It was a fabulous Friday for our wonderful U11 Football team who won their Cumann na mBunscol blitz last week.

The team played brilliantly throughout the day to qualify for a county semi final.

The day began with a game against our Presentation counterparts from Clonmel. This was a tight affair with the two teams defending superbly from start to finish. Early points from Lily O’Dowd and Emma Egan helped the girls to a 0.2 to 0.1 lead at half time. The second started with a bang as Ava Fitzgibbon found the back of the net to put the Thurles girls firmly in control. Points from Hanna Witkowska, Nancy Shanahan and Sarah Minogue pushed the gap out to seven and from there the girls never looked back. A number of substitutes made a positive impact as Sireen Alhariri, Ruby Gahan, Roisin Flynn and Julietta Wlodarczyk all played their part.

The second group match was against another Clonmel team, namely St. Oliver’s PS. The hard working Ailish Ryan and Kate Lydon up front gave us the perfect start as they helped Ava Fitzgibbon find the back of the Clonmel net in the opening minute. With Mollie Carroll and Eva Mulhaire impenetrable at the back, this game was never in doubt. Emma Egan in goal cleared a number of loose ball and Lily O’Dowd and Ava Fitgibbon made great use of each possession. Ava Byrne, Katie Connors and Faye Byrne were introduced at half time and played their hearts out.

With two wins each, the blitz final would be a Thurles derby with Presentation PS playing Scoil Angela, Ursuline for a place in the county semi final. Scoil Angela raced into an early lead and had a cracker of a goal inside 30 seconds! But not to be outdone or rattled, the girls in wine recovered quickly and scored a fine point off the boot of Ava Fitgibbon. Another point from Sarah Minogue, who’s Kerry heritage surely benefited her, put the bare minimum between the teams at half time.

The second half was a tense affair. Emma Egan made some vital interceptions and Mollie Carroll was immense under the high ball. Arguably the player of the match, Eva Mulhaire was outstanding. She made block after block and dispossessed the Scoil Angela forwards time after time. When a screamer of a goal from Ava Fitzgibbon hit the top corner, it felt as though Pres Thures had done enough. A third goal from Kate Lydon and a point from Ailish Ryan put the icing on the cake as Presentation PS ran out winners on a scoreline of to 3.4 to 1.1.

The girls will now play Holycross NS in the County Semi Final later this week. We wish the girls and their coaches the very best of luck.

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