LUCAN SARSFIELDS U14B FEILE 2015

DIVISION 4: Naomh Brid, Naomh Mearnog, St Vincents B & Lucan Sarsfields B

VENUE: NAOMH OLAF

The 11^th April finally arrived, and after months of preparation Feile 2015 was upon us.It was a fresh sunny morning in Naomh Olafs – who were fantastic hosts during the entire day.Tea/Coffee, cakes and sandwiches to beat the band!!!!

1^st game was against Naomh Mearnog – an unknown entity – we’d never faced them before.

The girls were ready for any challenge that would come their way, this was a very tense and tight game, the lively Faye Murphy caused all sorts of problems, Shauna Whyte and Roslyn Croke ensured the Mearnog defence had a busy day. Lucan led by 1 – 1 to 0 – 1 at half time, thanks to a goal from Kelly Murray and a pointed free from Emma Morris.  The well marshalled defence of GK Sarah Murphy and her backline of Cliona Daly, Anna Cuffe, Chloe Ralph, Caitlin Maguire, Ali Dunne & Aoife Whelan restricted Mearnog to a single point in that 1^st half.

The 2^nd half followed a similar pattern with scores hard to come by, but the midfield pairing of Emma Kate Carroll and Anna Rigney began to dominate. Leah Concannon kept the scoreboard ticking along with a well taken point following good work from Kate Wilson. A foul on the dangerous Roisin Egan gave Emma Morris another opportunity from a free – which she didn’t miss. Jenny Glynn & Clóda Ni Conghaile came close to adding to the scoreboard, but in the end it didn’t matter as the defence – now with Sarah Rooney and Emer Kenny the corner backs, held Mearnog scoreless in the 2^nd half.

Final Score:Lucan 1  - 3  Mearnog 0 – 1

After a well earned rest and a few Jaffa Cakes we faced St Vincents B – another 1^st time opponent.

Superb and clinical are the best superlatives to describe this performance, every player was on top of their game right from the start – dominating all over the park. By half time, thanks to a crisp goal and point from Faye Murphy, and a typical Emma Kate Carroll finish, Lucan led by 2 -1  to 0 – 0. There was no let up in the 2^nd half and Lucan added 2 further goals – from Emma Morris & Leah Concannon, and another point from Faye Murphy.

Final Score: Lucan 4 – 2 St Vincents 0 – 0

A semi-final was now secured and the final game would decide who went on as group winners. On this occasion the opponent was all too familiar to Lucan. Having played Naomh Brid 3 times in the last 12mths Lucan owed them a victory having lost the most recent game in the championship.

This game wasn’t for the faint hearted, the physicality and skill on show was superb. An astute tactical positional change saw Ali Dunne move to midfield, with Roisin Egan filling in at half back. By Half-time N Brid were restricted to a solitary goal and point, whilst 3 points from – Faye Murphy, Leah Concannon & Emma Morris plus a goal from the tenacious Roslyn Croke saw Lucan narrowly lead. As expected in the 2^nd half Naomh Brid threw everything at Lucan, but thanks to some heroic defending by the Lucan defence they managed only a single goal. A goal and point from the elegant Faye Murphy plus score of the day from Ali Dunne saw Lucan run out deserved winners.

Final Score: Lucan 3 – 4 Naomh Brid 2 – 1

The Semi-final was against Commercials – another first time opponent, but first lunch was required. The hospitality and organisation by Naomh Olaf was fantastic, all were quickly fed and watered. At stake now was a place in the Final in O’Toole Park, and the nerves were starting to show, the mood became tense, some were handling the pressure better than others, but its healthy for the parents to be nervous!! The girls were excited too, but fully focused on the game.

Commercials got off to a quick start scoring the 1^st point of the game. Emma Morris quickly replied with a well taken point. What followed next was perhaps the turning point of the match; a long ball deep into the heart of the Lucan defence was initially cleared by the Lucan backline, but out of nowhere the Commercials full forward came away with the ball and drove towards goal. She had only Sarah Murphy to beat and pulled the trigger from 7 yards out, time appeared to stop, and somehow not only did Sarah save a certain goal, she held onto the ball and cleared the ball down the field. Lucan led at half time by a solitary goal thanks to a free from Emma Morris that went in the corner of the goal. After the break the Lucan girls upped the tempo even further and another goal and 2 points from Emma Morris plus a point apiece from Faye Murphy and Leah Concannon, saw Lucan through to the final.

Final Score: Lucan 4 -2 Commercials 0 – 1

After a sleepless night for the Mentors it was off to O’Toole Park for the Final against Naomh Brid. Conditions were bad, to say the least, heavy rain and a heavy pitch meant this was always going to be a tight affair. A Naomh Brid goal a minute and forty-three seconds after the throw was not the start Lucan were looking for, in a game that had loads of skill and a thrilling finish.  Despite looking the more dangerous, Naomh Brid could not establish their dominance on the scoreboard, thanks to the unbelievable Lucan defence, who cleared ball after ball. Faye Murphy was a potential match winner and looked the part when she scored a lovely point from play in the 9^th minute. However despite some heroic defending by the Lucan defence, Naomh Brid  netted a second goal before half-time to give them a 2-0 to 0-1 lead. 

Lucan threw everything at Naomh Brid in the 2^nd half and after points were exchanged, thanks to another point from Faye Murphy, Lucan knew time was running out and goals were required.    Finals are won by the tiniest of margins and it was only the width of the ball that saw fantastic efforts by Emma Morris and Faye Murphy drag agonisingly wide. Tears were shed at the final whistle, all 21 girls had given their all over the 5 games. There were heroic performances all over the pitch, some walking wounded, and others who have really stepped up to another level.

Final Score: Lucan 0 -2 Naomh Brid 2 – 1

As Pat Martin said – there are no losers – only winners, and these amazing players are certainly winners.

Sarah Murphy, Chloe Ralph, Emer Kenny, Anna Cuffe, Jenny Glynn, Cliona Daly, Sarah Rooney, Caitlin Maguire, Aoife Whelan, Roisin Egan, Ali Dunne, Emma Kate Carroll, Anna Rigney (Capt), Shauna Whyte, Leah Concannon, Faye Murphy, Roslyn Croke, Kelly Murray, Clóda Ni Chonghaile, Kate Wilson & Emma Morris

Mentors: Simon Morris, Stiofán Ó Conghaile, Dave Byrne.

First Aid: Niamh Morris