Greenfields dominated the game for the next 15 minutes, their attempts at goal being held off by a strong Galway defense. The game continued with end-to-end fare, both sides playing superb hockey, despite the heavy rain. A stirling save by keeper Sinéad Collins kept Greenfields in the lead. With one minute left in this first-half, Trish Garrett took possession just at the half-way line, pushing the ball towards the Galway circle, where Dora Gorman ran onto it. Gorman out-sprinted Galway’s midfielders, by-passed their defense, & in what appeared to be an effortless move, flicked the ball into the net.
The second half saw Galway piling on the pressure, forcing three short corners in the first 5 minutes. Their efforts were rewarded with a cracking ball into the goal. Spurred on by this, Galway increased the attack, but Greenfields back line held firm, & an excellent performance from the entire squad resulted in a full-time score of 2-1. There were scenes of great jubiliation as captain Neasa McGettigan accepted the Kennedy Cup from Connacht President Theresa Concannon.
Greenfields now go forward to this weekend’s All-Ireland League 2010/2011 play-offs, where they face Ballymoney of Antrim, Old Alex of Dublin & Limerick’s Catholic Institute.
Below is the match schedule, which also includes the finals of the 2009/2010 Irish Hockey League:
2010 Womens Wildcards and IHL Finals – 14th, 15th & 16th May | |||||
| Day | Time | Match | Pitch | ||
| Fri 14th May | 19.30 | WC (W) Old Alex v Catholic Institute | Front | ||
| 20.00 | WC (W) Ballymoney v Greenfields | Back | |||
| Sat 15th May | 10.30 | SF 1 (W) Railway v Hermes | Front | ||
| 12.30 | SF 2 (W) Pegasus v Cork Harlequins | Front | |||
| 15.15 | WC (W) Greenfields v Old Alex | Back | |||
| 17.00 | WC (W) Catholic Institute v Ballymoney | Back | |||
| Sun 16th May | |||||
| 11.30 | WC (W) Greenfields v Catholic Institute | Back | |||
| 13.30 | Womens Final | Front | |||
| 15.30 | WC (W) Ballymoney v Old Alex | Back | |||
