Moville in another national final 03.03.11

by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent MOVILLE Community College Junior girls team are into another national final after defeating holders Ballina 3-0 in Tuesday’s semi-final at Finn Park, Ballybofey. Two second half goals from Republic of Ireland internationalist Gemma McGuinness added to a first half strike from Sarah Jane McDonald gave the Foylesiders a comfortable win over St Mary’s, Ballina, and a small measure of revenge for the 2-1 defeat to the same opposition in last year’s national final. It’s a remarkable sixth national final for the Moville side, which is all the more impressive given that the school is just 11 years in existence. The school won the U14 title in 2010 and the 2007 U16 title. “Our team is built on some very good primary school teams,” teacher and coach Mags Mulhall said. “Greencastle NS, Scoil Eoghain and Whitecastle schools have all done well in girls 5-a-side in recent years and we have been able to build on that at second level.” “Plus, participation in all sports is given a high priority in Moville Community College and for these girls, it’s an important part of their lives.” Paying tribute to the girls’ loyal band of supporters, Ms Mulhall expressed relief at getting a ‘home’ draw at Finn Park, but admitted that things didn’t start too well for the Ulster Champions. “Ballina started very defensively, and picked up a lot of loose ball early on as our girls were a bit slow in settling down,” she said. “They skimmed the crossbar with a shot early on, and had that gone in it might have been a different story. But goalkeeper Leanna McLaughlin [captain for the day] was in such good form that she would have stopped it had it been on target.” “We were over complicating things a bit, but our first goal came from a simple ball through and Sarah Jane McDonald took it very well. “We introduced Roma McLaughlin at half time and immediately posed more of an attacking threat. She fed Gemma McGuinness for the second goal and after that, we really started to relax and express ourselves. “We have good ball players all over the park and Gemma got on the end of a Roma McLaughlin cross to head our third home.” Ms Mulhall said that the reaction of the girls afterwards pleased her as they didn’t celebrate too much. “They were there last year and lost out, and they’re very focused this time around.” It has been an excellent year for the girls, with seven of them featuring on the Ulster (ie, Donegal) team that won the FAI U15 Interprovincial tournament in Athlone last November. Several were called to international trials after that with Emer Lafferty and Rebekah Henry still in the mix. Moville, who defeated Loreto Letterkenny in the Ulster final, will learn the identity of their opponents later today, Thursday, when Christ the King Girls Secondary School Cork take on Alexandra College Dublin. The national final is scheduled for 23 March.

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