Double delight as league sides advance to quarter-finals
The Mayo U15s are through the last eight of the Inter-League Cup after a narrow 1-0 victory against Clare.
The Mayo Schoolboys/Girls Youths AFL had two of its girls’ sides complete their final Inter-League group matches at Milebush last Saturday. Both sides were carrying 100% records into their respective matches with hopes high that that would remain to be the case after the final whistles.
The Mayo U15s were first up, facing their Clare counterparts. Both of these sides met in the Gaynor Trophy semi-final last summer which Mayo edged on the day. The first-half was a very steady and even game and it remained goalless at half-time.
A few Mayo changes in the second-half changed the dynamic of the game and Mayo got the only goal of the game courtesy of Aoibhinn McNamara from the penalty spot. She had earned the penalty herself after skipping past four players before being brought down in the box. The 1-0 victory sees Mayo top the group and into the cup quarter-finals.
Manager Sinead Mulhern is following a similar track to what she did last year when she guided the Mayo U16s to the Inter-League Cup triumph. Assisting her in her management team this year is Emma Gibbons, Kian Flanagan, Amy Cummins and Kayla Doherty.
Later that afternoon, the Mayo U13s had Sligo/Leitrim as their opposition and picked them off on a 3-1 scoreline. Despite this game being tighter than the scoreline suggests, the Mayo girls played some of the best football of their season. The defence was very calmly marshalled by libero Francesca Coruna and her partner Amelia Duffy.
As in Terryland Park in their previous match, Mayo’s best passing sequences came from Rheanna Hoban, Robyn Butler and Bonnie Walsh down the right wing. In the middle of the field, Ella Connell literally tackled anyone with a pair of boots on!
Having said all that, the real plaudits for this victory must go to the Mayo strikers Maya Benson and the wonderfully talented Saoirse Reynolds, who had a hand in all three goals. The Mayo victory sees them also top their group and take their place in the Cup section of the Inter-League quarter-finals. This has been a brilliant achievement so far for this bunch of girls and their management team of John Gerard Butler and Jenny Raba.
