Greenfields Junior Cup Team 4 – 2 Athlone
Greenfields Junior Cup team crowned a great day for the club when they won the Connacht Junior Cup to add to their First’s victory in the Senior Cup earlier on Saturday in Dangan.
This team is made up of primarily under 18’s, under 16’s and under 15 players with fourteen year old Sinead Minihan at one end of the spectrum and senior coach veteran Deirdre McDermott who played the role of sweeper at the other end.
Holders Athlone were not going to let the cup go easily but were caught time and time again by the speed and movement of the younger girls.
The first half produced five goals with Greenfields scoring the first two. The first after ten minutes was well finished by fifteen year old Ellie Noone when she crashed a good through ball from Becky Anderson off the backboard.
Athlone realising they were in a match had a purple patch when they controlled midfield and some good running from center forward Laura Kennedy resulted in a short corner which Amanda Beckett converted on twenty minutes.
The Greens were next on the score sheet when the young Sinead Minihan, playing a one two with Hanna Keane scored with a good shot to the right.
Another short corner saw Athlone pull one back on the half hour mark with Denise Coghill scoring.
Athlone started the second half strongly but the experience of McDermott showed as she cut out a number of attacks and was directing matters from the back. Rachel Corbett fed some good ball to the Athlone forwards. They started to run out of steam as to the pace and energy of the young Greenfields girls got, them on top again for the last quarter. They added their fourth and Sinead Minihans second when her stick deflected a strong Becky Anderson shot to the backboard.