Match Day 1

Hello from Wroclaw,

Mags Carey - A-Game v GB U17

Caroline Sexton - A-Game v Sweden

Leanne O'Neill - MVP v Sweden

Caitlin Looney - MVP v GB U17

Well day 1 is over and while our results may not look so good on paper, personally I’m delighted with how the girls performed today, especially in the second game. The rate of improvement was superb and their hunger and desire couldn’t be questioned. Unfortunately a bit of inexperience meant we didn’t capitalise on all of our opportunities but there are plenty of positives for us to take into tomorrow.

Sweden 17-0 Ireland

The girls played their opening game as Irish internationals in The Olympic Stadium, home to Wroclaw’s professional football club Sparta Wroclaw. I was more than a little bit jealous. It made the perfect backdrop for our opening game, adding to what already was quite an occasion. I have to say I was very nervous before the game and judging by the opening few points it seemed the girls were too. I knew the Swedes were going to be strong and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t prepared myself for the result which eventually transpired. But despite failing to score I was really happy with the attitude of the team. They took on board what we spoke about last night and never let their heads drop, they fought for every point and were very unlucky not to score. In a way I’m glad our opening game was against a team like Sweden as it provided an opportunity to get the nerves out of the system before playing the games that are likely to be much closer. Unfortunately because we started every point on offence we never really got an opportunity to implement our zone defence at any great length. The Swedes really made us work on offence and forced a number of turns, they really weren’t afraid to throw themselves around. That said it wasn’t all plain sailing for them either as we managed to turn them in every single point and often got some great offensive flow. Unfortunately it was never quite enough to see us over the line.

Most Valuable Player: Leanne O’Neill

A-Game: Caroline Sexton

Ireland 3 – 14 Great Britain U17s

We went into the game against Great Britain’s U17’s determined to improve on our performance against Sweden, especially our offence. With a large number of our players actually eligible to play in their division we knew this was going to be a very difficult game against the power house of European ultimate. With the score at 9-0 at half time it looked as though events on the scoreboard were going to run a similar course to the first game, despite the fact that we had obviously improved our game. We were just still struggling to convert our scoring opportunities.

Then came a massive second half performance and the character which I had spoken about before. The girls paid absolutely no attention to the scoreboard and went relentlessly in search of a point. When it came, it could hardly have come in more spectacular style. The youngest (but my no means the quietest) member of our team; Leanne O’Neill threw a hammer to her Colaiste Choilm class mate Caitlin Looney (the second youngest member of our team), to get us off the mark. Having failed to score a point all day, we were right outside the endzone and she decided to throw a hammer!  That ladies and gentlemen takes real guts! It was a point which came straight out of Ballincollig. And while I won’t for a moment attempt to claim any credit for it (those of you who have seen me hammer will know I wouldn’t have any right to), I must say I did take great satisfaction in seeing the two girls on the team who I’ve coached in their school since November working together in such perfect harmony on an international stage. We were a long way from the windy Colaiste Choilm Astroturf but it felt like we were right back there as that point was scored.

From then on the confidence in our team visibly spread. Our defence really started to unsettle GB as we put on a zone whenever we could and they struggled to get their dumps off. When we managed to prevent their very talented handlers from hucking long we found ourselves getting a lot more possession. Memorable moments included two hucks from Eimear O’Reilly which were measured to perfection. For those of you who don’t know Eimear, she’s the one who made the team after she out-jumped the Senior Irish Open team’s top points scorer Fergus McAuliffe, when UCC played NUIG at open intervarsities earlier this year. There was also a massive point block from captain Anne Leahy and D’s from almost every other player on the pitch. Our girls were up for this and GB knew it!

We went on to score two more points, Caitlin Looney assisting for Mags Carey before Caitlin herself was back in on the scoring act receiving a pass from Anne Leahy. Sadly we had given GB too much of an early lead to ever make a come back possible but the guts that the girls showed in the second half were just unbelievable. I was so proud of them, to come back fighting despite conceding point after point in the early stages really shows the maturity of these girls. The second half of that GB game has left me very excited about what may await us tomorrow.

Most Valuable Player: Caitlin Looney

A-Game: Mags Carey