The Bower senior hockey team took on Salerno, Galway in the closely fought semi final of the Ward Cup on 18 January in Dangan.
The game caught fire straight away with Salerno scoring a well worked goal after fifteen minutes, despite great attacking play from Aoife Healy and defence from Sarah Lawless. Another quick move later and they were leading 2-0.
There then followed a period of sustained attack from the
Bower, including a long corner before Salerno finally conceded a goal by Aoife which was unfortunately disallowed. Louise Boyce’s goal was saved, but a clever pass from Eimear O’Brien to Aoife Healy yielded a well deserved goal.
In the second half the Athlone players fought valiantly but the Galway defence, which featured several interpro players, held firm. A great ball from Eimear to Louise almost resulted in a goal and Sorcha Casey managed to get over the halfway line with a quick break from the back but these efforts did not dent the Salerno defence.
However the girls were delighted to have played so well and were unlucky not to have notched up more 
scores. Good tactical strategies from coach Gudge Moran ensured that the gap between the two teams stayed small. Sarah Lawless was solid in the back line and Sorcha Casey marked a dangerous number five out of the game.
Congratulations to both teams on a superb display of hockey and good luck to Salerno in the final.
Squad: Alison Carolan, Louise Boyce, Eimear O Brien, Rachel Barrington, Julie Healy, Sarah Lawless, Sorcha Casey, Shauna Moylan, Eleanor O’Dwyer, Louise Kennedy, Aoife Healy, Sarah Kate Fagan, Emma Curran, Katie Ganly, Tierna Maguire, Sarah O’Rourke.