29 May 2006 Leinster come out tops again at interprovincials Share this Article 0 0 0 Shares! 0 Shares! Leinster come out tops again at interprovincials It was another great weekend of action at St Lomans Mullingar as all four Provinces battled it out for the Mick Talbot Cup. Saturday afternoon in glorious conditions the action began with all four sides playing each other. The opening round seen Ulster shock Munster with goals from Niamh Kindlon, Kathy Donnelly and Kyla Treanor helping them to a six point victory. At the same time Leinster and Connacht were doing battle in a thriller and in the end Leinster came out tops by two points helped by a Mary Nevin goal. The football was equally as good in round two with Leinster overcoming Munster by six point thanks again to a goal from Dublin captain Mary Nevin. Ulster made sure of their final place with a storming second half to see off Connacht where Michaela Downey fired in a goal in either half. With the finals already decided the final round turned out to be just a matter of playing the games, as they were dress rehearsals for what was to follow on Sunday. They saw Munster topple Connacht and Leinster cruise past Ulster. It was now onto Sunday and finals day. First up was the Shield decider between Connacht and Munster. The Westerners had much the better of the opening period and deserved their 1-08 to 0-07 interval lead. The goal coming from Christina Heffernan from the penalty spot after just three minutes. After some stern words from Michael Ryan, the Southerners were a transformed side after the restart. Connacht did pull six clear before the comeback began inspired by Limericks Dympna O’Brien who rattled in 1-04 during the second period. Their other major came from Valerie Mulcahy as she fisted home twelve minutes from time. Munster: 2-17 Connacht 1-12 Scorers: Munster: Dympna O’Brien 1-06, Valerie Mulcahy 1-02, Sarah O’Connor 0-03, Juliette Murphy 0-02, Amanda Murphy, Mary O’Donnell, Michelle McGrath and Geraldine O’Flynn 0-01 each Connacht: Christina Heffernan 1-06, Eimear McGlade 0-03, Marcella Heffernan 0-02, Geraldine Connelly 0-01 In the Cup final it brought together the first ever meeting of Leinster and Ulster in the final. With high expectations of been a cracking decider it was all but over by the interval as pre tournament favourites Leinster stormed into a 2-11 to 0-03 lead. That healthy lead was helped by goals from Aisling Jennings (19th min) and a cracking strike from Brianne Leahy (29th min). Kildare’s Jennings hit 1-03 during a dominant opening period. As expected, Ulster battled much better in the second half and held the eventual winners to just a single point for the second thirty minutes. That score coming from player of the tournament Geraldine Doherty. Ulster tried to get back into contention but the comeback never looked on despite a battling display. Leinster always looked in control and it was Gemma Fay that raised the Mick Talbot Cup when all the action was done and dusted. The scoreboard at the end of the 30th Interprovincial tournament read Leinster 2-12 Ulster 0-09 Scorers: Leinster: Aisling Jennings 1-03, Brianne Leahy 1-02, Geraldine Doherty 0-04, Mary Nevin, Tracey Lawlor and Grainne Nulty 0-01 each Ulster: Michaela Downey 0-04, Kyla Trainor 0-02, Niamh Kindlon, Mairead Tennyson and Cathy Donnelly 0-01 each. Player of the Tournament: Geraldine Doherty (Meath & Leinster) Alan Gunn (PR Committee) Share this Article 0 0