UL Bohs Pining For All-Ireland Glory

It’s sure to be an epic at Donnybrook on Saturday afternoon as runaway regular season leaders UL Bohemians take on defending champions, Old Belvedere in the final of the Women’s All-Ireland League (KO 6pm).

Both sides have been in impressive form thus far this season, and come the New Year were tied on 32 points, with Bohemians a game behind. In 2017 however the Limerick outfit have blitzed past the opposition, finishing comfortably top with only a single defeat to their name.

That loss was against Railway Union in the penultimate stage of the regular season , as the Dubliners secured a smash-and-grab at Annacotty. Nikki Caughey and Edel Murphy traded penalties in the first half until Murphy’s kick just before half-time handed a slender 6-3 lead to the home side at the break.

A tough second-half exploded into life three minutes from time as Canadian international Emma Taylor breached the UL Bohemians’ defence to give Railway Union a precarious five point lead.

Bohemians’ Niamh Kavanagh dashed for the line in the final attack of the match but full-back Clare Ryan’s try saving tackle saw UL Bohemians come out the wrong side of a result for the first time all season.

The Annacotty outfit will have confidence knowing their previous game against Belvo’ in Dublin ended up with a comfortable 29-14 win, but certainly Bohs’ momentum has been affected, drawing against defeated league semi-finalists Railway Union in the semi-final of the All-Ireland Cup.

Last week Bohs upped a gear in the second-half to comfortably dispatch Galwegians at the UL 4G, that game saw a brace for Niamh Kavanagh, and scores from Anna Caplice, Eimear Considine, captain Fiona Hayes, and Liz Burke just shows how dangerous the Limerick outfit are from all over the pitch. They’ll be hoping it will be enough to get over the side that beat them in their last All-Ireland League final in 2015.

Kick-off on Saturday at Donnybrook is at 6pm.

Sunday is a big day for Tullamore and the City of Derry, as they look to break into the league as part of the Promotion playoff.

It’s also a big day in Munster as the Women’s Division 1 Cup semi-finals sees a different team from each county represented at the penultimate stage. In Bandon, Shannon will be looking to down their second Cork team in consecutive weeks as they take on a West Cork side buzzing with excitement after a smashing season. That game begins at 1pm.

Thurles will also be a club full of optimism after their fantastic victory in the Munster U18 Plate last Sunday, and will be hoping their Women can make it a second cup final as they face off against Tralee, also at 1pm. Both of these sides have lost just a single game in their respective conferences so it’s sure to be a cracking game on the banks of the River Suir.