Sunday, February 6th brought Carlow 1 to Wilson's Hospital School for the West Leinster Plate semifinal against Mullingar Hockey Club's U16 girls.

Another cold and overcast day, it managed to stay mostly dry for the duration of the match and was the backdrop for our girls' best performance of the season.
This was not the cup tie that Mullingar had hoped for. Carlow had served up Mullingar's biggest defeat of the season at the beginning of December when they coasted to a comfortable 4-0 League victory. Mullingar were undaunted by the past and this match couldn't have been more different than that previous occasion.

Carlow took the tipoff, but it was Mullingar who found early form, pushing forward with their first possessions and creating a few half chances. But Carlow soon found their footing in the game and things settled down; both midfields were vying for a supremacy that neither could secure and so the first quarter ended scoreless.

The second quarter started much as the first finished. But though Carlow showed signs they could dominate Mullingar from time to time, they still couldn't find the space in the D they found during the league last December and real goal scoring chances didn't materialise for them. Strong defending at the centre at the defence and a defensive midfielder gave real solidity to the Mullingar rearguard. And at the other end, Mullingar repeatedly found space down the Carlow wings to threaten, and with excellent support play from the midfield they were creating some half chances of their own. This enterprising play eventually created one snap shot that looked to have their goalkeeper in trouble, but unfortunately the ball flew inches wide.

HT 0-0

Into the second half and the pattern of the match was set, with neither team able to claim dominance and only the occasional missed tackle or poor clearance looked like producing a score. Mullingar were producing more of these slips, and as such their 'keeper was the busier of the two, though to be fair, there were few chances she had to stretch for; comfortably turning away Carlow's best efforts.

The final quarter arrived with the deadlock still secure, but there was an air of desperation from both sides now. Each was aware that one slip would surely finish the contest off given that goalscoring opportunities were at such a premium. And so it was that Mullingar created the best chances of the day within a few minutes of restarting the match in the final quarter.
A mazy crossfield dribble from the right wing looked like it would finish at a dead end surrounded by defenders in the left corner, but our winger turned around and fed the ball back to the oncoming left winger, a quick touch from there into the oncoming midfielder, who again played it quickly to her midfield partner. With quick touches they had broken the resilient Carlow defensive line wide open. Mullingar had time for three efforts on goal, any of which could have hit the backboard, before the defense recovered to clear the ball - the heroics of the Carlow shot stopper in the face of point blank efforts keeping them in the competition. Following those attempts, Mullingar pushed players out of the defense in the hopes of getting the score that could secure the win, but unfortunately this left gaps that Carlow's midfield could exploit; they finally found the space needed to create clearcut chances. So it was with 8 minutes left that Carlow finally got their score; a shot hit across the face of the goal, a tactic they had tried repeatedly during the game to little effect, was deflected into the goal off the defenders stick, but the officials adjudged that it also connected with the stick of the attacker who was pressurising Mullingar's defender from behind, and so Carlow was awarded the goal. A frenetic final few minutes saw a number of chances created by both teams; Carlow certainly had the better chances, but neither team could find the back of the net again, and so the final whistle brought down the curtain on Mullingar's season.

FT 0:1

It was a harsh finish to the girls' best performance of the season, but these girls can hold their heads high with the improvement in performance they showed as the season progressed. With any luck, these girls will make up the backbone of Mullingar Ladies teams in the years to come.
A big thank you to Wendy Gillespie for taking on the medical duties on the day, and to Lucy & Ron Charles for umpiring.

The U16 squad was: Ella Mae Gavigan, Leah Harding, Emer Donnelly, Emma Harding, Sarah Webster, Sophie Whelan, Alexandra Elaurza, Anna Gillespie, Sarah Cawley, Sophie Marry, Alina Siddiqui & Tori Trower.

The coaches and club would like to thank all the girls who played this season for their efforts, and to recognise their parents for their support getting the girls out to training and matches. Well done all!????
Training will continue into April & we may get the chance to organise a challenge before the end of the season.?