St Pauls 4 – 14
St Brigids 1 – 4

In monsoon – like conditions, the senior ladies of St Pauls ran out worthy winners against St Brigids. The second half proved to be a tight affair with the home side only outscoring the visitors by a goal and two but unfortunately the referee added up the accumulated scores and the Hoops deserved their victory. Their long range point taking and opportunism in front of goal in the opening half hour saw them notch up an impressive two goals and ten points, and the South – Siders could only reply with a Catherine McMullan point from play and a free from Caoimhe McCullagh. From there it was always going to be an uphill struggle.
On the sideline management, squad members and supporters, along with your correspondent, took neither comfort nor shelter from the continued deluge. Notes and records were erased by the downpour and pens ceased to function. On the field however, the girls dug in despite the adverse weather. Indeed the standard of some of the play through the midfield area picked up and Sarah McGuckian again showed her commitment to the cause with an all round battling performance. Some of our faster players found it difficult to control the ball in the treacherous conditions. Perhaps the older and more experienced hands in the St Pauls team were more suited to the environment as their superiority won out despite fine saves from Claire [“I’m definitely not going into goals again”] Curran, a well-taken gaol from new girl [but old hand] Donna McNulty, and two points from the Director of Football’s first born.
Despite the abysmal conditions football and St Pauls were the winners. They go forward and the distaff side of Naomh Brid dream of drier pitches.

By Paul Gormley Wed 29th Mar