Munster’s hopes hang in the balance

A five-star performance from Aine Connery wasn’t enough to prevent Munster from slipping to a 3-2 defeat to Ulster on day two of the senior women’s interprovincials at Garryduff this afternoon. The Kilkenny-born UCC starlet was the most influential player on the pitch by a mile, and scored a fine opportunist goal to boot, but Ulster grabbed strikes at vital times to put themselves in the driving seat ahead of the final day. Munster’s hopes of taking the title are out of their hands for now. They must hope Connacht get something from their meeting with Ulster in the morning – a big ask given their lack of form so far – then beat Leinster in the afternoon. Following Friday night’s 3-1 win over the westerners, Munster gave themselves the best possible start against Ulster, as Julia O’Halloran flicked in a rebound from Cliodhna Sargent’s strike on six minutes. Confounding most neutrals’ expectations, Munster continued to set the pace. Hollie Moffett did brilliantly to beat two players on the endline before lifting the ball over Ulster netminder Helen Stevenson, only to see it come back off the frame of the goal, with no player in red and blue following up. All Ulster had to show for their efforts thus far were a couple of wides from Diane Topley, while the drying Garryduff surface forced them to slap-hit their push-outs after a couple got stuck in the pitch, a fate that also befell Munster.

Munster’s Audrey O’Flynn had to depart on 24 minutes after taking a hefty knock on her foot in the act of blocking down one corner, and the hosts’ set-piece defence was never quite the same thereafter. It was little coincidence that Ulster found the backboard from their first set-piece following O’Flynn’s departure, Susie Martin finding Nicki Parke who turned the ball home at the back post. Amy O’Neill saved well five minutes later from Michelle Harvey as Ulster pushed for a second, but that arrived on the stroke of half-time. Rachel Mulligan dispossessed Karen Hales and fed Topley, who nutmegged O’Neill for a 2-1 lead. Connery was nonetheless a constant nuisance for the Ulster defence, and a 38th minute chance epitomised everything good about her efforts. She mugged Harvey near halfway and burned Martin on the outside, only to see her attempted lob drop on the wrong side of the back stick. Munster were left to rue their bad fortune on 49 minutes, when a corner was switched left to a wide open Shirley McCay, who made no mistake from 10 yards. But Connery and O’Halloran combined to produce one of the goals of the tournament eight minutes later to give Munster a lifeline. The latter slid a cute pass to find Connery in the circle, and she danced the bouncing ball around two defenders at close quarters before dinking it past Stevenson. O’Halloran came desperately close to bagging a late leveller for Munster, spinning well in the circle to deflect Sargent’s crash ball goalwards, but an unsighted Stevenson showed great reactions to save the day for Ulster. Meanwhile, Leinster gave their title hopes a significant boost earlier in the day as they dismantled Connacht 4-0. Emma Smyth once again impressed in midfield alongside Nikki Symmons, while the arsenal of forwards at Rudi Wortmann’s disposal ran the Connacht defence ragged.

Roisin Flinn had them in front inside eight minutes with a tidy deflection, a lead doubled by Cathy McKean on 23 minutes when she got a neat touch on Smyth’s long corner to direct the ball into the far corner. Connacht’s best chance to get back in the game saw Audrey McCormack beat Kate Dillon for pace on 29 minutes and round Emma Grey, but her cross was unlucky to find a Leinster foot rather than the waiting Sinead Walsh. But that was as good as it got for the westerners. Symmons smahsed home from 15 yards on 51 minutes after Smyth had surged along the endline, while Niamh Small turned provider for Nikki Keegan on 58 minutes to put the icing on the cake. Should Ulster beat Connacht in the morning, Leinster are likely to need to at least match that result against Munster to take the title. However, an unlikely result for Connacht will blow the championship wide open.