All-Ireland glory for Bailieborough

Bailieborough CS (Cavan) 8-28

St Leo’s College (Carlow) 3-8

Bailieborough Community School delivered a devastating attacking display to claim the Lidl All-Ireland Post-Primary Schools Junior B title with a commanding 8-28 to 3-08 victory over St Leo’s College, Carlow at Clann Mhuire, Naul, Dublin.

The Cavan side set the tone from the very first attack when Player of the Match Gia McCabe rifled the ball to the net straight from the throw-in. Within minutes, points from Abby Reilly and Asha Connolly had them 1-2 to no score ahead, and they never looked back.

Sophie Holland added a second goal as Bailieborough raced into an early lead, but St Leo’s responded through an Amy Wall penalty before Lucie O’Reilly struck for a goal to cut the deficit to three points inside 11 minutes.

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That proved as close as it got. Bailieborough seized complete control with a relentless scoring burst. Abby Reilly netted twice in quick succession, while McCabe added her second goal as the lead ballooned. Further scores from Chloe Curran, Holland and Leila Cooney kept the pressure on, with Cooney also finding the net following a slick team move.

By half-time, Bailieborough had surged into a 7-13 to 2-01 lead, effectively ending the contest.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Reilly continuing to shine. The forward finished with an outstanding tally of 3-11, consistently punishing the St Leo’s defence with her movement and accuracy.

McCabe dictated play throughout, adding key scores and linking brilliantly with midfielders Evie Hill and Ella McPhillips, while Cooney and Holland remained constant threats in attack.

St Leo’s battled gamely, with Amy Wall contributing several scores and Emily Carpenter grabbing a third goal, but they were unable to contain Bailieborough’s firepower.

Late points from McCabe, Reilly and Holland stretched the margin further before defender Asha Connolly capped an excellent performance with a point in injury time.

In truth, Bailieborough were dominant from start to finish, their pace, precision and clinical finishing securing a deserved All-Ireland crown in emphatic fashion.

Scorers:
Bailieborough CS: A Reilly 3-11(3f), G McCabe 2-6, S Holland 1-4, L Cooney 1-3, C Galligan 1-1, A Connolly 0-2, C Curran 0-1.

St Leo’s College: A Wall 1-5,(1p,3f), L O’Reilly, E Carpenter 1-0, M O’Reilly 0-2, L Malone 0-1.

BAILIEBOROUGH CS: M Smith; K Lambe, A Rogers, A Connolly; A Clarke, E O’Sullivan, L Kierans; E Hill, E McPhillips; S Holland, G McCabe (c), E Reilly; C Curran, A Reilly, L Cooney.
Subs: C Galligan for Curran, MR Smith for Kierans, K Monaghan for Clarke, A Traynor for Cooney, C Crosbie for Holland.

ST LEO’S COLLEGE: A Mullins; A O’Sullivan, L Whelan, S Nolan; F Brennan, L Fanning, C Moran; M Kelly, C Dooley; L O’Reilly (c), A Wall, L Malone; E Malone, M O’Reilly, D McHugh.
Subs: E Carpenter for McHugh, A O’Sullivan for Brennan, C George for Nolan.

Referee: Aaron Clogher (Roscommon).