St: Mary's Secondary School, Newport 0/6 Scoil Muire gan Smal, Convent of Mercy, Roscommon
Gillian Banahan (20, 25) Ciara Corcoran (27 pen, 30), Sarah Scally (37), Ellen Irwin (54)
Seán Boland's crew recorded a spectacular 6/0 victory over St: Mary's of Newport in the UMBRO FAI Schools First Year Girl's Cup Semi Final in Leah Victoria Park, Tullamore this afternoon (Thursday, May 1):
Four goals in the opening half courtesy of Gillian Banahan (2) and Ciara Corcoran (2) and one a piece from Sarah Scally and Ellen Irwin in the second half was more than enough to send them through to next Wednesday's All Ireland Cup Final clash with Scoil Chriost Rí of Portlaoise:
The first quarter of the game saw a shared possession with both teams failing to create any real chances: Newport midfielder Ellen McKeogh looking lively in the early stages with plenty of touches
The first goal of the game came on 20 minutes when a move down the right wing was squared across goal where midfielder Gillian Banahan popped up to calmly finish from close range with a side footed effort to give her side the slight advantage:
The goal kicked the game into life and Roscommon piled on the pressure: Gillian Banahan scored an almost identical goal to her first five minutes later to put her side two up:
St: Mary's heads went down after conceding two quick goals after such an even start: The Newport side did try press bodies up the field only for the quick counter attacking treat posed by Convent of Mercy:
The third goal of the game came from a long range free kick from Ciara Corcoran which powered at the Tipperary keeper Brid O'Keefe who couldn't keep hold of it to take the goal tally to three:
Ciara Corcoran stepped up to make things a lot worse for the Newport girls when she converted from the penalty spot to set up a comfortable second half with the score line reading 4/0:
The second half brought a much more even game as the Newport girls dominated the early stages with Ellen McKeogh linking up well with Emma Flannagan:
Newport failed to turn possession into chances which proved to be the decisive factor in today's game as a quick break from the Roscommon girl's led to their fifth of the day, Sarah Scally finishing from close range following Brid O'Keefe quick fire double save
Sarah Scally almost had her second moments later if it weren't for the brave last ditch tackle of defender Niamh Cryan which keeper Brid O'Keefe then cleared:
Roisin Allen was then called into action to prevent the score line from increasing when her positioning on the goal line saw her clear another Sarah Scally effort away from danger:
With five minutes to go Convent of Mercy all but sealed their place in the All Ireland Cup Final with another goal, this time, Ellen Irwin the scorer with a cool finish from close range:
Roscommon's Convent of Mercy will now meet Scoil Chriost Rí, Portlaoise in the Cup Final which is scheduled for next Wednesday, May 7: Both teams have scored six goals in their semi final encounters to set up what looks to be a cracking end of season finale
St: Mary's Secondary School, Newport, Tipperary: Brid O'Keefe, Aoife Baker, Niamh Cryan (Eve Healy 43), Aoife Nolan, Roisin Allen, Beth Kelly, (Rhian Quigley 32) Emma Tagen (Ellen Roche Ryan 51), Ellen McKeogh, Aoife Moloney, Emma Flannagan, Sinead O'Curry
Subs Not Used: Laura Deegan, Abbey Storan, Lauren McGrath
Teacher: Sara Quinn
Scoil Muire gan Smal, Convent of Mercy, Roscommon: Jane Horan, (Caoimhe Milroy 54), Aine Earley, (Ava Giblin 54), Kate Philips, Sarah Hoare, Maeve Dervin, Ciara Corcoran, Sarah Scally, Marie Kelly, Ellen Irwin, Lena Gacquin, Gillian Banahan
Teacher: Seán Boland
Referee: Leslie Buckley (Tullamore)