Rainey all set for final challenge

Being a relatively new club in only the second season of competition this is a tremendous achievement both for the players and coaches of each team.

Jayne Allen 1st XI captain will be leading her girls into a match with league winners Banbridge 1st XI for the ONE1918 Intermediate Cup, this will be the third time Rainey have met Banbridge this season and the girls will be hoping to put an end to Banbridge’s run of wins were Rainey lost 2-1 AND again later in the season playing with a depleted squad lost 5-0. Banbridge finally topped the Senior 3 league and are looking at promotion into Senior 2 this year.

After 18 league games with 9 wins, 1 Draw and 8 defeats Rainey ended the ONE1918 League season in a very creditable 5th position with 43 goals second only to the league winners Banbridge, in what was a much tougher season than last when they won the Senior 4 league to gain promotion to Senior 3.

Banbridge played only two cup matches on the way to the final, having a bye in the first round, Enniskillen then conceded in the 2nd round, they then beat Annadale 1st XI 4-2 in the quarter finals and Grosvenor 2nd XI 2-0 in the semi-final.

Rainey got to the final the hard way, having played and won four cup games in the process. The 1st round Dungannon 2nd XI 2-1; 2nd round Bangor 1sts went to penalty flicks 6-5; 3rd round Lisnagarvey 3rds 4-2 and in the semi finals we played Saintfield 1stXI 2-1.

The team’s top five goal scorers at present are: Jayne Allen (capt) 9, Lorraine Hyndman 7, Nicole Heaney 7, Megan Mulholland 6, Claire Mulholland 5. No doubt all these girls will be hoping to add to their tallies on the 14th.

Pass back for the 1stXI match is at 10.30am

2nd XI Captain; Kathryn Stewart and her team will face Queens Ladies 3rds in a battle for the ONE1918 Minor Cup following what can only be described as a very impressive second season for her team, after losing only one league match, drawing one match and winning the remainder of their league games.

The team ended the league season on a huge high, winning 6-0 against Mossley in February securing the Ulster Hockey Corporate Coaching Junior 9 League 6 points clear of their nearest rivals.

They now get a well-deserved promotion to Junior 8 League next season. Two seasons playing, two league wins resulting in promotion for the second year in a row is a great achievement for this team. They gained their place in the ONE1918 Minor cup final having defeated Coleraine (2-0) and Owls (3-2 on Penalty Flicks) both teams play league hockey in higher divisions, their opponents for the final, Queens Ladies 3rds. They also play at a higher league than Rainey, having won the Junior 8 league this season winning 12 of their 13 matches and conceding only 3 goals.

The girls are expecting a tough match but are prepared to take Queens to the limit to secure the trophy to cap off a fine season.

Pass back for the 2XI match is at 2.00pm

The players would welcome as much support as possible so if you can please come along and cheer them on.

Finally the committee, players and coaches would like to offer a huge thank you to the management of Dormans and The Opera who have very generously sponsored both teams, also providing the 1st XI with an away top for the finals day as they have to play in white.

This support is much appreciated by all at the club.