Report by Margot Hughes

St. Patrick's     2-11

AGB                   0-4

St. Pat's and AGB faced each other once again in the U16 Championship Final in Ballinakill on Sunday 19th October under the supervision of referee John Bermingham. AGB won the toss and elected to play against the significant wind and then set about the task of holding the marauding Wicklow forwards in check in the hope that if they could stay in contention until half time they would be in with a chance of taking the spoils in this their third attempt at the title in the last three years. The plan seemed to be working as they forced St. Pat's to take their points from distance and held them to four points for the first twenty minutes. Annie Conroy scored Arklow's only point of the half in the 15th minute of play. Niamh O'Brien scored two for Wicklow and Hannah Cox and Saoirse O'Reilly were also on target for St. Pat's in the opening third. Saoirse O'Reilly's goal in the 25th minute of the half was probably the most crucial score of the game as Arklow believed they were holding them well and forcing a lot of errors. Arklow failed however, to convert their turnovers into meaningful and productive attacks and this failure to register any further scores, despite carrying the ball right into the danger area, was to prove the difference in the end. Kate Hennessy, Niamh O'Brien and Saoirse O'Reilly tacked on three more points for the Wicklow side before the break, leaving the half time score 1-7 to 0-1 in their favour and AGB with a hill to climb.

In the second half both teams dug deep to defend their goals so it was a scoreless opening quarter. With all to play for AGB opened the scoring with a point in the 15th minute from the boot of Róisín O'Reilly. Niamh O'Brien added another for St. Pat's in the 16th minute and followed this with a second goal for her team in the 22nd. This was a cruel blow to the Arklow team that was beginning to make some inroads into the opposition territory. Róisín O'Reilly pointed from a free in the 23rd and Orla Hayes scored a super point from a long distance free in the closing minutes of play. But it was too little too late for the Arklow side as goals were required to have any hope of bridging the significant gap between the sides. Points from Katie Bouchier and Clodagh Fox left the final tally 2-11 to 0-4 in favour of the reigning champions.

This was a lacklustre game throughout with neither side playing to their potential. However the Wicklow side did enough to retain their title and were gracious in acknowledging the score did not reflect the battle that had been fought, particularly by the back lines on both sides. Two super performances from both goalkeepers, Doirrean O'Reilly for AGB and Megan Dunne for St. Pat's, must be acknowledged and the work rate of the centre field pairings of Annie Conroy and Orla Hayes for AGB and Kate Hennessy and Katie Bouchier for St. Pat's were phenomenal. Kayleigh Carter, Kayleigh Earls, Ciara Forde, Annie Conroy and Orla Hayes were outstanding for AGB and best for Wicklow were Niamh O'Brien, Meadhbh O'Kane, Saoirse O'Reilly, Kate Hennessy and Katie Bouchier. The girls enjoyed the wonderful facilities in Ballinakill but the supporters were wondering when there might be a few signposts put up to mark the route as many got lost and had to call for directions. Thanks to John Bermingham for a job well done and to the officials that organised the facilities on the day. Thanks also to the young ladies themselves for representing their clubs with pride and for entertaining us with their efforts on the pitch throughout the season. Many of these girls supported other teams in their clubs this year and have been a credit to them at all times. Your hard work is appreciated by all your mentors and club officials. Well done to the girls from both teams that also represented their county at u16 coming fourth out of the six teams in Division One, beaten only by Dublin, Meath and Laois and recording wins against Kildare, Westmeath and Laois in the qualifying rounds. Hopefully Wicklow can build on this achievement and continue to develop these talented young players as they progress through the minor grade.

It's probably time for everyone; players, volunteers and supporters to take a well-earned rest and then it will be back to the drawing board again in February 2015. Whatever club you support watch out for the AGM, go along and get involved. It takes a lot of effort on the part of the volunteers to get teams to play at this level and hopefully enjoy it regardless of the outcome. Well done to all the unsung heroes in the background, from club committees, coaches and administrators to the referees and the county board officials who make it all possible by facilitating the competitions. Ná déan dearmad "Ar scáth a chéile a mhairimid"!

St. Pat's: Megan Dunne, Laoise Courtney, Ríoghna McGettigan, Natasha Fitzgerald, Jade Ryan Manley, Meadhbh O'Kane, Laoise Marron, Kate Hennessy(0-1), Katie Bouchier(0-2), Saoirse O'Reilly(1-2), Niamh O'Brien(1-4), Sinead McGettigan, Hannah Cox(0-1), Clodagh Fox(0-1), Erynn O'Brien.

AGB: Doirrean O'Reilly, Kayleigh Carter, Kayleigh Earls, Becky Hayden, Aoife O'Reilly, Ciara Forde, Vicky O'Brien, Orla Hayes(0-1), Annie Conroy(0-1), Lisa Keegan, Emma Furlong, Róisín O'Reilly(0-2), Megan Kane, Chloe O'Reilly, Doireann Kavanagh Subs: Laura Rice, Emer Curran,  Megan Boyle, Aoife Murphy, Ellie Jones, Emily Mitchell, Abbie Doyle, Áine O'Reilly, Zoe Takacs, Ann-Marie Keegan, Katie Hurley.

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