Ladies 3rds Cup V Our Lady’s
After two very strong league performances since the return to hockey after the snow, the Ladies 3rds finally got to play their deferred Cup game on a fresh January Saturday in Terenure against Our Lady’s. The match began with the Glens adopting a 4 man midfield in an effort to temper the strong midfield force of Our Lady’s & after the first 10 minutes, the Glens had started to settle well into the game. The Glens had numerous passages of play moving up & down the pitch with both teams matched on counter attacks & controlled defensive play. It took nearly 30 minutes before the deadlock was broken courtesy of a very well executed short corner routine by the Glens which saw Niamh Aherne take the lead through a direct strike on goal. If ever a team was matched equally, Our Lady’s replied shortly afterwards with their own precise short corner leaving the game tied 1-1 at half time.
The second half saw the tempo rise for both teams, with a place in the next round at stake, Our Lady’s were kept very busy with a lot of attacking play led by Gemma Fay, but as with all attacking play, being caught on the break has its downfalls & the Glens keeper Louise Corrigan was left exposed when Our Lady’s took the lead 2-1, as with all cup games though, never say never. The Glens upped the tempo again, and started applying more pressure to Our Lady’s & were duly rewarded with an equaliser six minutes from full time. With Gemma Fay never giving up on any ball that came her way, the resulting goal, with an error from the Our Lady’s goalkeeper, saw Gemma Fay equalise with superb calmness & controlled hockey.
The dreams of reaching the next round were dashed with two minutes to go, when Our Lady’s pushed forward for one last attack with probably saw the goal of the game, Ann ‘Granny’ Egan, scored a beautiful individual goal to make the final scoreline 3-2 to Our Lady’s. From the manager’s point of view, this was one of the finest games the girls have played & against a very well matched opposition, the Glens came out the wrong side of a five goal thriller, with Gemma Fay taking the deserved Man of the Match. We wish Our Lady’s the best of luck in the next round.
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Deirdre Leonard
