Halloran has last word

Julia O’Halloran made the crucial Irish Hockey League final intervention for Railway Union for the second year running as they saw off Loreto on sudden death penalties on a topsy-turvy finals day at Grange Road.

Last year, O’Halloran broke Loreto hearts with the only goal of a tense finale. This time, the crucial penalty one-on-one fell to the Cork woman and she dummied Jessie Elliott in the Loreto goal before rolling the ball home.

That came after a 3-3 draw that had just about everything. Railway lost totem Emer Lucey to injury early on when she was hit by team-mate Kate Dillon’s drag-flick but Alex Speers volleyed in a broken down corner to put them in front.