Day 2
Limerick proved a happy hunting ground for Lurgan College once more as they claimed overall victory on a remarkable final day of the Kate Russell All-Ireland Schoolgirls Championships at Crescent College Comprehensive.
The Ulster school had won the last time the competition was hosted by Crescent in 2003, and they did so here on goal difference as fatigue and motivation proved a decisive factor in some hammerings exacted late in the day.
With all five sides winning and losing on day one, it was open season yesterday with Lurgan taking the early initiative with a 3-0 dismissal of Coláiste Iognáid. Crescent and Loreto Kilkenny’s hopes then all but faded as the hosts failed to convert a flurry of corners aside from Roisin Upton’s late equaliser in a 1-1 draw.
Emily Beatty and Nicola Gray both notched braces in a 5-0 dismissal of a tired Coláiste Iognáid that seemed to tilt the balance in Alexandra College’s favour.
But Lurgan then put seven past Loreto Kilkenny, Chloe McCann on target four times with Hannah Grieve netting a hat-trick, to leave Alex needing to beat Crescent by six goals in the final game.
The Dublin school gave it one hell of a rattle, winning 6-1 with Beatty, Gray and Hannah McDermott all to the fore, but Crescent cleared three late corners to prevent Alex getting the last goal they required, as well as giving the Limerick girls the bronze medal.
ESB Electric Kate Russell All-Ireland Schoolgirl’s Championships, Day 2
Colaiste Iognaid 0 Lurgan College 3 (K Scott, H Grieve, B Barr);
Crescent Comp 1 (R Upton) Loreto Kilkenny 1 (N Byrne);
Alexandra College 5 (E Beatty 2, N Gray 2, D Duke) Colaiste Iognaid 0;
Loreto Kilkenny 0 Lurgan College 7 (C McCann 4, H Grieve 3);
Crescent Comp 1 (A McMahon) Alexandra College 6 (E Beatty 2, H McDermott 2, M O’Donnell, N Gray)
Final standings: 1. Lurgan 6pts (+11) 2. Alexandra Coll 6pts (+10) 3. Crescent 3pts (-6) 4. Loreto Kilkenny 3pts (-7) 5. C Iognaid 2pts (-8)
Day 1
All five teams are still in contention for the Kate Russell All-Ireland Schoolgirls Championships title after a bizarre first day’s play saw each end with a win and a loss to their name in sun-drenched Limerick.
Loreto Kilkenny caused one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s recent memory, the South East champions blowing a 3-0 lead before defeating a hotly-fancied Alexandra College 4-3 on a day when just one of the five games was decided by more than a single-goal margin.
Two of those goals came from Grace Walsh, younger sister of Kilkenny All Star hurler Tommy. She is one of seven players, alongside fellow double-getter Aoife Murphy and captain Emma Copmerford, in the side who won the All-Ireland schools camogie title a fortnight ago.
They had earlier gone down 3-2 to 2009 champions, Coláiste Iognáid of Connacht. Ciara Power finished off a flowing team move for the Jes’ opener, before Lynsey Trainor belted home a corner for two-zip, before netting a third to seemingly put them out of sight.
Despite being smothered for long stages, Loreto fought back with an Aoife Murphy goal before the break, before pulling back another 10 minutes later to setup a grandstand finale. They couldn’t quite manage an equaliser, however.
Against Alex, Aoife Murphy’s goal and a Grace Walsh double had Loreto cruising at the break, but Hannah McDermott – whose double had earlier given Alex a 2-1 win over Lurgan -Emily Beatty and Millie O’Donnell amazingly hauled the Milltown school level.
But Murphy grabbed the crucial winner from a corner five minutes from time to help keep a side perceived as outsiders before the tournament well in the hunt.
It was also a mixed day for hosts Crescent College Comprehensive, who lost to Lurgan 3-1 but recovered to see off the Jes 3-2.
Their campaign got off to a flyer when Aileen McMahon’s short corner bash had them in front on 30 minutes against Lurgan. Lisa Barrett had taken a stick to the mouth amid some defensive heroics at that stage, and Crescent held their advantage through to the second half, until Natalie Barr took the game by the scruff of the neck for Lurgan.
She scored the first and won the short corner which Kim Scott converted for the third, with sister Bethanie Barr notching one in between, again thanks to good work from Natalie in the build-up.
The Barr sisters – who also include Bethany’s twin Serena, and had revealed the emotional driving force behind their Ulster victory, coming after elder sister Charlene passed away from cystic fibrosis – were also to the fore as Lurgan went down 2-1 to Alex.
Ireland U16 Hannah McDermott put Alex ahead on six minutes and notched her second 12 minutes later, but Lurgan shut up shop and gave themselves hope with a late Gemma McBride effort, before seeing Alex netminder Catherine Bell thwart a late chance.
That result left Crescent in need of a maiden victory to keep pace, which they duly managed by seeing off Coláiste Iognáid 3-2. Talismanic midfielder Roisin Upton dragged them into a second-minute lead, with Orla Hickey converting one from the push-out spot for 2-0 at half-time.
Coláiste had been unfortunate to see some decent short corner attempts go begging, but Trainor popped up again with a spectacular 50th-minute effort to keep them in the hunt.
Ciara O’Sullivan’s pace engineered a third strike for Crescent though, a buffer they were glad of when Maeve Russell made it a tight endgame late on.
All five sides will therefore begin tomorrow’s final round robin fixtures — they each play twice more — on level pegging.
**In an innovative idea from teacher Diarmuid Mullins, Crescent College Comprehensive transition year students have been tasked with supplying information and match reports to the media from this tournament. A big thank-you from Southern Fried Hockey therefore goes to Luke Murray, Conor Beatty, Tim Fitzgibbon, Clodagh Treacy and Ciara Power for their excellent efforts!
Kate Russell All-Ireland Schoolgirls Championships, Crescent CC, Limerick, Day 1
Crescent Comp, Limerick 1 (A McMahon) Lurgan College 3 (N Barr, B Barr, K Scott);
Coláiste Iognáid, Galway 3 (C Power, L Trainor 2) Loreto Kilkenny 2 (G Walsh, A Murphy);
Lurgan College 1 (G McBride) Alexandra College, Dublin 2 (H McDermott 2);
Crescent 3 (R Upton, O Hickey, C Sullivan) Coláiste Iognáid 2 (L Trainor, M Russell);
Loreto Kilkenny 4 (G Walsh 2, A Murphy 2) Alexandra College 3 (H McDermott, E Beatty, M O’Donnell);
Standings (goal difference): 1 Lurgan 3pts (+1); 2 Alexandra College 3pts (0); 2= Coláiste Iognáid 3pts (0); 2= Loreto Kilkenny 3pts (0); 5 Crescent CC 3pts (-1).
Day 2: Coláiste Iognaid v Lurgan College (9.30am); Crescent Comprehensive v Loreto Kilkenny (11am); Alexandra College v Coláiste Iognáid (12.30pm); Loreto Kilkenny v Lurgan College (2pm); Crescent Comprehensive v Alexandra College (3.30pm).
