Today at Musgrave, our Under 14 Ladies footballers were crowned All Antrim League Champions after their victory in a hugely physical contest against arguably one of the fittest and most feared teams in the County, St Ergnat’s, Moneyglass. This hotly anticipated final nearly failed to happen when it was discovered that for some unknown reason no referee was available? Fortunately St Gall’s Fionnuala Murphy was able to adjudicate, and at noon, this ferocious encounter got underway, with early scores being traded evenly, as each side fought to make the breakthrough. St Brigid’s made most of the early running whilst trying to avoid being pulled into the congested and at times ‘combustible’, middle of the field. Play was end to end and half time, only 4 points separated the teams, with our girls marginally in front. The second half started at an incredible pace with the midfield duo of Emma Ferran and Michelle Magee, ably supported by the pacy Anna Connolly looking to consolidate on their half time lead. As the second half progressed, the tenacity of our forward line of Maeve Blaney, Rebecca Doyle and Niamh Crean started to get the better of the Moneyglass back line and suddenly, with the arrival of a couple of quick goals, St Brigid’s were on the front foot. Moneyglass refused to lie down however and for much of the half, our defence was besieged by fast passing and hard tackling. A number of substitutions saw ST B’s ‘shut up shop’ at the back, and by the time Caitlin Mooney popped up to score in the last 2 minutes, the girls had sealed an historic victory. Antrim Feile Champions and for the first time, All Antrim League Champions! Who’s to say that if circumstances had not conspired against us in the Championship Final, we might not be sitting on a treble? But, today was all about the performance and at the final whistle, the 8-8 to 2-5 winning score line proved that in 2013 there was only one team to beat in Antrim! Naomh Brid….CHAMPIONS!
