Drama as St Peter’s crown Leinster champions
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St Peter’s Dunboyne’s Player of the Match Anna Kane is challenged by St Lazarine’s Roisin Fitzgerald during the Leinster Camogie Club Junior A final at Carlow on Sunday.Image 2 of 2
St Peter’s captain Sinead Hackett received the Leinster Club Junior A Cup from Leinster chairman Martin Quilty.CAMOGIE
St Peter's ....0-12
St Lazarian's Abbeyleix (Laois)...1-8
by BRENDAN BOYLAN
Some days things occur in sport which convince you that there are spectators in the stadium for away that have your back. Sunday was certainly one of those days for the camogie faithful in Dunboyne.
The ball bobbled in and out around their goalmouth in the dying embers of this Leinster Camogie Junior A Club final and nobody in black and amber would need convincing there were a few extra defenders on the field in spirit repelling the best that lively Laois side St Lazarian's from Abbeyleix could throw at them.
The records will show that it was the lady on the '40', Laura Reilly, who bookended this historic day, hitting the first and last scores from play as Dunboyne claimed their first ever provincial title in the small ball code at the SETU Campus in Carlow.
The 3.15pm throw in time ensured that the floodlights were going to be needed, but in those closing moments it appeared it was going to be a longer night still as extra time loomed large on the horizon, but Reilly's 57th minute strike transpired to be enough to ensure history was made.
County star Ellen Burke opened the scoring inside two minutes and even though her comrade in green and gold, Maeve Clince (two frees), Reilly, Sinead Hackett, Amy O'Hara and Erin Mangan (two) also split the posts, the Laois side showed they too had plenty in their own armoury and the eventual winners were a shade fortunate to go in leading by 0-7 to 0-5 at the break.
Hackett tacked on her second point at the beginning of the second half before Erin Mangan went on to register the next three Dunboyne scores which gave Donal Cashin's charges a 0-11 to 0-7 lead.
Then the outstanding Hollie Brennan rifled a bullet to the Meath side's net to leave the minimum between the sides. Reilly's late strike put two between the sides.
Brennan then flashed over another score at the other end meaning that finger nails of anybody of a Dunboyne persuasion came under sustained assault but an outstanding batted save from Bronagh Moran typified a truly heroic defensive effort that ensured another chapter of history was written for the Dunboyne club.
St Peter's, Dunboyne - B Moran; N Boyce, S Synan, D Curran; C Maher, M Clince (0-2), E McGovern; E Burke (0-1), A Kane; S Hackett (0-2), L Reilly (0-2), N O'Connor; E Mangan (0-4), A O'Hara (0-1), E Cunningham. Subs - T Watters for Cunningham.
Referee - Shane Phelan (Carlow).