Hockey: Mount Anville and Wesley College will meet in the Leinster schoolgirls' Premier League final next Friday after winning their semi-finals at Grange Road yesterday, beating The High School and Loreto Bray, respectively, by the same 1-0 scoreline.
Juliette Gilligan scored what proved to be the decisive goal in the first of the day's games, converting a sixth minute short corner for Mount Anville against a much-fancied High School team. Mount Anville, though, had to batten down the hatches for much of the remainder of the game as they endured intense High School pressure, with Nicci Daly and Julie McRann, in particular, testing their resolve.
The Mount Anville defence, however, assisted by goalkeeper Blathnaid Conroy-Murphy and captain Katie Hutch, ensured that The High School found no way through.
Wesley, meanwhile, had the better of much of the second semi-final, with Claire Hearndon and Jane Latham dominant in midfield, but had to wait until four minutes in to the second half before breaching Bray's defence.
Eimear Richardson scored from Wesley's sixth corner of the game, having being repeatedly denied until then by goalkeeper Danielle Doyle.
It wasn't until the final 10 minutes, during which they won five corners, that Bray came alive, largely through the tireless work of forward Claire Waddell.
MOUNT ANVILLE: B Conroy-Murphy, A O'Malley, K Staunton, C Davis, K Graham, S Lee, A Cunningham, J Gilligan, L Johnston, A O'Donnell, K Hutch (capt). Subs: L Swaine, A Prendiville.
THE HIGH SCHOOL: J Elliot, C Boyle, G Nugent, N Daly, V Sexton, H Warren, J McRann (capt), R Jones, M Leonard-Kane, K Smith, G McRann. Subs: C Alexander, S Lodola, L Moore.
Umpires: K Eppel and A Fortune.
WESLEY COLLEGE: S Byrne, E Richardson (capt), S Blennerhassett, J Boate, L Martin, J Fair, C Hearndon, J Latham, H Crosbie, M Lambert, W Adams. Subs: N Clarke, C Delap, M Galvin, J Tutty, S Davis.
LORETO BRAY: D Doyle, M Shelley, A Mulford, N Walsh, S Keogh, M Bailey, Z Spillane, C Tunney, C Denney, C Ni Cearbhaill, C Waddell (capt). Subs: A McGovern, E Henley, M Duffy, J Ding.
Umpires: S A Fanagan and L Ingram.
