O’Connor Cup Win Team Seals Fifth Consecutive Triumph

Our O’Connor Cup side made it five O’Rourke Cups (Division One Leagues) in a row on December 3rd with a four point victory over UL. DCU Dóchas Éireann won a cagey encounter on a scoreline of 0-8 to 0-4. The low scoring nature of the game doesn’t give a true indication of the quality on display, as both teams showed strong defensive structure and resilience in the game which was played out in a wet and windy Maguire’s field in Limerick.

DCU Dóchas Éireann started strongly and made full use of the conditions with early scores from Eva Gallagher (Donegal) and Aisling Hanly (Roscommon). These score were followed up by additional points from Aoife Cullen(Wexford) and Katie Doe(Kerry) as the game progressed, as DCU managed to take a formidable lead into the second half as they lead 0-8 to 0-2.
 

DCU failed to add to the scoreboard in the second half, but this was largely down to two fantastic saves by the UL goalkeeper in the middle of the second half from Eva Gallagher and Ruth Sargent. The performance by the UL keeper meant that the Limerick based college always stayed in touch on the scoreboard. While at the other end, the DCU defence was not breached often, as UL only registered two scores in the second half, this was largely down to the performances of the likes of Abigail Temple Asokuh (Donegal), Sophie Daly (Cavan) and Jenna Mortimer (Mayo) among others. The defensive effort was supplemented by the on ball composure of recent
LGFA All Star Robyn Murray (Meath), who consistently became an outlet for defenders in possession as she advanced from her goalkeeping position. 

The O’Rourke Cup was lifted by Ruth Sargent (Kildare), who will be hoping to add a fourth O’Connor Cup to her trophy haul, as the Eadestown centre-back finishes her degree in DCU. This victory could well be seen as the sweetest victory of the five in a row for Stephen Duff’s team, as it was won the hard way. A group game defeat against Queens in The Dub in Belfast, sent his team on the road for the semi-final, where they managed to overcome UCC in what was another tight encounter in the Mardyke. Trips to Belfast, Cork and Limerick to land the league title, is really encouraging and managed to create a unity within the group. Following all of the
travel of semester one, the team will have home comforts for their opening games in the O’Connor Cup, as all focus switches to their opening round game in their defence of the O’Connor Cup, which will be against Queens again at the end of January.