Pat’s power home!
Caffrey and Hobbs turn on the style to see off AGB
ST PATRICK’S AGB 5-05 1-06
A devastating second half performance sent St Pat’s on their way to a magical Junior championship victory over AGB in Joule Park, Aughrim, in the opening clash of a feast of ladies football on county final day last Sunday.
Two sets of supporters in fine voice and two bands of warriors giving it their all on the field of play made this clash a thoroughly enjoyable affair with St Pat’s grabbing the all-important goals to push on in the second half after the opening 30 minutes had left the Wicklow town women leading their Arklow counterparts by just two points at 2-02 to 1-03.
The failure to build on a bright start left the young AGB side chasing this game while some tough tackling and no nonsense defending made life hard to the Arklow girls as Pat’s made it abundantly clear that they were not going to be denied on this occasion.
Laura Rice was the first to catch the eye in this game when she pulled off a magnificent save in the opening moments from the boot of Luci Hobbs who would go on to play a starring role.
The opening score of the game from Sadbh Murphy was answered fortuitously moments later by the opening goal of the game when a speculative shot from out the field from Abbey Conroy Doyle found its way past Zoe Byrne in the Pat’s goal to give the AGB side a massive boost.
However, no sooner had the AGB supporters returned to their seats when it was the turn of Laura Rice to pick the ball out of the back of her net after Niamh Caffrey fired home to the bottom corner.
Two points from the impressive Emma Cox and one from Emma Byrne left AGB leading by 1-03 to 1-02 after 12 minutes but that would be their last score for the remainder of the first half and a worrying patch of the second and it was in this period of play that victory may have been lost by the Arklow side.
A fine goal from Luci Hobbs and a point from play from Caffrey left St Pat’s leading at 2-02 to 1-03 at the break.
Big games need big players to step up sometimes and in the second half that player for Pat’s was Niamh Caffrey. She pointed a free after 10 minutes and then was in the right place at the right time to collect a pass from Aimi Healy and bury the ball in the top corner of the AGB net to a raucous roar from the St Pat’s supporters, 3-03 to 1-03, and you could feel the momentum shifting.
A moment later, AGB clocked up their third wide of the second half and all scores are vital in county finals.
Another 1-02 from Caffrey put the game to bed pretty much despite the very best efforts of the AGB side and a clinical goal from Luci Hobbs at the death completed the scoring at 5-05 to 1-06.
Pat’s captain Liz Malone said afterwards that it was a “great game” and a “hard game” to be involved in.
“A hard game, a great game, really good for Junior level football, and we’re really happy with the outcome,” she said.
The journey to the final and what it meant to the Pat’s players was obvious given the outpouring of emotion on the final whistle. Liz Malone said that a season filled with hard fought games was key to the victory.
“I think we won every game this season, hard fought games. We played Newtown in the semi-final, a really, really tough match, we dug deep, we were missing a few players for that match but we dug deep. We have prepared so hard all year, training really hard, the first year with the Junior team and the Senior team training really hard together,” she said.
The St Pat’s team are a mixture of young and not so young with Liz revealing that the not so young contingent is a mere dusting on top of a solid base of young and talented footballers.
“Put it this way there’s only two of us over 30 and the rest are under 20. Brilliant talent on the team, it’s a great starting point for any of the girls coming up from under-16s up to Senior. It’s really good for them on the way to adult football. They’re great girls, they train really hard, it’s great to have young legs, they really push you on in training,” added Liz.
During the captain’s speech Liz mentioned that the final was to be her last game. We asked her if she was sure about her decision.
“I say it every year, I think if you saw me in the second half it probably was my last game. I think if I had lost I might have kept on going but I have what I wanted,” she added.
So, St Pat’s claimed the Wicklow Junior crown in emphatic style but a mention must go to the AGB team who battled like demons throughout the game. A special mention must go to AGB’s Grace Hurley (listed as 21 in the programme but wearing 10) who, aside from Niamh Caffrey and Luci Hobbs, was a massive contender for player of the match. The young AGB star took some brutal hits over the course of the hour and just kept coming for more. She never gave up, never once quit or slackened off and she deserves to be applauded for her efforts.
Scorers – St Patrick’s: Niamh Caffrey 3-03, Luci Hobbs 2-0, Sadbh Murphy 0-1, Ami Healy 0-1.
AGB: Abbie Conroy Doyle 1-00, Emma Cox 0-02 (1f), Molly Byrne 0-02 (1f), Caoimhe Ní Chonchúir 0-01, Amy Guilfoyle 0-01.
Zoe Byrne, Amy Kavanagh, Kellie Whelan, Molly Hodgkinson; Aoife Dunne, Natasha Fitzgerald, Siobhan Gorman; Rachel Armstrong, Liz Malone; Sadbh Murphy, Naoise O’Reilly, Luci Hobbs; Niamh McSorley, Niamh Caffrey, Aimi Healy. Subs: Ellen Griffin, Chloe O’Conovan, Lorraine O’Reilly, Sophie Porter, Aine Kavanagh, Orfhlaith McNulty, Mikaela Dickenson
Laura Rice; Casey Young, Caoilfhinn Kavanagh, Zoe Takacs; Nicole Storey, Becky Birmingham, Becky Hayden; Angelika Pyciak, Laoighse Geoghegan; Grace Hurley, Emma Cox, Rebecca O’Sullivan; Emer Curran, Molly Byrne, Abbie Conroy Doyle. Subs: Caomhe Ní Chonchúir for R Hayden, Amy Guilfoyle for R O’Sullivan, Keelin Stafford for N Storey, Leah Weldon for K Stafford, Georgia Earls for C Young.
Keith Peppard (Hollywood)