St Catherine’s ladies impress at Féile
St Catherine’s U15 ladies footballers began their Féile journey in Ballinacurra on 16th April, drawn in a tough group with St Colman’s, Watergrasshill, Lisgoold and St Nick’s. The top two teams would progress to the final.
With 22 girls on the panel, every one of them would be required with five games to be played over 3 hours. The girls won the first 3 games, defeating Lisgoold, Watergrasshill and St Nicks only to be beaten by St Colman’s in the final group game, but with 3 wins from 4 a place in the final was secured and the opponents would be St Colman’s again.
St Colman’s weren’t going to get the better of us a second time and the girls played their best football of the day in the final where they overcame a gallant St Colman’s side in front of a large crowd of family and friends. Team captain Sasha O’Sullivan was presented with the cup. Winning East Cork Féile meant we were to qualify for the County Féile to be played on 1st May in Brinny.
THE COUNTY
The County Féile was split into 2 groups - Dromtarriffe, Carrigaline and Valley Rovers in our section, 3 clubs with a strong football tradition. As expected they were 3 tough encounters, but the girls played some excellent football over the 3 games.
The girls topped the group by winning all 3 games which meant we were into a semi-final against Ballycastle who qualified as runners up from group 2. Another great team performance from the girls and they booked their place in the final against Ballygarvan. Unfortunately for us Ballygarvan were an excellent side and were worthy winners in the end.
The girls conducted themselves brilliantly all day in victory and defeat. What they have achieved winning the East Cork and reaching the county final was an impressive achievement in itself and it has raised eyebrows across the county. As the chairperson of the County Board said afterwards “we are going to see a lot more of these St Catherine’s girls in the future”.