Wallace girls aim for glory

Having never previously gone beyond the quarter-final stage, the Lisburn girls will aim to defeat their illustrious opponents who have a number of schoolgirl international players in their ranks.

They will, however, not be afraid of going into the final as underdogs having disposed of competition favourites Armagh Royal in the second round, winning that game 5-4 on penalty strokes after the match finished 1-1 (Rachel Morrow on the score sheet).

They also travelled to Larne Grammar for a tricky third round game, again winning on penalty strokes after Morrow had again scored during normal time. This took them into the quarter finals for the second year in a row where they defeated the traditionally strong Ballymena Academy 2-1, Nikki Millar and Lisa MacDonnell on target with a superb goal.

With home advantage in the semi final versus Victoria College the girls achieved a 1-0 victory which was more comfortable than the score line suggests, captain Tessa Stewart the hero with a well worked penalty corner strike. This win, in front of a noisy four figure crowd, gave the Wallace players valuable experience of playing in a pressure game and should stand them in good stead for what is always the highlight of the year in schoolgirl sport.

Coach Maggie Hunter is pleased with the girls’ progress and would dearly love to bring the cup to Wallace for the first time:.

“We have a very young squad this year who have really worked hard at their game,” explained Maggie.

“ They have surpassed our expectations by getting to the final for the first time but I said after the semi final that we would aim to enjoy the moment and then get ready to try and win the final. Preparations have gone well and we have played some top opposition to get us ready for our big day.”

The Wallace squad contains cousins from the famous Howard Lisburn hockey family. Lisa MacDonnell and Laura Howard have been key figures in the path to the final, while Lisa’ mother Louise is the Wallace manager. They will face up to the three Barr sisters who all play for Lurgan College.

There is little doubt that this has been very much a squad effort with all players playing a vital role in their progress to the final.

The Lisburn side will now try to summon up all their undoubted team spirit and commitment to triumph after a long and exciting road to the final. All at Wallace would like to wish them all the best for the game which starts at 2.00pm.