Newry Olympic Ladies 0-6 Banbridge Ladies 2s (Inter Cup)

On Saturday 4^th December Newry Olympic Ladies played Banbridge Ladies 2nds in the Intermediate Cup. The Newry girls knew it was going to be a tough local derby and so it proved to be.

Olympic won the toss and from the pass back worked hard to drive forward with the ball, but Banbridge made it difficult for the home side with their quick tackling. It wasn’t long before Banbridge won their first penalty corner and the resulting shot was deflected into the net by a Bann striker running in at the right post. It was a well rehearsed move and put them one nil up.  Newry kept their heads and with some good passing among the mid-field and forwards had a couple of chances, but Banbridge were quick to retaliate, making their way back down the pitch to score from another penalty corner, ending the first half 2 nil up.

Into the second half and Newry continued to face pressure from the Banbridge side, but Newry's defence worked well to clear the ball from the circle. Sweeper Chrissie McAuley made great hits down the pitch giving Newry a chance to reform. Banbridge worked well getting the ball from their backs to their midfield and it wasn’t long until the ball was smashed into the Newry circle and deflected into the goal by one of the away side's forwards giving them their third goal.  Newry didn’t have too many chances towards the end of the second quarter, but kept strong in their defending until Banbridge won another penalty corner which was again well deflected by a Bann forward securing them their fourth goal to finish the first half.

The second half started the same as the first with continued pressure from the Bann side, but with great defending from Chrissie McAuley and Abbey Haire and with super saves from goalie Katie McCullough, the score remained the same until minutes from the end of the third quarter when Bann scored yet again from a penalty corner.

Into the final quarter and Bann were determined to score as many more goals as they could until the final whistle, but Newry kept fighting and worked the ball well from the backs to the mid field who tried to give forwards Laverne Inns, Jodie Freeman and Emma-Jayne Moffett a chance to hit the circle, but Bann were always quick to intercept. They once again sent the ball crashing into the Newry circle where it was deflected towards the goal bouncing off keeper Katie’s pads into the goal, ending the match 0-6 to Banbridge.

It was a tough game for the Olympic ladies against a strong Banbridge side, but they kept fighting to the very end and made super tackles throughout. 

Newry play Limavady ladies on Saturday 11^th December, their last league match of 2021.

Newry Olympic Ladies 1s:

Katie McCullough, Kathy Baird (Captain), Laverne Inns, Rachael Greer, Chrissie McAuley, Sarah McNeilly, Abbey Haire, Stephanie Smart, Rebecca Murdock, Emma-Jayne Moffett, Sara Adams, Jodie Freeman