HOCKEY: LEINSTER SCHOOLGIRLS SENIOR CUP FINAL
Brave Effort From Newbridge Just Comes Up Short
HOLY CHILD KILLINEY 2
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE 0
By Daire Walsh
There was disappointment for Newbridge College at UCD on Sunday afternoon when they lost out to Holy Child Killiney in the Leinster Schoolgirls Senior Cup Hockey final.
Thanks to goals in each half from Alex Purcell and Isabelle Napier, it was the south county Dublin outfit who secured provincial honours in the Belfield venue. Skipper Roisin Sexton, Lara Prendergast and Grace Murtagh were amongst those to produce strong performances for Newbridge, but it wasn’t enough to deny Killiney on the day.
Yet reaching their maiden decider at this grade was a significant achievement in its own right and there could be no faulting their effort throughout the course of the contest. While Killiney were initially on top of possession, the Newbridge defence largely coped with their threat.
A defensive mishap from ‘Bridge did open the door for Killiney on 12 minutes, but Lucy Schwer had a shot blocked after Napier had originally attempted to muscle her way through. Even though the deadlock was ultimately unbroken at the end of the first-quarter, it didn’t stay this way for long.
Just two minutes into the second-quarter, Purcell edged Killiney in front by sweeping a penalty corner beyond the reach of Newbridge custodian Sophie Morrissey.
This was a set-back for Newbridge, but they were almost immediately awarded a penalty corner of their own. Gary Ruddock’s charges had a perfect opportunity to get themselves back on level terms and Michelle Cashman was desperately unfortunate to see her eventual strike being blocked.
Vice-captain Ella Kelly also tried her luck off a short corner in the 26th-minute, only to see it deflected over the crossbar and ultimately leave them 1-0 adrift at half-time.
There was still plenty of time to force the issue, however, and towards the end of the third-quarter – having been on the back-foot for large stretches – Newbridge started to apply some attacking pressure inside the Killiney half.
Unfortunately, Jodie Zebedee and Joy Duggan only had fleeting opportunities to test the resolve of Killiney goalkeeper Cathy Green and Newbridge’s search for an equaliser continued into the final 15 minutes.
The closest Newbridge came to cancelling out Killiney’s cushion was when Kelly had a firm strike from a short corner cleared off the line. By this point, ‘Bridge had opted to play with 11 outfield players as they ramped up their attacking efforts.
However, this left them vulnerable to counter attacks and while Schwer had a goal ruled out, Napier rolled the ball into an empty net with just over a minute left on the clock to effectively seal Newbridge’s fate.
HOLY CHILD KILLINEY: Cathy Green, Katie Meir, Rachel Jackson, Jessica O’Donovan, Emma McCann, Alex Purcell, Sophie Meir, Jenny Baily, Sarah McFarland, Isabelle Napier, Lucy Schwer, Millie Jerman, Heather Miles, Aliya Davis, Olivia Napier, Sive McLoughlin, Hannah Murphy, Hannah Gerlitz.
NEWBRIDGE COLLEGE: Sophie Morrissey, Lucy Harkin, Ailbhe Brennan, Lara Prendergast, Kate Byrne, Ella Kelly, Kate Halford, Lucy Hannon, Michelle Cashman, Roisin Sexton, Grace Murtagh, Siofra Galvin, Lucy Ross, Jane Blake, Jodie Zebedee, Isobel Collins, Joy Duggan, Beibhinn Howard.