Drawing Naomh Fionnbarra away in round 1 of this year’s championship was never going to be an easy start. When the 2 sides met previously in the league out in Cabra, Boden came away with a comfortable win, however this is championship and the Boden girls were not taking anything for granted.
The first half was a very tight and physically demanding game in every area of the pitch, not helped by the uncomfortable warmth of the day, and so scores proved hard to come by for both teams. Boden led by 3pts to 2pts at half time.
As expected, the 2nd half was another battle. With goals still remaining elusive (thanks in part to some great goalkeeping by Ally), a few hard earned points were exchanged to put the teams on level terms coming up to full time. With a few additional minutes expected, N. Fionnbarra took the lead just into injury time with a well worked point from play. Responding almost immediately with a beautifully struck goal by Chloe (after a clever pass from Laura), the Boden girls used this momentum and grasped this game by the neck by adding a wonderfully taken point by Alice and seeing out the last dying minutes by dominating possession and keeping the opposition pressed in their own half. A truly great 4th quarter for Boden, a relief to hear that final whistle and all in all, a well-deserved win.
Final score: Boden 1:08 Naomh Fionnbarra 0:08
Bláthnaid Slater, Sadhbh Nic Mhathúna, Chloe Murphy, Sinead Hussey, Yvonne Gargan, Shauna Feely, Jenny Maguire, Karrie Rudden, Alice Rudden, Enya Kennedy, Ally Ramsden, Aoife Barnes, Hollyn Kennedy, Neasa Codd, Ailbhe Christie, Eimear Butler, Megan Deignan, Emma Moran, Abbie Fitzgerald, (not pictured) Aoife Tobin, Laura Burns
Scorers:
Chloe Murphy 1:02
Hollyn Kennedy 4pts (2xf,2×45)
Sinead Hussey & Alice Rudden (1pt each)
Thanks to Miriam Doyle for the match pics.
Match report: Brian Deignan