Lidl All-Ireland Schools Junior A Championship Final: St Catherine’s College (Armagh) 3-4 Coláiste Bhaile Chláir ClareGalway (Galway) 2-3
ST Catherine’s Armagh are celebrating an All-Ireland Schools Junior ‘A’ title after their four-point victory over Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, ClareGalway at The Downs, Westmeath.
They are the first school from the Orchard County to win an All-Ireland schools title at the top level and for the second successive week, Coláiste Bhaile Chláir lost to an Ulster school.
For the second year running too, the junior A title will reside in the province with St Catherine’s following in Loreto Cavan’s footsteps.
It was a relatively low scoring game but certainly did not lack excitement and the goals and their timing proved crucial.
St Catherine’s reached into a 2-1 to no score lead with just seven minutes gone, Eva Lambe and Hannah Duffy finding the back of the net and Casey Mullan adding a point. But Coláiste Bhaile Chláir settled and Ciara Hegarty and Sara Cogley (free) points and a Cogley goal midway through the half pulled the Connacht champions back to within two points.
The sides managed just a further point apiece, Ella Reid (free) for St Catherine’s and Eabha Brennan for Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, before the break but that was testament to two evenly matched sides with defences not prepared to give their opposition forwards an inch as the Armagh girls led 2-2 to 1-3 at half-time.
A Chellene Trill goal immediately after the resumption gave Coláiste Bhaile Chláir the lead for the first time in the game, 2-3 to 2-2, but St Catherine’s captain Lucy McAlary levelled things up two minutes later and player-of-the-final Casey Mullan put them back into the lead once again.
The Claregalway side were also dealt a blow when Trill was sent to the sin bin and during that time came the game’s decisive goal when Duffy shot low into the corner of the net for her second goal of the game on 44 minutes.
That pushed St Catherine’s lead back out to four points, 3-4 to 2-3, and meant Coláiste Bhaile Chláir needed two scores if they were to at least get back on level terms.
And despite St Catherine’s being reduced to 14 as well when McAlary was sin binned with just over 10 minutes remaining, they managed to keep Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, who did create plenty of chances, scoreless to ensure the All-Ireland title was theirs.
St Catherine’s College: C Kelly; A Mallon, A Boyle, M Hughes; C Campbell, E Druse, C McCormick; C Creaney, M Ferguson; E Reid (0-1f), C Mullan (0-2), L McAlary (capt) (0-1); E Conroy, H Duffy, (2-0) E Lambe (1-0). Sub: A McGleenan for Campbell (42).
Coláiste Bhaile Chláir: A Griffin; L Tunney, M Flaherty (c), A O’Flynn; S Lawless, C Trill (1-0), M McGarry; K Kearney, B Naughton; C Hegarty (0-1), L Scanlon, É Brennan (0-1); S Cogley (1-1 0-1f), H Walsh, É O’Riordan. Sub: I. Claffey for Hegarty (47).
Referee: K Corcoran (Mayo).
