Students finally have their day in the sun

UCC’s potential finally bore fruit in the form of some silverware as they held off a resilient Bandon side on a 3-1 scoreline in an entertaining women’s Munster Senior Cup final at Garryduff earlier today. Having come so close to glory last season, going down to a C of I golden goal in the final, this victory — a first since 1995, when the likes of Rachael Kohler and Jess Kelleher graced the Mardyke — will have tasted all the sweeter. It is also surely a good thing for the sport that a second different name is on the trophy following Quins’ 12-year dominance of the competition until last season. College had already exorcised the ghosts of last term by dumping C of I out on penalty strokes in the last eight,and were favourites going into this encounter on the back of three wins from three against Bandon this term. While the Garryduff surface is also a good leveller for visiting teams, College could claim to have a greater recent knowledge of it, with six of their players involved in the senior interpros at the venue over the weekend. But the flipside of that was the fear that those excursions could weigh heavily in their legs as they played their fourth match in five days, and College had every right to be wary of a giant-killing Bandon outfit who had shocked Quins in the semis. It is widely acknowledged by all at the Mardyke that Bandon are an exceptionally tough side to break down, and when Alison Kingston blasted the west Cork girls in front from a fourth-minute short corner, College knew they were in a dogfight. Things went from bad to worse for College three minutes later, as they lost a visibly upset Julia O’Halloran to the sin-bin. While her stick-tackle was certainly late and from behind, and most likely a product of the cup final nerves affecting the majority of those on the pitch, umpire Julie Beamish showed little mercy in dispatching O’Halloran to the sideline.

Nonetheless, College made hay in her absence, as Eibhlín O’Donoghue touched home Ali O’Connor’s crash ball at the near post for an 11th-minute equaliser. Bandon thought they’d regained the lead on 15 minutes, after a delightful double-switch short corner move instigated by Jane O’Higgins saw Thelma Kingston rifle the ball high into the net. But that strike was correctly chalked off as it was a straight hit, and following that let-off, College settled into a pattern of dominance. Bandon’s Eimear White was by far the busier of the keepers, largely due to the enterprise of Áine Connery, who followed up a stellar weekend at the senior inter-pros with another tireless performance, and Miriam Crowley. O’Halloran gave White a scare just after the break when she skilfully hammered a mid-air effort straight at her, before volleying the  rebound wide. While Bandon were on the back foot, they had plenty of warriors in defence; Kate Murphy, Alison Kingston and Ciara Harte were all on the money, but there was nothing any of them could do about the strike that put College in front. That arrived on 41 minutes via as sublime a drag-flick as you’re likely to see anywhere from Audrey O’Flynn, who pinged the ball just inside the post and high into the top corner to give White no chance. Bandon’s Rachelle Nyhan did brilliantly to thwart O’Halloran as the onslaught continued, though Olivia Roycroft’s pace was causing the odd moment of panic in the College rearguard. But College made the game safe with a 55th-minute field goal worthy of winning any match. Connery took down a Hollie Moffett overhead and burned two defenders, before slotting a sweet reverse across the circle for Ali O’Regan to touch home. Bandon nearly pulled one back late on as Olivia Roycroft put O’Higgins clean through on Karen Olden following a fine breakaway. But the UCC netminder was equal to the task, allowing the celebrations to begin for the students. UCC: K Olden (GK); A O’Connor, O Crowley, A O’Flynn, E Kenefick; J Long (capt), H Moffett (vice-capt), E O’Donoghue; J O’Halloran, M Crowley, Á Connery. Rolling subs: A O’Regan, F O’Connell, A Donegan, V O’Sullivan.

BANDON: E White (GK); C Harte, T Kingston, A Kingston (capt), R Nyhan; L O’Flynn, R O’Mahony, K Murphy; O Roycroft, J O’Higgins (vice-capt), A Roycroft. Rolling subs: K O’Sullivan, D Galvin, P Ford, S Sullivan. Umpires: J Beamish & L Clifford. Meanwhile, a youthful Cork C of I side claimed the women’s plate this morning with a hard-fought 3-0 final win over Belvedere. Coach Phil Oakley a couple of his Munster contingent after their weekend exertionsand instead gave heavy rotation to schoolgirls Amy Kate Trevor, Julie Coyne, Kate Humphries, Laura McSweeney, Lauragh O’Neill and Darragh Hill all featuring, while Jenifer Hales played a half as she continues her re-assimilation into the C of I setup after a period out of the game. The Ballincollig outfit had long odds having been soundly defeated by C of I twice this term, but the likes of Anne Marie Dooley and skipper Jordana Dolan gave as good as they got before Trevor broke the deadlock for C of I just before the break. Deirdre Casey and Lauragh O’Neill added two more in the second half to wrap things up for C of I, but Belvedere can take plenty of heart from their performance as they look to haul themselves off the foot of the league table in the coming weeks. For Eoin Tyrrell’s photos from both MSC finals, please click here.