Students finally have their day in the sun

UCC finally carried off the silverware that their resurgence in recent years has warranted, denying Bandon another famous scalp in the women’s Munster Senior Cup final at Garryduff yesterday.

College have added much-needed impetus to the Munster scene by challenging the dominance of Cork C of I and Cork Harlequins in the past three seasons, thanks to an influx of some of the province’s best young talent under the tutelage of Denis Pritchard and Paidi Hartnett.

Having come so close to glory last season, going down to a C of I golden goal in the final, this victory — a first since 1995, when the likes of Rachael Kohler graced the Mardyke — will have tasted all the sweeter.

It is also surely a good thing for the sport that a second different name is on the trophy following Quins’ 12-year dominance of the competition until last season.

College had already exorcised the ghosts of last term by dumping C of I out on penalty strokes in the last eight, but had every right to be wary of a Bandon outfit who had shocked Quins in the semis.

And when Alison Kingston blasted the West Cork girls in front from a fourth-minute short corner, College knew they were in a dogfight.

Things immediately got worse for the students, who harshly lost a visibly upset Julia O’Halloran to the sin-bin three minutes later.

But Eibhlín O’Donoghue made hay in O’Halloran’s absence, touching home Ali O’Connor’s crash ball for an 11th-minute equaliser.

Bandon thought they’d regained the lead on 15 minutes, after a delightful, double-switch short corner move saw Thelma Kingston rifle the ball high into the net.

But that strike was correctly chalked off as it was a straight hit, and following that let-off, College settled into a pattern of dominance.

Bandon’s Eimear White was by far the busier of the keepers, largely due to the enterprise of Áine Connery, who backed up a super weekend at the senior inter-pros with another tireless performance, and Miriam Crowley.

O’Halloran gave White a scare when she hammered a mid-air effort straight at her, before volleying the rebound wide.

But College’s second eventually arrived on 41 minutes via as sublime a drag-flick as you’re likely to see anywhere from Audrey O’Flynn.

Rachelle Nyhan did brilliantly to thwart O’Halloran as the onslaught continued, though Olivia Roycroft’s pace was causing the odd moment of panic in the College rearguard.

But College made the game safe with a 55th-minute field goal worthy of winning any match. Connery took down a Hollie Moffett overhead and burned two defenders, before slotting a sweet reverse across the circle for Ali O’Regan to touch home and start the celebrations for the students.

UCC: K Olden (GK); A O’Connor, O Crowley, A O’Flynn, E Kenefick; J Long (capt), H Moffett (vice-capt), E O’Donoghue; J O’Halloran, M Crowley, Á Connery.

Rolling subs: A O’Regan, F O’Connell, A Donegan, V O’Sullivan.

BANDON: E White (GK); C Harte, T Kingston, A Kingston (capt), R Nyhan; L O’Flynn, R O’Mahony, K Murphy; O Roycroft, J O’Higgins (vice-capt), A Roycroft.

Rolling subs: K O’Sullivan, D Galvin, P Ford, S Sullivan.

Umpires: J Beamish & L Clifford.

lMeanwhile, Cork C of I claimed the women’s plate with a 3-0 final win over Belvedere. The Ballincollig team competed well in a tight first half, but Amy Kate Trevor broke the deadlock before the break, with Deirdre Casey and Lauragh O’Neill adding two more in the second half.