Shield Victory For Armagh Girls
City of Armagh’s Under 18 Girls created a little bit of history on Sunday by winning the Ulster Youth Shield, the first silverware in the history of the Girls’ Youth Section. But what a tension-packed finale!
Near neighbours, Monaghan, were the opposition at a sun-drenched Palace Grounds and had brought a large, vocal contingent of supporters. The scene was set for a thrilling encounter.
Armagh kicked off and were to keep Monaghan in their own half for the first 20 minutes. Each yard was hard fought, with line-breaks a rarity against a strong Monaghan defense. Armagh bullied their way to the line and played penalty advantage after penalty advantage until, with a three girl overlap on the right, a Monaghan hand in the ruck killed the move and exhausted the referee’s patience. Penalty try! Vicky Irwin stroked over the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Back came Armagh again, but an attempted loop move by the backs was picked off and Lucinda Kingham broke away. Gabrielle Fox gave chase but, despite her despairing tackle, Kingham stretched and scored. 7-7.
The second half was an equally tight affair, with defenses dominating. A quick tap penalty released Stacey Fluke. who was halted in the 22 by a high tackle. After some deliberation, Vicky Irwin elected to go for the posts and made her kicking stats 2 from 2, giving her side the lead. 10-7.
With 20 minutes remaining and Monaghan pressing hard, a collapsed scrum left Armagh forward, Kate Crawford, prone on the ground. After a lengthy delay, the match restarted without her and with Monaghan continuing to press. Three times they carried the ball over the Armagh try line, knocking on once and Armagh’s defense holding them up twice. Leah McGoldrick turned over twice to relieve some of the pressure and Zoe Rafferty saved her team with a last-ditch, try-saving tackle.
Unlike “The Alamo”, the defenders held out and the final whistle brought scenes of joy to the Armagh ranks.
Peter O’Hanlon and his coaching team of Harry Doyle and Robert Dougan gave fulsome praise to the grit and determination of their team. First thoughts were for Kate Crawford and a quick call was made to tell her of the win and to hear that muscle damage had laid her low. Everyone at City of Armagh RFC wish Kate a speedy and full recovery.
