Keeper Collins Saves Irish Trophy For Greenfields in Dramatic Shoot-out.
In a nail biting finale to the Irish Hockey Trophy, Greenfields keeper Sinead Collins stepped up to become the heroine and match winner bringing the trophy back to Greenfields for the second year in a row. Having accounted for two other Northern sides on the way, Greenfields travelled to Belfield to take on Lisnagarvey with some confidence. It was always going to be a big ask to re-produce the stunning display against Belfast Harlequins and it wasn’t long into the game before this became clear.
There was a definite sign of big occasion nerves with passes going astray. ‘Garvey had clearly done their homework and managed to stifle the Greenfields style of moving the ball across the back and looking for the openings to move forward. They closed down the Greenfields defence quickly making it difficult for any sustained attacking movement forcing the long ball which invariably went astray. Chances were at a premium and this game always had the look of one which would go the distance.
The Greenfields defence again showed their mettle as eleven short corners to Lisnagarvey were repelled by stubborn defending. The back four of Sarah MacDonald, Clodagh Grealy, Catherine Moore and Aine Collins were again outstanding and kept Greenfields in the game. However this battle wasn’t about the seventy minutes or the ten minutes of extra time where Greenfields finally came to life. It all came down to a cameo performance in a penalty shoot out which couldn’t have been scripted.
When the hooter finally sounded for the end of extra time we all knew. Lisnagarvey might have the style and finesse which Northern teams bring to the playing pitch but Greenfields have Sinead Collins. She herself admitted afterwards that this is why she plays. The challenge. “Bring it on” she said to her teammates as the sides gathered to look for volunteers to take one. They knew and we knew she could do it. Two great strokes from Sarah MacDonald and Clodagh Grealy were Greenfields tally in the shoot -out. Four outstanding saves plus a glove on the fifth saw the Greenfields ladies charge the goal and smother their heroine with deserved congratulations.
The 2 – 1 penalty scoreline was enough to return the trophy to Greenfields for the second year. Delighted Greenfields Coach Deirdre McDermott summed it up at the post match party. “It wasn’t our finest display but we won. It was a really gritty performance but we couldn’t have done it without Sinead”.
Two trophies in the bag marks another great season for Greenfields with the possibility of a third coming up in the Connacht Cup Final at 6.30pm on Sunday April 21st.
Match report courtesy of Roddy Wyer.
