Nenagh Hockey Club
Under 16 Girls: Nenagh travelled to Garryduff CofI on Saturday in a reorganized fixture which had originally been due to take place in January.
The team who have put in several strong performances of late in the Munster League were keen to build on their momentum albeit against tough opposition away.
From the first whistle, the sides looked evenly matched with lovely running hockey on display end to end. CofI got an early chance following a series of quick passes which they scored clinically. Nenagh quickly countered and won a good equalising opportunity with a short corner but their shot was saved well by the goalkeeper. Nenagh were immediately put under pressure again and some brave goalkeeping by Lauren Gavin kept the Cork side at bay. A strong clearance from Hannah Delaney to midfield and then to the forwards gave Lorna Ryan some good field position and she scored a great goal from the side of the D to level the sides. CofI counter attacked hoping to Catch Nenagh on the restart but solid defence from Kate Quigley, Isabelle Hegarty and Ellen Fitzpatrick kept the scores even heading into the second quarter.
Nenagh were forced again to defend early on in the second quarter but combined well to keep the Cork side from getting a shot away. Solid and smart defending by Naoise Correia and Ruby Bourke gave Nenagh a decent platform to build their attacks. The hard work paid off and Nenagh found themselves in attacking positions, winning some short corners that they unfortunately failed to convert. The Tipp side kept pressing the Cork goal and both Zara Byrne and Laylyn Reid were unlucky not to score on several occasions. CofI showed their skill and class with some well executed moves that gave them a chance in front of the Nenagh goal that they converted clinically to take the lead heading into half time.
Nenagh emerged at the second half full of determination and they dominated play in the opening minutes. Jennifer Kennedy and Lauren Grace worked tirelessly in midfield to gain possession and feed the ball to the forwards. Following sustained pressure, Nenagh forward Tina Vuyk had a shot on goal that just missed the target. CofI briefly countered and worked their way up the pitch to win a short corner which was cleared well by Quigley and Delaney. Another opportunity for the Cork side was saved brilliantly by Nenagh goalkeeper Isabelle Smith. Nenagh looked threatening going forward and great interplay between Lorna Ryan and Hollie O'Brien gave Ryan a shot on goal which she struck beautifully to level the sides. Sensing the momentum shift the Nenagh side continued to tackle well and gain go forward ball. Forward Tina Vuyk took no chances with her second shot and scored with a great strike that was hit into the net to put Nenagh ahead heading into the fourth quarter.
Nenagh again started well with Zara Byrnes strike saved by some excellent CofI defence. Nenagh kept pressing the home side's D and when Ryan got a clear shot she pushed it with strength and scored a great goal to put Nenagh 4-2 ahead with minutes remaining. The CofI team were desperate to score and piled the pressure onto the Nenagh defence ultimately winning them a short corner. Some controversy surrounded the subsequent awarding of a goal with the Nenagh side adamant that the ball had not crossed over the line.
With a scoreline for 4-3 to Nenagh and the clock ticking the final minutes of the game was tense. Nenagh held strong in defence critically not fouling and not giving the opposition any further opportunities. There was relief from the Nenagh dugout when the final whistle blew on a 4-3 win. The girls in white now progress to the Cup semi-finals in March.
Under 14 Girls: In Thurles, another rescheduled fixture was taking place when Cashel-New Inn and Nenagh faced off in a Munster League clash.
The Nenagh side were tentative in the opening few minutes as they allowed Cashel-New Inn some valuable time in the ball. A well-coached side with considerable skill, Cashel-New Inn wasted no time in gaining the upper hand on the scoreboard. Nenagh restarted well and grew into the pace of the game. Nenagh looked fluid going forward with Eve Gunning and Hollie Clarke combining well to cause lots of problems. They could not get a clear shot on goal, however, and were still one goal down heading into half time. Nenagh had played with good purpose and were finding gaps in the Cashel-New Inn defence at times so felt confident they could equalize early after the half time break. It wasn't long before Nenagh were awarded a short corner which was a great opportunity to level the scoring. The ball was sent to Hollie Clarke at the top of the D and she scored with a brilliant strike.
The game was deadlocked at 1-1 for a good period of the second half with both teams having chances but failing to convert. Nenagh pressed forward searching for the winning goal but in doing so were exposed in defence. Cashel-New Inn won the ball in a tackle and went on a break towards the Nenagh goal. Outnumbered, Nenagh were unable to keep the ball out of their D and Cashel-New Inn took their shot clinically to move ahead with seconds left on the clock. The whistle blew for full time shortly thereafter leaving the final scoreline at 2-1 to Cashel-New Inn.
Nenagh will have little time to dwell on the disappointment of the loss as they have a short turn around to their next League game when they take on leaders Fermoy away next weekend.