Midleton U17 girls are crowned Munster champions after beating Tulla United in the final

A Munster title for Midleton U17 girls rounded off a great year for Tony Dunn’s side, who overcame Tulla United at Brigown Park last weekend.

A Meabh Deasy superb first half strike was enough to give the East Cork club the title after an overall hard-fought team performance.

After a disappointing exit from the local CWSSL Cup, Dunn’s side showed their quality finishing the season strong with a Division 1 league title and now a Munster title. 

A hard fought game over Tulla brought relief and sheer joy for Dunn at the final whistle and here he gives his account of how the game went and what the win meant to everyone involved with the squad.

“The first half started slow for us with Tulla on the attack, but thankfully we defended well. 

"Zara (Dunn) stepped up from U14s in goals and the back line of Ciara McGrath, Caoilinn Fraser, Ava Coughlan and Isabelle Fitzpatrick stopped every break Tulla had. 

"The two midfielders Sarah Sexton and Andrea Di Maria battled hard to win balls and fed them up to Amy Lyons (captain) in the 10 role.

“We created a lot of chances with Lauren Dunn and Sarah Goulding doing their best to attack and provide crosses to Meabh Deasy up front. 

"And then the deadlock was broke in the 38th minute when Meabh scored a belter into the net putting us one ahead.

“At half time fresh legs were needed mainly due to the savage heat. We introduced Mia Woods who offered us a lot of speed. 

"Willow Stuart and Lucy Murphy also came on both making an immediate impact. 

"Again we created more chances but just couldn’t seem to find that second goal. Layla McGrath and Sara Cahill made the step up from 14s and again both girls made an impact but still the score remained one nil which was always going to give Tulla confidence. 

"They caused us problems in the dying stages of the game but huge credit to the girls who held on and with great composure and goalkeeping from Zara we managed to get over the line and what a victory it was.” 

Midleton enjoyed wins over Kilkenny's Mooncoin, Limerick's Munroe, Cork's Blarney and Waterford's Tramore enroute to the final so it’s fair to say they earned their title as Munster champions and Dunn said it meant a lot to everyone.

“To be fair to the girls they had some great wins on way to the final. It’s always great playing teams outside of Cork also as that in itself is another challenge. 

"To win the Munster title meant a lot. There is so much work that goes into the background of running a team. 

"Some times it feels like you have two full time jobs but it's all worth it when you're lifting the trophies.

“The girls are from a good spread across Cork and even West Waterford. The core squad have been playing together around four or five years. 

"We had a few new additions to the squad this year. Meadbh Deasy came back from LOI while Amy Lyons, Lauren O'Brien and Abbey Daly came from Youghal Utd and Emily Ring from Cobh Ramblers. 

"They have been great additions to the team this year and have made a positive difference to the quality of play.

“Sarah Goulding, Meabh Deasy, Ellie OLeary and Zara Dunn have all had spells with Corks Interleague over the last few years so we knew we had a strong group of girls going into this tournament.

“I’ve been involved with the squad since 2021 but there has been massive support from the club, parents and coaches. 

"Michael Deasy, Ian Fraser and Liam O’Riordan were part of the coaching squad this year and they have been a great help to me.

“It was a brilliant day for everyone involved with the club to be crowned Munster Champions and it was a great way to end the year for two girls in particular Meadbh Deasy and Lauren O’Brien, who have left the club and decided to play LOI with Kerry. 

"We wish them the best of luck and we are glad they played their part in our huge win. 

"Also thanks to Michael who has also stepped away from the team but he has played a huge part in this years success.”