St Pat’s hit ground running
STAMULLEN club St Patrick’s created history at the weekend when their Under-12 girls won their first ever Meath Division 1 championship, beating Donaghmore/ Ashbourne by a single point in a thrilling encounter at Dunganny.
St Patrick’s only took their first foray into Division 1 at the start of the season, but they were leading by 0-3 to 0-0 after the first quarter thanks to a solid defence and a goal from half forward Rebecca Harney in the blazing sunshine.
Ashbourne came back with two points, but St Pat’s goalkeeper and captain Lucy Flynn made two point-blank saves in a row to keep them within touching distance before Harney scored another point on the stroke of half-time to give Pats a two-point advantage at the break.
Defenders had their work cut out in the third quarter as five consecutive points from Ashbourne without reply left the Stamullen girls just 12 minutes to claw back a three-point deficit.
However, a determined Katie Cromwell earned the Stamullen girls two frees at the start of the last quarter which were popped over the bar by Ciara Cronin, cutting Ashbourne’s lead to a single point with five minutes left.
When Ashbourne split the posts again a minute later and went two ahead, it looked as if Pats would end up with the silver medals.
But with Summer Sterio, Keelin McKeon, Eva Tuckey, Emma Ryan, Susanna Schutzmann and May Reilly dogged in defence, Aisling O’Neill and Tara Lynch dominating midfield and forwards Ava Grant, Abigail Dungan, Annie Butler, Cronin, Cromwell and Harney never giving up the fight, there was to be one more twist.
In the end it was Harney’s left foot that proved decisive as a low shot ended in the bottom corner of the Ashbourne goal in the dying seconds to give St Patrick’s a deserved victory in their first year in Meath’s top tier.