saved the decisive penalty to secure the 5-4 win. Galway, missing key players Emma Doherty and Remini Tillotson, showed resilience but fell short against the league leaders. Athlone's Madie Gibson, returned from injury, and Izzy Ryan's pace threatened Galway's defense, while Amanda McQuillan's saves kept the visitors in the game. The decisive moment came in the 78th minute when Griffin curled a perfect free-kick into the top corner. In the shoot-out, Galway's Isabella Beletic missed her spot-kick, allowing Roisin Molloy to level before Matthaiou's heroics sealed the triumph.