Mayo school reaches Connaught final
The Davitt College Under 14 Gaelic football team are one game away from Connacht glory following a number of impressive displays in reaching the final.
First up for the Davitt College girls was a trip to Kiltimagh to play a Foxford side that were always going to pose a serious threat, and so that is how the game eventuated.
The game ebbed and flowed with both sides enjoying purple patches. At the second water break Davitt were trailing by two points and the game seemed to be drifting away as Foxford were in the ascendency, however a quick goal at the start of the fourth quarter was exactly what Davitt needed and never looked back from then, running out winners on a score line of 1-12 to 3-2. Stand out performers on the day were Emma Duffy, Clodagh Timlin, Kate McNicholas and Ava Donnelly.
The second game saw the Davitt girls travel to Swinford to face the home side. It was evident from early on the previous tough encounter had really stood the girls in good stead, and they set out to attack Swinford from the off. On the day Davitt College were dominant all over the field and won out on a scoreline of 6-8 to 0-0. Grace Carroll, Orlaith Connolly, Allannah Keavney, Aine Fitzgerald and Zara Cunningham were to the fore on the day.
Resulting from a bye in the next round against Charlestown, the securing of top spot in the group was now in Davitt’s hands, knowing that a win against local Castlebar school, St. Joseph’s, would result in the progression to the knockout stages of the competition. This game was played on the school pitch in Davitt College, which is literally over the wall from St. Josephs.
Again, Davitt College started brightly and the intent was evident from early on. The game was over as a contest by half time, however the Davitt girls knew there would be stiffer opposition to come, and so kept up the intensity right through. St. Josephs, to their credit, never gave up and battled bravely, however Davitt College’s skill, teamwork and intensity all through saw them run out comprehensive winners on a score line of 14-15 to 4-2. There were quality performances on the day from Ava Flynn, Rachel Heneghan, Kate Connor and Tara Coen.
With the initial objective of qualifying for the knock out stages achieved, the focus quickly turned to the Connacht quarterfinal clash with Calasanctius College, Oranmore, Co. Galway. This game was played in the Dome in Bekan and proved to be a day to be remembered for both the performance on one hand and the excitement portrayed by the girls at the opportunity to play a game in this incredible facility on the other.
The Oranmore girls got off to a cracking start and were 1-1 to 0-0 up after five minutes. Davitt College settled in to the pace of the game after that and lead by two points at half time.
If ever a team left everything on the pitch, this was true in this game. Going in to the last 15 minutes there was nothing between the teams. The quality of football played by both teams was incredible in patches and it really was an excellent showcase for ladies’ football.
By the final whistle both teams were out on their feet after what turned out to be a titanic battle. The Davitt girls’ speed, skill, teamwork and intensity in the tackle eventually wore down the Oranmore girls, and they got over the line on a score line of 5-8 to 2-11 to book their place in the Connacht semi-final.
It was difficult to single out any players from this heroic team performance, however the performances of Kate Guilfoyle, Hannah Hautmann, Helen Murrihy and Cliodhna Dowling simply cannot be ignored.