Women’s Irish Trophy Final, Lisnagarvey V North Kildare.

27 Sep. 20

Lisnagarvey 3 (M Quinn, Z Lowry, B Ravey) North Kildare 1 (L Small)

Lisnagarvey got the match underway with a penalty corner in the opening two minutes of the Irish Trophy Final today in their home ground at Comber Road. However, their first attempt was unsuccessful against North Kildare’s defence. North Kildare’s Michelle Taylor was on form from the start with a number of great saves throughout the match, first from Lisnagarvey’s Megan Quinn followed soon after by Beth Ravey, with the rebound well defended by Kildare in the second instance.

Isabel Angel had Kildare’s first real chance of the match, however her shot in to the Lisnagarvey circle failed to find her teammates. Ravey was quick to seize another opportunity to shoot on the Kildare goal but sent it wide of the target. Megan Quinn was on hand moments later to put the opening goal on the scoreboard and give the hosts a 1 – 0 lead.

A penalty corner shortly after for Lisnagarvey failed to extend their lead with Taylor and the Kildare defenders protecting the goal well. A perfect cross into Lowry in the circle let her touch the ball in for Lisnagarvey to extend their lead to 2 – 0 in the opening quarter of the game.

Lisnagarvey had several chances to extend their lead in the second quarter with a handful of penalty corners awarded in their favour. Each one was kept out by Taylor and the Kildare defence. Kildare fought for a number of challenges throughout the quarter, but no real opportunities were created. The third quarter saw a flurry of penalty corners awarded to Lisnagarvey in quick succession. While Lisnagarvey seemed to dominate possession, Kildare defended well to ensure their lead was not extended any further.

Ravey’s shot on the Kildare goal in the final quarter was well saved by Taylor, however the rebound saw Taylor on the ground while the goal was being defended. A perfect pass across the Kildare defence let Ravey slot Lisnagarvey’s final goal into the goal. A penalty corner to North Kildare with four minutes on the clock saw Liz Hassett insert and Lucy Small drive the ball into the goal to put Kildare in the scoreboard at last. The goal saw Kildare come to life again and fight to the end, putting on pressure on Lisnagarvey until the final whistle, however this renewed energy arrived to late and the hosts kept their two goal lead for a final score of Lisnagarvey 3 – 1 Kildare.

Lisnagarvey: L Crooks, R Chambers, L Patterson, C McCluskey, D McGall, P Brown, L Murray, L Hughes, Z Lowry, E Brown, K Morris, B Ravey, M Quinn, A Christie, T McIlwaine.

Kildare: M Taylor, E Neary, G Adams, N O’Malley, R Neary, E Teevan, A O’Leary, H Adams, S Baker, J Staunton, K Edghill, S Monaghan, C O’Regan, L Hassett, L Small, I Angel, A Quinn, S Simao.