By Daragh Ó Conchúir

 

DIT         1-8

Maynooth University     1-6

 

DIT were made to dig very deep before emerging victorious in a very tight Purcell Cup Final at Abbotstown.

The Dubliners had showcased their scoring capabilities in their semi-final victory over IT Carlow when registering 3-15 but they had to rely on their fighting qualities with the silverware on the line.

Maynooth were involved in one of Saturday's best games, but just held off Queen's University, a late save by Niamh Doyle keeping the Belfast girls at bay.

Melissa Lyons was the key contributor for Maynooth and that was the case again in the final but she just had to give way to the magnificence of player of the match, Aoife Minogue.

Lyons opened the scoring from a free but Meath sharpshooter Megan Thynne equalised for DIT.

Thynne's county colleague Minogue gave the Dublin-based crew the vital breathing space with a goal from a free and followed up with a point from a 45.

There were four between the sides at that juncture but Lyons had that down to the minimum as she hit the target three times in succession, making it 1-3 to 0-4 at the change of ends.

And the Kildare star wasn't done, slotting an equaliser soon after the resumption before smashing the sliotar to the DIT net.

Maynooth were unable to deny Minogue though and she shot some remarkable points given the horrific weather conditions, including one from wide on the sideline and another from midfield, to reel in the deficit and edge DIT in front for their first Purcell Cup win since 2010.

 

SCORERS FOR DIT: A Minogue 1-6 (1-4fs, 0-1 45); M Thynne 0-2

SCORERS FOR MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY: M Lyons 1-6(0-4fs)

 

DIT: M Randall, M Walsh, C Foley, S Lyons, S O'Leary, S Nagle, C Rigney, O Beagan, E McGovern, A Twomey, C Carolan, L O'Mahony, M Thynne, A Minogue

MAYNOOTH UNIVERSITY: N Doyle, K Dobson, K Lillis, S Fahy, K Nolan, E Burke, T Lacey, C O'Brien, A Whitty, D Byrne, A Ryan, F O'Brien, M Lyons, A Ruschitzko, C Donoghue

 

REFEREE: G Donegan (Dublin)

 

 

*** IN THE day's first game, St Pat's College won the Fr Meaghair Cup for the first time since 2013, defeating Athlone IT. Grace Coleman opened the scoring with a point for Athlone but Claire O'Rourke turned the game on its head with a brace of goals in a matter of minutes. The midlanders couldn't respond to this double blow and trailed at half time by 2-5 to 0-2.

The second half was much tighter but Athlone could not make the ground up. Instead, player of the match Mary Cronan kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Drumcondra contingent. Cliodhna Walsh registered a third St Pat's goal before Dervla Higgins gave Athlone a deserved consolation score, leaving it 3-8 to 1-3 at the final whistle.

 

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