Ballincollig Women Update

Ballincollig Womens journey ended in the cup last weekend with a defeat to City of Derry and so set out this weekend to rectify the loss as they took on Young Munster in the league on Sunday 13th.

Prior to the All Ireland Cup, Ballincollig were sitting in 7th place in the league, the face off with Young Munster was all about getting one more stepping stone closer to the top.

Young Munster's strong pack and solid defence set a marker for the tough challenge which lay ahead. These teams were evenly matched and both teams struggled to punch holes in the opposition. Neither team managed to put points on the board until the second half, and then the flood gates opened.

Ballincollig were first to crack the code, the established strong forward momentum and were on the scoring pathway. The first try of the game from No 8 Breda Leonard who powered her way over the line after a number of phases by the pack taking the ball closer to the line every time. Emily Cleary, Ger Gallahue, Anna Healy and Breda Leonard were great ball carriers for the home side.

Young Munster could not get their foot in the door as Ballincollig quickly came back on the attack with a perfectly placed cross field kick by Anne Marie Kelly, chased by winger Sharon Healy. Ballincollig maintained possession at the lineout and drove over the line, allowing pack leader Tamsin Richards to touch down bringing the score to 10-0. An excellent team effort which paid off with more points on the board. Full back Gemma Crowley was next up to add her name to the score sheet working her way into the attacking line and taking full opportunity of a narrow space. The score, ten minutes from the end, 15-0.

Ballincollig continued their scoring with a try from 2nd row Ger Gallahue. As the attack was set to go open, and the defence moved to cover it, just 2 metres from the line, Ger picked and went blind, diving over the line to bring the score to 20-0.

As the last 3mins were being played out, Ballincollig were put under pressure by a surge in the Young Munster attack. A Ballincollig scrum 5metres from the try line was unexpectedly turned over, and a missed tackle allowed for a very soft Young Munster try in the last minute of the game.

Ballincollig set the platform from the restart, and alothough time was running out, the manged to get 5 metres from the Young Munster line with just 30seconds left in the game. Full time came faster than the try line and so close to scoring a fifth try on the last shrill of the whistle but it wasnt to be. Final score 20-5 to the home side in a cracking game at Tanner Park!

The match was hosted in memory of our dear friend and team mate Katie Crowley – In her memory a player of the match trophy was presented by the Crowley Family to No. 8, Breda Leonard.

Ballincollig Squad: Crowley Gemma, Keohe Roisin, Bertrand Jess, Anne-Marie Kelly (C) Sharon Healy, Aoife Hurley, Bronagh Jacobs, Emily Cleary, Megan Henchin, Claire McSweeney, Anna Healy, Ger Gallahue, Tamsin Richards, Siobhan O' Leary, Breda Leonard. Replacements: Michelle Kelleher, Grainne Burke, Aoife Foley, Linda Kennedy, Niamh O Sullivan.