This felt like a momentous moment for the club as the continued expansion of Camogie sees us fielding an U21 team for the very first time. The team was managed by Paula McDonald and Jules McDonald on the day, to add to the sense of history. Despite some games falling victim to the overnight deluge, the pitch in Round Towers was perfect, and both teams were eager to play!
The game started briskly with RT putting on some early pressure. Sarah Caffrey was outstanding in goals, stopping several attempts on goal. A full back line of Niamh O'Sullivan and Caoimhe Keogh put in several last minute tackles to keep RT's fast full forward line at bay. At half back, Emma Cronin, usually in goal for the adult team, was busy right across the field while Kate Higgins and Ciara Gorman worked hard to keep RT half forward line at bay.
But the Finians ladies started to assert their dominance. Our first touch was impressive as was our ability to come out of every ruck with the ball in hand! The team clicked through the gears, finding players in wide positions, looking up, making passes. In midfield, Ali Halpin and Lorna Cronin started to assert themselves with quick ball to hand and fast running. EmilyJane Fallon, Aimee Timothy and Ava Kiernan were onto every ball in the half forward line, hassling, hooking and ultimately putting in dominant performances to ensure we kept RT's under pressure throughout. Aoife O'Sullivan showed silky skills in full forward and an exceptional performance by Maya Dunne saw her netting 3 goals in the game. And these were 3 scrappy, work your butt off type of goals. Maya never let a ball go dead and was a thorn in the side of the Full back line and Goalkeeper throughout the game. Literally nothing was safe with Maya around and her 3 goals epitomised the work-rate of the team and the ability to get on the scrappy ball.
Captain Ali Halpin who had run herself into the ground was replaced by Yvonne Reilly, back for her first game in almost a year but showed no signs of rustiness!
All in all, a dominant display from St Finian's resulted in a 1-3 to 4-9 scoreline and a lot of smiles all round.
Special mention to the referee, Ciaran Russell who had an absolutely brilliant game. Ciaran is returning from injury and showed all his class today. Such an asset to Dublin Camogie.
