Cork U-16s hunger for All-Ireland Title

On Saturday next Tuam Co Galway, will be the venue
for the eagerly awaited All-Ireland under 16 final. Cork will
be bidding to regain the title they won last in 2005. They will
be aiming to erase the bitter memory of last years loss in the
final to Dublin when they were in line for 3 in a row, something
which we know is very difficult to achieve and which the Seniors
are on the threshold of. This Cork squad has shown huge commitment
but their form has been inconsistent at times. They struggled
big time in the Munster Semi-final against Clare and produced
a master class performance when they blitzed Kerry on a scoreline
of 7-8 to 2-10 in the Munster Final. They came up against the
Kingdom girls a few weeks later in the All-Ireland Semi. Kerry
had shown their real quality the week before defeating Championship
favourites and title holders Dublin in the quarter final. Cork
travelled to Killorglin in confident mood but that confidence
or complacency was rudely awakened when, Kerry hit them with everything
and opened up an 8 point gap coming up to halftime. Cork improved
a little and reduced the deficit by 2 before the short whistle.

The Cork under 16 team who play Donegal in the under 16 All-Ireland final at Tuam Co Galway on saturday next.

They got a good start to the 2nd half and gradually
reduced the margin down before taking a 2 point lead with time
running out, a few basic errors saw Kerry score 4 unanswered points.
The show looked over with 5 minutes of injury time elapsed then
Orla Finn used her sprinting prowess to run on to a ball inside
the Kerry defence. She was brought down on the edge of the square
and Yvonne Cahill dispatched the penalty expertly to the corner
of the net to get Cork out of jail.

Cork have a score to settle with the Donegal girls who defeated
them 2 years ago in the Under 14 All-Ireland Semi. Surprisingly
Cork have lost the majority of that team but the current bunch
with only a few of them having secured All-Ireland medals will
definitely be hungry. If they are to win, the real focussed Cork
of the Munster final performance must turn up. The return to school
has made things more difficult from a training point of view and
while last year the turn out at training was poor, at this stage
this year it has been excellent and they have shown good form
in challenge matches against the Cork Senior B team and against
St Val’s Senior team.

Cork under 16 Management team LtoR Charlie McLaughlin, Neilus Carroll, Con O’Sullivan, Kathleen Kearney, Fr Liam Kelleher Ted 0’Donovan

Underage games can be notoriously fickle and a lot
will depend on how right the mental attitude will be on the day,
there is no doubt in my mind that it will be right from Cork’s
point of view, because we have worked particularly hard on this
aspect.

Cork team panel for Final: Caoimhe O’Callaghan capt Erins Own
Claire O’Connor, Boherbue. Niamh O’Keefe, Erins Own Maureen O’Sullivan.
Beara Donna Smyth,Carrigaline.Sinead O’Reilly, Passage Beulah
McManus, Clonakilty Julie McCarthy, Gabriel Rangers Aine O’Leary,
Cilmin Orlaith Farmer Midleton, Aoife Scally, Eire oG Marie O’Donovan,
Cilmin Orla Finn Kinsale, Leanne Kearney, Inchigeelagh/Ballingeary
Ciara Sherlock, Liscarroll, Yvonne Cahill, Nemo Rangers Claire
Keohane, Inch Rovers.Niamh O’Regan,Mourneabbey Caroline O’Connor,
Boherbue Joanne O’Brien, Glanworth, Kate Harrington, Midleton
Sarah Harrington, Midleton Ciara Harrington, Mourneabbey, Deirdre
O’Driscoll, Dunmanus Rovers, Patricia Dunne, Beara Niamh Crowley,
Bantry Sinead O’Neill Clonakilty, Denise Cronin Liscarroll, Emily
O’Callaghan, Erins Own. Jessica O’Shea Inch Rovers. Stephanie
Beausang Carrigtwohill. Lorraine O’Sullivan Bantry