Greystones girls see off Lucan to book final place Enniskerry hit with late sucker-punch

THE Greystones United AFC girls secured their place in the final of the O’Neill’s Cup with a well-deserved victory over Lucan United last weekend.

With several players away for mid-term the pack was re-shuffled with Mia Walsh coming into the goals and Sophia King filling the vacant left midfield spot.

Katie Andrews stepped forward from her defensive role and opened the scoring when she clipped in a pull-back from Emily Gaines, following an excellent ball from Sophie Lacey, before returning the compliment, setting Emily up to blast a second.

Lucan came back into the game with a clever lofted free-kick before Katie again turned provider, this time for Alice Low to slot home. Katie was on the run again when Emily slid her through, and she held off the defender and finished clinically across the keeper.

Lucan started the second half well, but Rebecca Stewart and Sophie Lacey were solid through the middle and Saoirse Caffrey put in a determined display to keep the dangerous Lucan right winger at bay.

The next goal was looking important and it was Katie Andrews that delivered her hat-trick with a superb turn inside and drilled finish.

Lucan weren’t done and scored on the break after a rebound before Emily got her second direct from a corner. There was still time for Katie Andrews to get a fourth, this time a clipped right-foot finish carrying over the line despite the best efforts of the visitors’ keeper.

A terrific result that gives the Greystones girls a chance to make up for last year’s narrow defeat in the final when they take on Bohemians in May.

BALLYFERMOT UNITED ENNISKERRY YC 2 1

THIS will be the cup game that got away from Enniskerry YC as they fell to a 2-1 defeat away to Ballyfermot United in the Nugent Cup last weekend.

Enniskerry YC manager Lar Mahony went for a youthful side, bringing in Adam Jordan, Michael Donegan and Seamus Butler and also gave new signing Graham Lewins a start up front.

This made the average age of the Berryfield Lane side of the starting 11 only 22 years old.

Paul Barr captained the side and the young side were more than capable, matching Ballyfermot

for the first half and going in scoreless at the break.

The visitors took the lead early in the second half when half-time substitute Pablo Carrion Jimenez latched onto Paul Barr’s through ball and coolly slotted past the home keeper on his debut.

After that Enniskerry YC were looking quite comfortable and pushed on quite a bit with lively Andrew Knight having a good chance to settle the game that went just wide.

Then, in what turned out to be a turning point, the excellent Oisin Scanlon bizarrely lost a contact lens and was unable to play on.

The Enniskerry side missed Scanlon’s aggression and ball winning in the middle and, without really threatening, Ballyfermot got some space in the box for their winger to cut in from the right fire and curl an equaliser past Graham Mooney in the Enniskerry Youth Club goal.

Both sides had chances after that, but the game was settled in injury time when Michael Donegan was judged to have put his hands on the Ballyfermot players back in the box and the ref awarded a penalty.

Graham Mooney dived to his left for the penalty as the ball was blasted straight down the middle of the goal to settle the game.

The Co. Wicklow side played with pride and produced some really good stuff at times and can be proud of themselves with the performance giving lots to look forward to in the coming weeks.