Report: Knock net an historic first All-Ireland title

Our Lady and St. Patrick’s College Knock 4-11

St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Spanish Point 2-7

By Eoin Brennan

THE dream-maker that is the Lidl Post Primary Schools Senior A championship continued its historic record as Our Lady and St. Patrick’s College became the 13th successive first-time winner following a superb final performance in Netwatch Cullen Park.

Four timely goals in a twenty-minute spell shared equally either side of half-time copper-fastened the Ulster champions’ superiority with Grace Guest (two), player-of-the-match Evie McHugh and Holly Donnelly on target to complete the perfect year for the Belfast school.

Indeed, three goals defined the first half in which Spanish Point had the elements in their favour. Guest had belied the conditions to edge the Belfast school 0-2 to 0-1 in front, only to be overturned when Emily Shannon’s over the top effort was cooly finished to the net by Ellie Hanrahan in the eighth minute.

It was a lead that the west Clare school maintained for the next fifteen minutes when Our Lady & St. Patrick’s College stunned their opponents with a brace of goals in the space of a minute through chief threats McHugh and Guest.

Report: Another All-Ireland title for Bailieborough

Both stemmed from intercepted kick-outs and they might have grabbed a third major in 90 seconds but the electric McHugh snatched at the chance which drifted wide.

With St. Joseph’s beginning to panic, a Hanrahan free was matched by another goal sighting, this time for Abigail Hanvey whose effort just cleared the crossbar at 2-5 to 1-3 by the break.

With time to regroup, Spanish Point did re-emerge with two of the first three points through joint-captain Kayla-Talty Darcy and Hanrahan. However, any Banner backlash was quashed when Rose Horisk teed up Donnelly for a goal which was the catalyst for a 2-4 unanswered blitz culminating in an emphatic finish for Guest’s second goal at 4-10 to 1-05 entering the final quarter.

Grace Guest bagged two goals foe Knock

Despite finishing with only 13 players while the winners also lost their captain to the sin bin, Spanish Point never lowered their heads and were rewarded with a Simone Considine goal on the hour mark.

It was merely a consolation though as there was no doubting the merits of Our Lady and St. Patrick’s College’s victory as they became the 25th school to carve their name onto the prestigious Lidl All-Ireland Senior A trophy.

Scorers
Our Lady and St. Patrick’s College: G Guest 2-3; E McHugh 1-3 (1f); H Donnelly 1-1; A Hanvey 0-2; H Cassin, C McDermott 0-1 each.

St. Joseph’s Spanish Point: E Hanrahan 1-3 (2f); S Considine 1-0; M Sexton, Aoibheann Ryan, K Talty-Darcy, E Shannon (0-1 each).

Our Lady and St. Patrick’s College: E Boyle; M McLornan, H McGeough, D Cotter; H Cassin, C Hefferon, N Napier; I McCarron, L McNicholl; H Donnelly, A Hanvey, O Hughes; R Horisk, G Guest, E McHugh.
Subs: C McDermott for Cotter (37), O Mann for McLornan (52), Florence O’Brien for Hughes (54), C O’Donnell for Horisk (56), E Farrell for Guest (56).

St. Joseph’s Secondary School: E Cushen; L Darcy, A Martin, E Talty; A Gallagher, S Considine, A O’Keeffe; A Kelly, I O’Connor; Aoibheann Ryan, Allisha Ryan, K Talty-Darcy; M Sexton, E Hanrahan, E Shannon.
Sub: A Mescal for O’Keeffe (54).

Referee: Philip Conway (Armagh).