I caught up with the Women’s AIL match between Cooke and Ballincollig late on Saturday afternoon at Shaw’s Bridge.
It was a bit of a scrappy match initially but Ballincollig enjoyed a golden spell midway through the first half when Michelle O’Driscoll burst through the Cooke defence to open the scoring 13 minutes in. Allison Kelly added the conversion to give the visitors a 0 – 7 lead.
Seven minutes later O’Driscoll went over out wide for her second and five minutes after that out half Kelly Griffin spotted space on the left to round the defence and finish under the posts, for Kelly to convert, to take the score to 19 – 0.
Cooke looked for a response but they were unable to break down the Ballincollig defence before the break, the teams turning round with the score at 0 – 19 in Ballincollig’s favour.
The home team got their account up and running 10 minutes into the second half when a high tackle on the try line led to a penalty try for the hosts, taking the score to 7 – 19.
However, Ballincollig hit back 15 minutes later with Gemma Lane bundling over after a kick and chase.
Cooke found some form towards the end of the game and Niamh Marley, who had a strong game, scored a try late on. Amanda Morton converted taking the final score to 14 – 24.
COOKE: Amanda Morton, Niamh Marley, Teah Maguire, Stacey Sloan, Katie Gilmour, Laura Cairns, Georgia Boyce, Alanagh van Staden, Aoife Cahill, Ilse van Staden, Katie McNeill, Megan Simpson, Cara O’Kane (C), Ellen Patterson, Nicola Sloane. Replacements: Ella Garland, Kirsty Jackson, Izzy Harris, Eimear McQuillan, Jodie Shannon, Daina Marks.
BALLINCOLLIG: Heather Kennedy, Alison Kelly, Shaniqka Wall, Michelle O’Driscoll, Ellen Cournane, Kelly Griffin, Gemma Lane, Ciara Fleming, Aoife Fleming, Róisín Ormond, Gillian Coombes, Laurileigh Baker, Aoife Madigan, Kira Fitzgerald, Tiare Siguenza (C). Replacements: Olivia Hay Mulvihill, Sinead O’Donnell, Eimear Perryman, Saskia Wycherley, Anna Roche, Anna Perryman, Grace Buckley.
Match Gallery
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