Coláiste na Toirbhirte shock Mount Mercy

Coláiste na Toirbhirte Bandon pulled off the upset of the Munster Schoolgirls Senior Cup quarter-finals so far as they defeated last year’s finalists Mount Mercy 3-1 at the Cork city school this morning. Ciara Lucey had given the hosts an early lead in a first half which they dominated, only for Síle Johnson to equalise a couple of minutes before the break. Mount Mercy’s main creative fulcrum Yvonne O’Byrne was smothered by a cold which understandably affected her performance as Coláiste na Toirbhirte fared better after the break, and they took the lead through Johnson again with six minutes to go. Mount Mercy piled on the pressure in the final minutes and eventually forced a short corner. But the west Cork girls defended it adroitly, and Johnson broke out of defence before feeding Deirdre Clarke on the right near halfway. Clarke had let a chance go begging five minutes earlier, but rather than heading for the corner to wind down the clock she headed for the circle, and finished off the breakaway with aplomb to seal a memorable win for John Dennis’ side, who gained revenge for last year’s 4-1 cup defeat. They will now meet the winner of tomorrow’s clash between Laurel Hill Coláiste and Scoil Mhuire at the Mardyke (2.30pm) in the semi-finals.