After winning the third division championship last year it was a big leap up to the Purcell Cup – effectively the second division – for the Trinity camogie team. Having never played Maynooth University before, Trinity had no idea what to expect, only knowing that Maynooth had been defeated by Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) – the other team in Trinity’s group.
The game started promisingly for Trinity who had the lion’s share of possession. Trinity and Maynooth were tit for tat with Trinity keeper, Kayleigh Veale, making some great saves to keep Maynooth out early on.
In the eighth minute, Maynooth were gifted a dubious penalty, the reason for which was unclear. Maynooth’s Melissa Lyons slotted the penalty home, giving Veale no chance.
Trinity rallied and after a lobbed ball in the Maynooth box corner forward Katie Browne managed to strike the ball past the keeper. Trinity’s Aisling Maher then followed this up with a well-taken free from the 45. Maynooth were firmly on the back foot.
However, Trinity could not maintain this level of dominance and with five minutes left in the half their defence fell apart with Maynooth scoring two goals within the space of a minute and then finishing the half with another goal courtesy of Lyons.
Lyons – a Kildare senior – was pivotal for Maynooth finishing the game with a total of 5-6. Trinity struggled to deal with her pace and touch particularly when she got the ball on the 21.
The spirit seeped out of the match in the second half with Maynooth firmly in control. Despite this trinity continued to work hard and saw a great display from Annie Courtney, who was a relentless presence in midfield, distributing the ball well from play and from frees and putting the full forward line in promising positions. Trinity’s attacks, though, were mainly hindered by a Maynooth sweeper who cleared up a lot of ball throughout the game.
The match finished with one more last-minute goal from Lyons, which ultimately summed up a disappointing day for Trinity. Trinity’s camogie team are now left needing to defeat DIT by a very high score if they are to have any chance of progressing through to the semi-final.
