Munster sides rue small margins

Ulster once again dominated the girls interpros at Grange Road as Munster were left to wonder what might have been. The southern province finished third in both tournaments but narrow defeats to tournament favourites Ulster and Leinster proved crucial for both the U18 and U16s.

The U18 title was Ulster’s 13th in 12 seasons – Leinster won in 2007 – and came thanks to hard-fought 1-0 wins over Leinster and Munster, while they hit 11 goals in victories over Connacht and South East. For Munster, it was a case of what might have been. Twenty-five circle entries couldn’t yield a goal in a 0-0 draw with South East, while they went down to Leinster and Ulster by the minimum before their luck finally turned against Connacht. Niamh O’Donnell gave them the lead when converting Cliona Sheehy’s pull-back from the baseline. The westerners did equalise but Eimear Ryan scored in the game’s final act to give them a 2-1 win and a share of third place. The U16 competition followed a similar script; Ulster edged Leinster 1-0 and snuck past Munster 2-1, Jessica McMaster scoring all the goals as the northerners took the title with four wins from four. Emma Rumley scored for Munster. Munster finished out on their own in third, Ciara Leahy scoring in the wins over Connacht (2-0) and South East (2-1); Laurene Buckley hit the winner in the latter game while influential Belvedere midfielder Rachel Foley got the second against Connacht. In the sole Division One club game of the weekend in Munster, club captain Nigel Bateman celebrated a call-up to UCC’s first team by netting a hat-trick in his side’s 6-2 victory over Cork Harlequins B. Andy Gray’s stroke had College one up after an unmemorable first half, but the game sprung to life in the second. Bateman did well to deflect home twice, one open side and one reverse, while Stuart O’Grady added another and Bateman tapped in to complete his hat-trick. College were cruising at 5-0 but let the visitors back into it with goals from Dan Hobbs and Mark Lombard, before Mark Welch scored on his return to first-team action after long-term injury to put the result beyond doubt. To view seven sets of Adrian Boehm’s excellent photos from the U18 and U16 girls interpros, click here.