An exciting day out for everyone involved, but unfortunately it ended in disappointment for the Carrig girls as St. Mary’s claimed the U13 Plate Final on a 0-2 scoreline.

 

After a superb run to the final, beating two teams from the division above along the way, Carrig entered the game full of confidence. They made a solid start, controlling midfield early on without creating any clear-cut chances. St. Mary’s gradually worked their way into the game and began to force matters, but Rolina and Molly were more than up to the challenge defensively.

 

As the half wore on, St. Mary’s looked increasingly dangerous and eventually found the breakthrough. Some slick footwork from their forward created space on the edge of the box before she slotted the ball past the onrushing Lili to give St. Mary’s the lead. The remainder of the half followed a similar pattern until the break.

 

Carrig emerged for the second half showing real intent, with Allie using her strength well on the wing and Lucy looking threatening every time she attacked. It became a much cagier affair, with few clear-cut opportunities, until Edel unleashed a rasping effort at goal only for the St. Mary’s keeper to produce a fingertip save before diving on the loose ball — much to the relief of the St. Mary’s defence.

 

Carrig continued to throw caution to the wind in search of an equaliser, pushing forward in all-out attack mode, but the St. Mary’s defence held firm. Then disaster struck late on when St. Mary’s broke at pace and scored a goal-of-the-season contender to put the game beyond reach.

 

While the result was not the one anyone wanted, every single player from 1 to 16 put in a fantastic performance and did the club proud.