Eleanor Ryan Doyle of Blanchardstown IT stood head and shoulders above all others once again on a frenetic Thursday night which saw the end of Dublin University Ladies Association Football Club’s (DULAFC) promotion hopes for another season at the semi-final stage. While Blanchardstown ran out 5-1 winners, the fixture was closely contested and not reflective of Trinity’s previously successful season.
The reverse fixture, characterised by erratic weather and a Ryan Doyle intervention to swing the match from 3-2 to 8-2 in the home side’s favour, laid the blueprint for what was to come on an important night which saw 13 Trinity “A squad” players available for the first time this season.
With a squad of 17 travelling from Blanchardstown, the crucial nature of the fixture to both sides was palpable, with both seeking to progress to Premier Division standing having impressed earlier in the season. Blanchardstown remained favourites on the merits of their impressive performance earlier in the season, despite Trinity progressing further at intervarsities and qualifying for the futsal national finals.
Trinity lined out in bold fashion, operating a 4-1-4-1 formation, playing traditional wingers Amina Moustafa and Aisling McGowan in the full back positions in order to counteract the visitor’s searing pace on the flanks which had troubled DULAFC earlier in the season. Rogan Dolan and Charli Lynch threatened early with shots on goal, but the best chance fell to lone striker Katherine Marsh, whose shot grazed the post on the way wide.
The visitors eventually grew into the game, however, with a cross from the right wing putting the Trinity defence on notice for the first time. They would have been relieved to watch it sail beyond the Blanchardstown attackers. The home side were less fortunate 10 minutes later as another break down the right wing beyond Moustafa allowed Clarke Doyle to collect a good ball and slot coolly into the corner of the goal to open the day’s scoring.
The breakthrough tilted proceedings with Blanchardstown offering the offensive threat that Trinity had earlier held. Centre halves Aoife Robinson and Holly Milne worked hard to relieve the strain on the Trinity high line, but a penetrating through ball by the northsiders saw goalkeeper Nicole Hanley called into action to keep out a precise finish with her trailing leg. Just minutes later, however, Clarke Doyle would not be denied.
Collecting the ball deep, she immediately looked to run at the DULAFC defence, winding her way through five Trinity would-be tacklers. Two excellent blocks from McGowan and Robinson delayed but could not prevent the Irish U19 star from finishing superbly into the top left hand corner.
With five minutes left in the first half, the pressure was on Trinity to grab a goal before half-time to remain in the contest. Three close efforts flew narrowly wide and somehow the home side remained goalless at the half.
With Captain, Harriet Haslehurst, entering the fray at the recommencement of proceedings, optimism remained high despite the score line. Momentum continued in Trinity’s favour with a goal line scramble resulting from the mucky, unpredictable home surface. Anita Gray and Aoife McGowan both saw efforts blocked while Aine Tucker and Katherine Marsh’s attempts were saved well by the visiting keeper. Resolute defending and last ditch saves eventually saw Blanchardstown relax the weight of Trinity’s frenzied pressure.
With Trinity frustrated, the pendulum soon swung back the other way, and with heads dropping, the northsiders soon pushed forward again, drawing on the remnants of their energy reserves. A lunge from Gray inside the box was controversially deemed a foul by the referee. Clarke Doyle duly tucked away her hat-trick goal in emphatic fashion, driving the ball to her right and sending Hanley the wrong way in the process.
Having been denied on so many occasions and feeling slighted by the referee, the urgency and desire that had characterised their near misses evaporated into the last of the February sun which had been bookended by bouts of rain. A period of unparalleled dominance on the night saw Blanchardstown missing their own array of opportunities. Clarke Doyle, however, had yet more to say on the occasion, sliding a weighted ball through the DULAFC defence and the thick sludge that had settled and allowing a Blanchardstown runner to finish well. Like the rain, Clarke Doyle ended proceedings as she’d opened them, weaving between three defenders before finding the top corner with a neat finish.
Perhaps the presence of DULAFC’s second and third top-scorers this season, Sara McGeough and Tara Kennedy, would have provided the clinical edge needed to threaten the contest on the scoreboard as well as the pitch. For now, however, it is another season of division one football for the ladies’ outfit, while Blanchardstown will battle Dublin IT or Carlow IT for promotion. DULAFC remain in contention for honours this season, as they meet Ulster University Jordanstown in the intervarsities final in March and a home colours tie against great rivals, University College Dublin (UCD).
