Catholic Institute end 112-year wait for senior national title

Aoife Hickey's goal gave Catholic Institute a first national senior title of any description in their history

Catholic Institute celebrate their Irish Senior Cup final win. Picture Adrian Boehm

Women’s Irish Senior Cup Final 

Catholic Institute 1 (A Hickey) Pembroke 0

Last September, Naomi Carroll found herself joking with Catholic Institute team manager Brenda Moloney to “book the flights to Europe”.

It seemed a wild, far-fetched idea and yet, within it, a serious nugget of belief was at play; nine months on, the Limerick club is reflecting on a season in which they have broken all boundaries.

It culminated with Saturday’s Irish Senior Cup success, beating Pembroke 1-0 at a drenched Belfield, the same opposition who put them to the sword a week earlier in the EY Champions Trophy final 4-1.

That secured a first national senior title of any description in their 112-year history. In tandem with a second place finish in the EY Hockey League and the EY Champions Trophy, it defied all targets - they quietly suggested a top six finish at the start of the season would represent significant progress this term.

“We did wonder could [something like] this happen but we backed ourselves, kept looking forward and, we knew we had that belief,” said Carroll. 

“It’s been a really long season and it is incredible to finish it off on this high.” 

Forever more, Aoife Hickey will be the unlikely history maker. She turned in the only goal of the game, a brilliantly sharp reaction-volley as Carroll - the final’s outstanding performer - fired a ball knee-high across goal where Hickey was waiting, just her third goal of the season.

After that, Pembroke had spells on the up but it was Insta who created the clearer chances to score again.

Perhaps with more experience on the bigger stage, they might have seen it out with slightly more comfort and without a heart-wrenching closing scene with Pembroke earning a trio of penalty corners on the final whistle.

That endgame will only add to the folklore, Carroll brilliantly charging down a shot on the hooter, perhaps fitting she would have the last intervention of the contest.

“We are ecstatic,” said Carroll. “We had a tough week, losing to Pembroke last week and were devastated after it. That game just showed the quality in their side, scoring two goals in the first quarter and they really put us under the pump.

“We really had to turn things around and we had to believe in ourselves and couldn’t let that happen again.

“We watched a lot of video and saw we ourselves made a lot of mistakes which we knew we could rectify. We knew the pace they had in midfield and the quality in their defence in their flat-stick tackling.

“We had to change what we did and bring our strengths forward, not fall into their game plan. We focused on that and gave it everything! Empty the tanks was our motto!” 

Pembroke had started brightly with Aisling Naughton’s backhand needing a diving Christine O’Shea block to smother it’s path with Rachel O’Brien had a couple of big digs at goal.

But Carroll’s influence soon came to bear and it was her surge that laid the base for Hickey to net just before the end of the first quarter, battling to nick the ball and then rounding the defence on the right flank.

She almost created a second for Lizza Ryan whose deflection was blocked by goalkeeper Emma Buckley who was far busier than a week before.

Pembroke came on strong in the second half with Ellen Curran and Gillian Pinder building up speed. They won five penalty corners but found no way through with the combination of Pam Smithwick and Michelle Barrett an adept duo to clear the lines.

Insta, though, always looked the more incisive on this occasion. Ryan and Hannah Kelly combined well to force another save from Buckley while a baseline cross was just beyond the stick of Kelly from another big chance.

Without the insurance goal, it always left Pembroke in the hunt, winning a series of set pieces in the final play. Carroll, though, made her crucial block and the sizeable Rosbrien crowd at Belfield lit up.

Pembroke: E Buckley, L McGuire, A-K Trevor, S Loughran, E Beatty, O Macken, E Curran, R O’Brien, I Delamer, A Naughton, G Pinder Subs: A Griffin, C Moroney, C Foley, S Campbell, T Wensley, M McCready, R Cowman 

Catholic Institute: P Smithwick, C O’Shea, N Carroll, R Upton, L Clery, E Ryan, M Barrett, A Horan, J Clein, C Moloney, M Barrett Subs: A Hickey, H Kelly, B Murphy, M Scanlon, A Bourke, L Ryan, M O’Callaghan 

Umpires: G Garrett, F Davitt