It was a great day out for our Club at the FAI Under 12 Girls National Finals Day at the AUL Complex in Dublin. In summary the girls had one win, 2 draws and a narrow loss and conceded only 1 goal which finished them as a top 8 team in the country, an incredible achievement. To put it in perspective our girls looked among their equals competing against the best teams in the Country at this age group, all 16 teams present had qualified by firstly being the best in their Leagues and secondly coming out on top in Regional qualifiers. So.....the 52 seater left Ballymackey at 7:30 Saturday morning . Everyone in great spirits heading for the AUL. The Ballymackey girls had a tough start facing Lakewood Athletic of Cork. It was a really tense game and ended nil all. Ballymackey had the clearer chances but could not get past the Lakewood keeper.
An hour later we played Bohemians FC Waterford and similar to the first game it was end to end but yet again a nil all draw. Our last group game was a must win game and the Ballymackey girls showed what they normally do each week with a 3-0 victory over Westmeath's Real Swans.
It was a great team performance with Clodagh Daly scoring a hat-trick. We then qualified into the shield semi final by finishing second in our group and faced Cashel Town FC. A deflected shot gave Cashel a lead in the first half but unfortunately the Ballymackey girls could not break the Cashel defence and it ended in a loss, 1 nil.
The girls gave it everything and owned the ball in the second half but it was not their day. They represented both North Tipperary and North Munster with pride and several opposing teams from Saturday are looking to keep in contact and play games in the future, another huge plus from the day. The girls were outstanding and showed all the skills of the game, matched the best teams in the country and had great craic with it. A massive thanks to all our supporters, you really made the girls day and especially the U14 girls who came to support their friends. Thanks to both the Ballymackey Development committee and Ballymackey FC who both subsidised the bus and meals for 27 kids who traveled on the bus. There were not too many clubs who brought their Chairman and the top brass from the club so another thanks to George, Eddie and John - your support was greatly received. Thanks to Noel and Tom for all their hard work, time and effort with the girls. Well done to the FAI Women's Department, the FAI Women's Committees, National and Regional who organised and ran this fantastic day. It was a great showcase for the growth of the Female Game in Ireland. Another well done to the panel of girls who are responsible for affording Ballymackey FC such a memorable occasion to remember.
Ballymackey FC U12 Panel FAI National Finals 2019:
Mollie Ryan, Jane Ryan, Maura Gleeson, Lucy Gould, Eimhear Troy, Maeve Cunneen, Ailbhe Treacy, Clodagh Daly, Robyn O Dwyer, Seonaid McGuigan , Kitty Murphy, Nikola Zarina, Tara Mc Cormack and Kellie O Dwyer
