On Wednesday night November 9th the Mercy Girls football team made history by winning the Rackard League Roinn B title for the very first time. The match against a gallant Ballygarret team took place under lights in St. Patrick’s Park Enniscorthy and it was a thrilling spectacle with superb scores from both sides and tenacious defending at both ends of the field. The final score of 12 points to 1 goal and 8 points does not do justice to the fantastic display of the John’s Road team and overall all agreed that it was a well deserved victory.
This was definitely a team performance from start to finish with the backs and midfield players putting in a huge effort for the full 50 mins in order to provide a great supply of ball for the forwards to prove their mettle. To score 12 points in any match is a very good return and this is testament to the hard work and clever play of all 13 players.
Sally Walker in goal was coolness personified. Her kick-outs were excellent and she made several crucial saves in the second half when Ballygarret were pushing hard for a victory. The full back line of Kate Frayne, Aoife Dwyer and Julia Dempsey made several very important interventions and protected the goal very well throughout the match. Clara O Doherty played a captain’s part, intercepting many attacks and giving great passes to her team-mates. She was ably assisted by Kate Redmond Browne who gave an outstanding performance in defence, especially in the second half. Midfielders Eve Hession and Alannah Corcoran worked tirelessly throughout against Ballygarret’s 2 best players. They covered back and then moved forward at every opportunity and each of them deserves great credit. Sarah Murphy had one of her best games for the Mercy team. She helped out in midfield and then popped up to score 4 excellent points as well as setting up several other scores. This match couldn’t be written about without mentioning the contribution of Aoife Kelly. She scored 6 points, all of them with great skill and determination, not to mention covering back when necessary, a truly inspirational performance. She and the other forwards Sinéad Cuddihy, Sinéad Rafter and the Caoimhe O Sullivan will be the first to praise the rest of the team for their efforts. The two Sinéads and substitute Emer Mc Cormack made strong contributions for the team and Caoimhe got 2 sweet points at a crucial stage and was a major threat throughout.
This victory belongs to the whole squad of 25 players and they should be very proud of their achievement.
Panel:Clodadh Bruen, Alannah Corcoran, Sinéad Cuddihy, Rachel Curran, Aoife Dwyer, Kate Frayne, Aoife Kelly, Jodie Kent, Hannah Malone, Emer Mc Cormack, Sarah Murphy, Clara O Doherty, Caoimhe O Sullivan, Kate Redmond Browne, Julia Dempsey, Eve Hession, Emma Jones, Josephine Lonergan, Anna Marsella, Johanna North, Sadhbh Cullinane, Sinéad Rafter, Sally Walker, Sally Bruen, Liadh Dwyer.
