On Wednesday, 8 February, the Bower travelled to Galway on an extremely wet day for their fixture against Taylor’s Hill. The 1st year game started off with very little between the two sides. But as the game progressed the Bower grew in confidence and were very unlucky to have missed at least four goal chances to go ahead. Taylor’s took their opportunity five minutes before the interval as they made a speedy break past the Bower defence to score the opener. In the second half The Bower took to the pitch with greater enthusiasm. Some precision passing from Kate Brennan, Sophie Lowe and Rachel Hanley resulted in a strike from Orla Kelly which ended up in the back of the net. The Bower continued to put pressure on the Taylor’s defence, and Ffion Jones, Grace Concannon and Megan Higgins were very unlucky not to score. A foul inside the Taylor’s defence provided the Bower with a chance of going ahead with a penalty corner. Sophie Lowe pushed to Rachel Hanley whose shot was obstructed by a Taylor’s foot on the goal line. This resulted in the Bower being awarded a penalty flick. Kate Brennan stood up confidently to put the ball past the Taylor’s goalie. Through great teamwork the game finished 2-1. Well done to all on a brilliant performance.
The 2nd A Team were under pressure from the start as the Taylor’s team boasts a number of inter-pro players. The Bower played with great determination. With man-to-man marking Anna McGann, Emma Kennedy and Cáitlín O’Brien never let the opposition settle on the ball. Hannah O’Connor proved calm under pressure when sweeping away Taylor balls in the circle. The second half saw the Bower up their game. Kerry-Anne Murtagh sent a superb ball down the right wing on to Saidbh Beirne’s stick who passed in to Lucy McMickan. Lucy was unfortunate not to have scored as the ball just went past the post. The two teams rallied on. A 0-0 draw was to be the outcome when the final whistle blew. It was a great showing by the Bower. Well done to every player.
