Scoil Mhuire off to great start in Kate Russell Hockey championship
Sofie Moloney, on right, at a training session ahead of the Kate Russell finals, got their crucial third goal in their opening win over Colaiste Iognaid. Picture: Chani Anderson
Cork's Scoil Mhuire are the only school with a 100% record after day one of the Kate Russell All-Ireland Schoolgirls Hockey championship at Armagh.
With two wins, they are in prime position to reach the final tomorrow, but the final round of games on Friday morning will confirm who will reach the decider.
In their opening game, they took on Coláiste Iognáid from Galway and started with an impressive 3-1 win.
They took the lead just three minutes in when Esme Kingston took advantage of a defensive mistake to score from a tight angle.
The Cork school kept the pressure on the Galway side, and it paid off in the second quarter when they doubled their advantage, this time Emma McAuliffe scoring to make it 2-0.
Defensively, they were well on top as well, led by Susanna Burke and Arabelle Sheehan.
They continued to try build on their lead and had a number of penalty corners, but didn’t find the back of the net.
In the third quarter Coláiste Iognáid pulled a goal back when Mai Given scored, but credit to Scoil Mhuire they didn’t panic.
They secured the win in the fourth quarter when Sofie Moloney scored from a penalty corner to make it 3-1, with neither side on target for the remaining few minutes.
In their second game, they took on Banbridge, one of the favourites for the overall title, who had beaten Wesley College 3-0 in their opening tie.
Defensively, Scoil Mhuire were superb in their second game, with their defence taking the ball off the line three times.
Keeper Isabelle Healy made several superb saves, and Katie Burke was named Player of the Game for her defensive efforts.
At the other end, Emma McAuliffe got the all-important goal in their 1-0 win, which sees them as the only side with a 100% record after day one.
The current title-holders, Crescent College drew with Loreto Kilkenny in their opening tie, before losing to Royal School Armagh in their second game.
Scoil Mhuire 3 v Colaiste Iognaid 1; Crescent College 0 v Loreto Kilkenny 0; RSA 2 v Holy Child Killiney 2; Banbridge Academy 3 v Wesley College 0; RSA 4 v Crescent College 0; Holy Child Killiney 2 v Loreto Kilkenny 0; Banbridge Academy 0 v Scoil Mhuire 1;
Wesley College 3 v Colaiste Iognaid 2.
Holy Child Killiney v Crescent College, 9.30am; Wesley College v Scoil Mhuire, 11am; RSA v Loreto Kilkenny, 9.30am; Banbridge Academy v Colaiste Iognaid, 11am.
The Kate Russell final is scheduled for 3.45pm and Daphne Hall final for 2.15pm.
App?
