Kathryn nets hat-trick as College reach final

The College 1st XI had won a semi-final place by virtue of beating local rivals Banbridge Academy 3-1, and had shown some quality hockey in that game. However the big occasion of a packed Lisnagarvey Hockey Club, in a double header semi-final showpiece certainly had a part to play in the unusually nervy start displayed by the team.

The College players knew that BRA relied on their ability to counter attack and score from their fast attacking forwards, and indeed this tactic seemed to reap an early reward when they converted the first goal midway through the first half.

This goal came totally against the run of play when BRA capitalised on an uncharacteristic defensive mistake by the College team. However it served to spur the Lurgan players into a response. Within several minutes, a heavy hail shower brought proceedings to a standstill temporarily as the pitch became unplayable. The players gathered together with coach Hinds in the pavilion during the break to refocus on their game plan and implement a change in the point of attack. The team that came out after the break dug deep to take the game to BRA and within seconds had forced a penalty corner. Sticking to a planned set play and executing it perfectly saw Kathryn Edgar net her first goal of the day to equalise. Five minutes later Serena Barr set off on one of her trademark mazy runs from midfield, linking well with Alex Hurst and Chloe McCann. The ball was then played back to Serena who drove straight into the circle and unleashed a shot that left the BRA keeper stranded.

At 2-1 up going in to the half time break, it was the turn of BRA to feel the pressure. The College team had found their rhythm and after the restart came out with an awesome display of attacking hockey that their opponents had no answer for. The defensive unit of Shannon Davidson, Jill Costley, Serena Barr and Alex Hurst, marshalled by Naomi Costley behind them was water tight and they fed the midfield trio of Judith Edgar, Bethany Barr and Hannah Grieve superbly.

The midfield in turn showed their true class with the quality of passing that pinpointed the hard working forwards. It was from two of such passes that two more goals were converted. Kathryn Edgar picked up one of these and went on a solo run, beating two defenders and then calmly rounding an emerging goalkeeper to slip home goal number three. Kathryn was again the scorer of goal four, when Chloe McCann latched onto a midfield pass and drove into the circle from the right. Kathryn and Gemma Mckitterick were in perfect positions to support and with Chloe drawing the keeper, the ball was slipped to Kathryn for her to complete her hat-trick.

This was a huge squad effort, with Ellen Mullen, Julie Morrow and Katie Allen all playing an instrumental part in maintaining the College onslaught of their opponents during player rotations. The youngsters of the squad, Louise McKitterick and Samantha Bann didn’t get the chance to experience pitch time on this occasion, but with the talent that these two young players have, they will be champing at the bit to earn some time in the final.

The final will be played on Wednesday 6th March against surprise winners Victoria College Belfast who earned a final place by beating Ballyclare HS after penalty strokes.

All support would be most welcome.