It was a very proud day for Bennettsbridge in the national Féile finals

“It was a very proud day for Bennettsbridge,” said manager Alan Morrissey. “It was the first time since 1981 the club had competed in Division One of the Féile.”

What a day it was for the Kilkenny girls. They battled hard from start to finish, beginning with a tough battle against Newmarket on Fergus.

There was nothing to separate these teams from start to finish as both sides shared a point each in this opening group game in Ferns on Saturday morning.

In what was an end to end game from start to finish nothing could separate these two sides in Ferns. The opening half was eventful with goals coming at either end, Holly Ryan netting for the Kilkenny girls.

Once play resumed it was much the same from both sides as they battled hard.

With the final whistle in sight it looked like the Clare side, who were four points up, had done enough but Bennettsbridge fought back with the last four points of the game as they secured a 1-7 to 2-4 draw. Bennettsbridge had Holly Ryan (1-6) and Katie Mulcahy (0-1) to thank for helping them start the day with a point on the board.

Game two saw the Kilkenny side beat Granagh Ballingarry by 1-4 to 0-4, a Mia Rusnak goal proving to be the difference.
In another tightly contested game Grannagh tried hard but couldn’t break through a resolute Bennettsbridge rearguard. The only goal of the game came when Mia Rusnak drilled an unstoppable effort past the Limerick ’keeper. Holly Ryan top scored for her side, adding another 0-4 to her tally.

In the final game to determine their semi-final placings the Kilkenny girls produced a fine performance against Galway’s Athenry, grabbing a last minute point to ensure they would remain unbeaten in this tough group.

In all their games the sturdy Bennettsbridge defence were practically watertight, but eventually Athenry broke through for that elusive goal. This was the difference between the sides as they kept one point ahead until nearly the final whistle.

The tie was levelled with the last puck of the game (0-6 to 1-3) as the Kilkenny girls, who never lost their cool, showed composure beyond their years to stay unbeaten in the group. The scores in this nerve racking tie came again courtesy of Holly Ryan (0-5) and Katie Mulcahy (0-1).

Having finished second in the group Bennettsbridge took on Boherlahan-Dualle in the cup semi-final on Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t to be for the Bennettsbridge girls in the semi final as they went down 3-7 to 0-7 against the eventual champions.

The winners, who had a team of 12 nearly all on the age, were just too good in the end . Bennettsbridge did get close to them however, with another 0-5 from Holly Ryan along with 0-2 from Katie Mulcahy leading the way.

Despite the loss manager Morrissey spoke of how proud he was of a team with a wide variety of ages on it..

“We achieved enormous things as our squad ranged from girls aged 11 all the way up to 15,” he said.

This experience may prove crucial in the next few years as these girls come up through the age groups . With such a young team who knows - the ’Bridge could be seen in the Féile again for the next few years.

Bennettsbridge - Leah Croke, Alice Nelson, Katie Holden, Sadhbh Hennessy, Amy Hughes, Erin Morrissey, Eve Byrne, Lauren Skehan, Katie Mulcahy, Sarah Forde, Holly Ryan, Lilly Mai Meighan, Kate Martin, Kayla Wall, Hollie Meighan, Isabel Nelson, Mia Rusnak, Aoibhe Walpole, Hannah Walpole, Alannah Drea, Brid Bolger, Isabel Brennan, Lily Dooley, Leah Farrell, Kristy Ozola.

Management team - Paul Forde, Alan Morrissey, Bruce Nelson, Kevin Ryan, Caoimhe Shiel, Sinead Wall.