Balbirnie expects Ireland to be up to the task against rivals Afghanistan
BELFAST Royal Academy turned the clock back 46 years yesterday when they lifted the Belfast Telegraph Ulster Senior Cup for the first time since 1974 with a 4-2 win over Friends’ in an exciting final at Lisnagarvey.
To do so, the north Belfast side had to come from a goal down, but they responded well and went into the interval with a 3-1 lead.
BRA added a fourth goal early in the second-half, but Friends’ rallied superbly and, after pulling a goal back, they went on to dominate possession and, with a little luck, could have scored again.
But BRA, who defended resolutely when they had to, deserved their success as they showed a more clinical touch in front of goal.
It was BRA who had the first opportunity in the fifth minute after a tentative opening spell as both teams started nervously.
Niamh McIvor, the heroine of the semi-final shoot-out win over the holders Banbridge Academy, set up Sasha Logan, but she shot straight at Friends’ keeper Cara McEwen, who saved comfortably.
Five minutes later, the Lisburn school went ahead when team captain Rachel Geddes passed to Sophie Kidd, who fired the ball home at the near post with a neat finish.
However, just two more minutes had elapsed when BRA levelled matters, McIvor’s deft deflection from a narrow angle beating McEwen after great work down the left by Olivia Beattie and Emma Uprichard.
With just seconds remaining in the first quarter, it was 2-1 when BRA defender Megan Warke hammered in her team’s first penalty corner of the game.
Then, with the second quarter just two minutes old, Emma Uprichard showed great composure and vision to find her older sister Julia, the BRA captain, at the edge of the circle and she scored with a powerful first-time shot into the net.
In the 26th minute, Friends’ won their first set-piece and Ella Brown’s effort was well saved by Erin Lavery in the BRA goal.
BRA finished the first-half the stronger side and McIvor had a shot deflected narrowly wide, before Friends’ had a chance when there was no one able to apply the finishing touch to a tantalising cross from Ella Agnew.
Two minutes after the halftime break, BRA got their fourth goal when Abbie Braniff capitalised after the Lisburn team had lost possession as she applied a clinical finish to leave Friends’ with the proverbial mountain to climb.
Going in search of their first Senior Cup triumph since 1999,
Friends’ got the goal they so desperately needed when the impressive Kidd fired home a penalty corner after the ball had been switched into her path in the 35th minute.
BRA were content to sit back and soak up any pressure that come their way as they still had the benefit of a two-goal cushion.
But all credit to Friends’ who never gave up and launched attack after attack and ultimately winning the penalty corner count 6-2.
With four minutes remaining, Kidd went desperately close to making it 4-3 when her corner was expertly taken off the line by Eve Thompson, and that was that as BRA were about to celebrate ending their 46-year drought by lifting the famous trophy for the 12th time.
IT is 46 days since Ireland were hammered by the West Indies in a Twenty20 international in St Kitts, “a long time ago in terms of cricket”, according to Andrew Balbirnie.
“The exciting thing is we have a lot of T20 cricket to make sure that doesn’t happen again, and the lads put in performances every game we play,” added the Ireland captain.
The first chance to put that into practice is tomorrow in Greater Noida (8.30am GMT), but with a full-strength Afghanistan in the other dressing room, Balbirnie knows it won’t be easy.
He takes confidence, though, that just four days before that nine wickets defeat, Ireland had beaten the Windies by four runs.
“We saw two ends of the spectrum in the space of a week,” he adds. “That’s how good we can be if we do put in a performance, but playing teams like that when you have a bad day you get absolutely punished.
“But we can look back on that win and it gives us confidence that, when we turn up, we can compete with anyone in their own backyard.
“With a World Cup at the end of the year, that is a huge positive for a group that includes a lot of young players still learning their trade, and to do that against a top team is very satisfying.”
Afghanistan are ranked three places higher than the West Indies, and facing Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Zadran and Mohammad Nabi on a spinning surface is the ultimate test for this squad, half of whom have come direct from the pitches of Pretoria, one level down with the Ireland Wolves.
Tomorrow’s game is Ireland’s 1,000th since the first capped match in 1855, and while they have enjoyed memorable oneoff triumphs in World Cups and played a Test match at Lord’s, a T20 victory against Afghanistan since Rashid Khan’s debut is still on the to do list.
Put simply, even one win in this three-game series would be a greater achievement than beating the 2016 World T20 champions in their own backyard. Ireland squad: A Balbirnie (capt), G Delany, G Dockrell, S Doheny, S Getkate, J Little, B McCarthy, K O’Brien, B Rankin, S Singh, P Stirling, H Tector, L Tucker, C Young.