The Connacht Hockey U21s ladies travelled to Limerick on Sunday to take on Munster in their third game of the Interprovincial series this year. Coming off the back of a historic win over Ulster, Connacht were confident they could come away with a win but equally knew that they were up against a tough opposition. Playing Munster at home in any sport is a difficult task but the girls rose to the challenge and started strong.
The opening quarter started at a lightning pace with both sides having goal-scoring opportunities come and go. Granted Connacht had the better of these opportunities but failed to capitalise on them. Rachel Barry in the Munster goals was in fine form and kept the Connacht attack at bay. The second quarter saw more of the same in terms of goal-scoring opportunities but neither team took their chances. The Connacht defensive unit of Robyn Hetherington, Mary Rooney, Isolde Moran, Caoimhe Cleary and Holly Comer in goals were clinical in their tackles and saves keeping the score line at 0-0 going into the halftime break. Connacht was the dominant side and a 0-0 scoreline at halftime was frustrating for them.
Connacht got off to a slow start in the third quarter and Munster took full advantage of it, dominating the seventeen minutes of play. There were some good pieces of play from Connacht with Aoife Quinn unstoppable at right midfield and Ailbhe Folan making some fantastic runs through the front line. Munster was awarded a penalty corner deep in the third quarter. They had Lauren Cripps receiving the ball at the top of the circle and through a set-piece play, she slotted the ball into the Connacht goal. Against the run of play Munster now found themselves with a 1-0 lead and Connacht was glad of the opportunity to regroup at quarter time. A tough conversation was had at quarter time in which Coach Jennifer Hyde told her players that if they wanted to win it they’d have to dig deep and fight for it.
The final quarter saw Connacht come out of the blocks dogged with determination to get a goal back. It wasn’t long before Ailbhe Folan's hard work paid off and she was rewarded with an equalising goal. Connacht needed a win to fight for a place in the InterPro final on December 18th. With the scoreline at 1-1, they had everything to play for.
The intensity of the game saw both teams rise to the occasion and both teams were tense. Munster have yet to record a win in this year's series at U21 level and they weren’t going down without a fight. Megan Clinton found herself in a perfect goal-scoring position with only minutes to go and she successfully put the ball out of the goalkeeper's reach to give Connacht a 2-1 lead much to the delight of the Connacht management and supporters. A tense final few minutes saw both sides tiring with the pace of the game. A breakdown in play saw Munster awarded a questionable penalty corner but the umpire was adamant with his decision and once again Connacht found themselves in a position of having to defend their goal. A penalty corner is a set-piece opportunity around the D area in front of the goal and typically teams have a good opportunity to score from these. Munster scored an equaliser with a mere two minutes remaining on the clock. Heartbreak for Connacht after an almost flawless final quarter.
With the scoreline now at 2-2, Munster was awarded a second penalty corner in the last minute of the game. Isolde Moran took a hit on the hand to make a goal-line save but the save resulted in a penalty stroke being awarded to Munster as players cannot use their bodies to stop a goal-bound ball. The tables had turned and what was potentially going to be another victory for Connacht was very rapidly becoming a cruel blow to the side. Holly Comer faced down the Munster player in goals and held her nerve to pull out an unbelievable stick save forcing the penalty stroke wide and giving Connacht a beacon of hope to take into a penalty shootout with the final score standing at 2-2.
Five Connacht players stepped forward courageously to take a penalty shuttle. This is a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper in which the attacking player has 8 seconds to score. Hannah Kelly, Allie Hetherington, Ciara Dunne, Robyn Hetherington and Ailbhe Folan were the five brave souls for Connacht. Following the five shuttles, both sides were even on three goals apiece so it went to sudden death. Ailbhe Folan stepped up first and made no mistake in scoring, giving Connacht a 1-0 lead. It all came down to this; if Munster missed Connacht would win. Connacht had every faith in goalkeeper Holly Comer who is notoriously good at penalty shuttles. At just 18 years of age, she is one of the youngest goalkeepers in the competition but nerves were nowhere to be seen. In what seemed like a very long 8 seconds Holly stayed on her feet forcing the Munster player wide of the post and missing the goal. Connacht had done it and had, for the second year running, beaten Munster on their home turf.
The victory makes it two wins from three interprovincial games for the side who recently overcame hockey powerhouse Ulster. Having accomplished what they needed to do, they now have to endure the waiting game to see the result of the final game of the series between Munster and Ulster to decide if they progress to the 1st/2nd playoff for the 2nd year running or the 3rd/4th playoff.
