Colga girls have advanced to the final of the u-14 Irish Cup - the first team in the club’s short history to reach the finals of a major competition.
They did so with a tight but convincing win over St Joseph’s, and they now play Longford in the final on August 30 at Terryland Park (3pm ).
Colga produced a great team performance. The midfield controlled the game; the back line was in commanding form; and the forwards did all the running to produce three superb goals.
Now drawn at home in the final, Colga will be looking to continue their 100 per cent unbeaten record to claim the seasonal silverware.
On Sunday in Mervue the Dubliners opted to play with the breeze after winning the toss, but it made little difference as Colga took control of this game from the start. With Keara Cormican and Leah Philips in commanding form, Colga kept St Joseph’s on the back foot, but for all their possession they failed to convert any of their attacks into a goal.
On 15 minutes they paid the price when the Colga defence misjudged the bounce from a punt down field by the St Joseph’s goalie, and the result saw one of the Dublin forwards chip over Soirse Burke in the Colga goal.
It did not get any better when Colga were awarded a penalty but failed to convert. However, keeping their heads, Colga continued to press forward and were rewarded with an excellent strike from Leah Philips just before half time.
The Dubliners, however, regained the initiative in the second half, but Colga weathered the storm with the game finishing in a 1 - 1 draw. Twenty minutes of extra time was needed to seperate the sides. Again Colga continued their dominance and were rewarded with a great goal from Lisa Casserly who broke down the right hand side and, from 25 yards out, delicately chipped the goalie. This allowed Colga to settle t better and they were rewarded again with another effort from Anna Lane to seal the issue.
The Galway girls did take the foot off the pedal which allowed St Joseph’s back in with a goal four minutes from time, but Colga held on for a deserved victory.
