Saintfield’s girls shine in the sun

Saintfield’s girls shine in the sun

1 May 2013

AS the sun shone brightly over the Stormont pavilion, so Saintfield Ladies shone on the pitch.

There was no sign of nerves when the whistle went for the start of a lightning first half for the Saints.

Just four minutes in and Lynsey Morrow broke the deadlock. Julie Shaw delivered a beautiful long ball down the wing and Kelly Sofley won the penalty corner from which Morrow blasted home from just inside the circle.

Grosvenor tried to mount a challenge but they were pressured off the ball as soon as they got possession with Clare MacQuarrie covering any available space the opposition got.

Julie Ann Brown, playing through the centre, was spraying passes to Shaw and Rosi Bell who kept driving the ball into the circle where Rebecca McCallion shot just wide.

With most the of the play in the Grosvenor circle it was only a matter of time before another short corner was awarded and Julie Ann Brown sent a long range shot into the back of the net.

Sensing victory, Saintfield were now on a high and they wanted to make sure that Grosvenor didn’t have a way back into the game.

A long ball from the Grosvenor midfield didn’t trouble Sharon Wilson at the back and this is when Saintfield mounted the attack for their third goal. Wilson passed to Molly Keers who sent Sofley through for an amazing individual goal. She neatly side-stepped three players and wrong-footed the keeper to send the Saintfield supporters into raptures at the end of the first half.

Grosvenor played much better in the second half and young keeper Nicola Kirk, who had not touched the ball all match, had to make a save from close range.

From the back, Wilson pushed the play up the pitch again with Megan Cairns running the wing to feed Hannah Morrow, who ran at the Grosvenor defender and just couldn’t get enough power on the ball.

Saintfield put in a professional and disciplined performance, which saw them win the Plate in style.

With a team made up with schoolgirls from the junior club, mixed with a few experienced players, the future of this team is very bright. Congratulations to the champions.

Saintfield Ladies 3

Grosvenor II 0

INTERMEDIATE PLATE FINAL