Tesco All-Ireland Senior C semi-final replay: Friday 1pm in Trim: Scoil Mhuire, Trim v St Patrick’s, Dungannon
AFTER almost every drawn knock-out game played, questions will surface in players’ minds as to whether or not there is more left in them, whether or not the team can play better, whether or not their chance has gone.
The players from St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon will have gone through that process this week after their draw with Scoil Mhuire, Trim last week.
They didn’t look to have done enough with the wind behind them in the first half.
Twenty minutes into the second half they looked in control of the game.
A couple of minutes later came a Trim goal to narrow the gap to a single point and they would have taken a draw.
Then Francine Farley got the Academy’s only score, a badly needed goal, and a four points’ lead looked good again. Another goal and then a point from Trim, a draw and now a replay down in Meath.
The wind had a part to play in the game last week and neither team really took full advantage of the wind until the last ten minutes of the half.
That was partially due to the hard work of the defenders on each side.
Reagan Fay hit five of her six first half points by bursting through from midfield area and firing over, but it took her 15 minutes to get into the swing of the game.
Of her forward colleagues, only Lára Devlin and Francine Farley looked capable of taking players on and scoring, although the deployment of corner-forward Aoife Forker as sweeper was very effective during the second half.
Scoil Mhuire’s main scoring threat was also a midfielder, Emma Reagan, although Ellen O’Hara was always a danger on the wing.
Both teams played in patches and both defences looked safe. The Academy though seemed to have those two or three players with penetration and getting those on the ball often enough to rack up scores is the key to winning the replay.
It is a 50/50 call really with the more composed team getting a rattle at St Dominic’s from Dublin in next Saturday’s final.
