Monasterboice girls dig deep for final spot

WALSHESTOWN ALBION ROVERS 2 3

ALBION Rovers just about hung on to win this very exciting NECSL Under-13 Girls Shield semi-final and book their place in the decider.

A magnificent display from Albion against an ever-threatening Walshestown side had the Monasterboice side 3-0 up at half-time thanks to a brace of goals from Grace Stafford and one from Sophie Everitt.

However, a gallant Walshestown put everything into their second-half performance and nabbed two goals back early on to give themselves a foothold in the game.

Albion’s defenders had to dig in deep to preserve their lead, with top performances from Hannah Newman and captain Clíodhna Russell proving essential.

In attack, Albion still created chances, but Lara Marmion and Heather Breen were denied by some intelligent Walshestown defending and in the end those three first-half goals proved just enough.

Player of the match was Jessica Kells for her no-nonsense defending in threatening situations, and Albion would like to say a special thanks to Sophie Everitt and Saoirse McDermott who played almost the entire game and also won their school’s Gaelic final straight afterwards.

ALBION: Leah McElearney, Saoirse McDermott, Hannah Newman, Catherine Moore, Jessica Kelly, Clíodhna Russell, Grace Stafford, Lara Marmion, Heather Breen, Molly Nugent, Sophie Everitt, Abbey McDonnell, Carragh Fitzharris, Michaela Loughran.