U14A League Ballyboden St Endas 2-5 St. Oliver Plunketts 0-1
U14A League Ballyboden St Endas 5-5 Lucan Sarsfields 5-2
Two wins in 4 days was a perfect finish to the league for the U14 Camogie team. A Wednesday night trip to Martin Savage Park against Oliver Plunketts yielded a convincing performance from the throw-in. Katie McDonald got the scoring underway with some well taken points from outfield and placed balls. A goal and a point soon followed from the gloved hand of Sarah Joyce and Sinead Sweeney got in on the act with a well taken goal to finish the half in style. Plunketts rallied after the break but Boden continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over to run out comfortable winners.
A trip to Lucan on Saturday morning followed and anyone involved in Camogie will know that it’s never an easy task. The girls knew this would be a real the measure of where they stood and the standard required to compete at the top level of Division 1 – and boy did they answer that question. Boden played with the wind and hill and they tore into the opposition but scores were hard earned from both Katie McDonald and Lucy O’Shea. Boden continued to dominate play but despite several opportunities they got very little luck in front of goal. The opposite was the case for Lucan, who were able to break on a few occasions and convert goals against the run of play. Despite all the good work Boden went in 4pts down at half time and the girls heads could easily have went down.
But this game was all about the second half and you’ll go a long way to see as good a half hour of hurling. Again Boden dominated the individual battles and possession but were finding it hard to reflect that on the scoreboard. Each time Boden scored Lucan got soft goals that were real body blows. But 15 minutes on the clock and the game slipping away our girls eventually said enough was enough. The defence stepped things up, held firm and drove the rest of team forward. The half forward line of Ashling Murry, Katie McDonald and in particular Ciara Doyle ran at the heart of the Lucan defence at every opportunity and the goals followed. Boden edged into a 3pt lead with 5 minutes to go. Lucan threw the kitchen sink at it looking for an equalizer but team spirit and heart came to the fore in the Boden team and they held firm to seal the win. Mentor and parent Pat Reynolds is rumoured to be still smiling at time of writing. A special day for this group as thoughts turn firmly towards the championship in the autumn and the girls can dream of possibilities over the summer months.
Team: Sarah Reynolds, Rebecca McDonald, Niamh Ryan, Stephanie Hamm, Lucy O’Connor, Anna O’Shea, Kiara Cunningham, Lily Wende-Doyle, Lucy O’Shea, Ashling Murray, Ciara Doyle, Katie McDonald, Sarah White, Sarah Joyce, Jemma Hayes, Ella Thompson, Eabha Kelly