Leinster A Semi Final for MCS Senior Girls

Moate Community School’s senior girls have had an incredible start to their Leinster Senior A’ Championship campaign with three out of three wins. Their opening round against Loretto College, Wexford took place in Ballylinen on the 14^th of October and provided nothing short of a tense thriller throughout. The match was high scoring from both sides and a slow start from Moate CS meant that the opposition led by 2 with only a few minutes on the clock, however 2 converted frees from Aine Gaynor allowed the girls to settle into the game. After a few failed attacks from MCS, Ava Cornally scored the first goal of the match, followed by the two teams trading points with fine scores coming from Aoife Dalton, Shannon Mulvihill, Ava Cornally and Sinead Robbins which was the last of the half as the Wexford side followed with consecutive points leaving only a slender margin at the break with MCS leading by 2 points. The second half started with substitute Megan Clinton combining with Shannon Mulvihill to score the opening 2 points. Loretto bounced back, getting a fine score. A point from midfielder Roisin Ennis and a goal from Mulvihill provided comfort for the Moate side and they seemed in the clear when more points went over the bar from Sinead Robbins and Ailbhe Sheridan. However a point and goal from Loretto College gave MCS a late scare but substitute Kacey Burslem Rotheroe put the Moate side clear with an excellent goal. The final score line of 4-10 to 1-11 gave MCS the ideal start to their championship campaign.

The second round of the senior ladies A championship took place on the 23^rd of October against St Joseph’s S.S in Rochfortbridge. The MCS ladies showed extreme determination and teamwork on the very windy day. MCS had the strong breeze on their back in the first half and Ailbhe Sheridan got the first score on the board with a great point. Aoife Dalton followed this with two points and not long after Shannon Mulvihill put the ball in the back of the opposition’s net. Points from Aine Gaynor and Shannon Mulvihill kept the scoreboard clocking up as the Rochfortbridge side remained scoreless. Points from Aoife Dalton and Roisin Ennis and goals from Sinead Robbins and Ava Cornally (penalty) boosted the tally to 3-8 to nil in favour of MCS due to their hard working and determined backline. To finish the half on a high, Aine Gaynor and Ava Cornally put the ball over the bar and Shannon Mulvihill put the ball past the opposition keeper and at half time MCS ladies were on the upper hand of the game with a score line of 4-10 to no score. The second half saw fresh legs being introduced as Megan Clinton replaced Roisin Ennis and Kacey Burslem Rotheroe replaced Ailbhe Sheridan. A goal from Ava Cornally got the scoreboard moving again and a save from goalie Emma Quigley denied the Bridge their first shot on goal however they didn’t give up and their first score of the game came from a free minutes later. Hazel Kelly and Holly Keenan were then introduced into the game and a point from Aoife Dalton and a goal from Holly Keenan were followed by two points from the opposition however Aoife Dalton hit another ball over the bar. The Rochfortbridge side still fought back and quickly scored another 1-1 to finish the game off on a score line of 6-11 to 1-4.

Moate Community School played their third and final round of the senior A ladies campaign against current All-Ireland Senior A champions, Scoil Criost Rí, Portlaoise at home on the 12^th of November. This provided an extremely tight, tense match where the MCS ladies battled hard to come out winners. The Portlaoise side started strong with a goal straight away however a point from Aoife Dalton kept MCS settled. The opposition came back with two points which were followed by fine scores from Annie Heavin and Shannon Mulvihill. The Portlaoise side fought through the tenacious MCS defence to put two points over the bar giving them a lead of four but Shannon Mulvihill came back with a goal to keep her side in the game. The Moate defence was solid and the opposition found it hard to score however they managed to put four balls over the bar unanswered. To close the half, Aoife Dalton added a point to the MCS tally meaning the home side was down with the scoreboard showing 1-8 to 1-4 at half time. MCS came back out to the second half with more hunger and determination and Ailbhe Sheridan managed to put the ball in the back of the Scoil Criost Rí net in the opening minutes to regain the team’s confidence and a block from Therese Geoghegan denied the Portlaoise side a shot on goal.  Two more points for MCS were followed by a point from the opposition. MCS’s tenacious backline then caused the opposition to over carry which lead to another goal by Ailbhe Sheridan. The two teams traded points and MCS lead by four with minutes to go however Scoil Criost Rí fought back with a goal to put only a point between the teams. After a challenging and physical game, Moate Community School came out on top of Scoil Criost Rí which means they are positioned top of their table in the senior ladies A championship campaign and will now face Eureka S.S, Kells in the Leinster A semi-final.