St MacDara’s Community College captured the FAI Post Primary Schools Dublin futsal title with victory over Stillorgan’s St Raphaela’s following a classic final.
The decider proved a pulsating match with a solitary goal courtesy of superstar Ruth McDonnell to seal the silverware for the team coached by the Jason Carey and Lauren Tynan combo.
Indeed, it was a family affair with Ruth’s twin sister playing between the posts, Ciara had a solid outing with some excellent spells of play from Sophie Sharkey, Amy Shiels and Taylor Walker.
The formidable trio of Nicole Fox, Emily McCann and Grace Connor all turned on the style with some neat finishes themselves.
With the late withdrawal of Larkin Community College and no DCC qualifier present, there was two groups of four involved in Tuesday’s futsal action.
The group one winners, St Raphaela’s opened their account with a slender 1-0 win over Loreto Balbriggan but followed this up with a 4-1 victory over a talented Our Lady of Mercy, Beaumont in their penultimate fixture.
The Stillorgan scholars finished their campaign with a scoreless draw against an excellent Kishoge Community College from Lucan to see them top the table with seven points on the board.
Katie Moran Tighe, Sarah McNulty, Lea Carey and Candela Mendez were all on the scoresheet for Fionn Daly’s charges.
In the other group, an impressive MacDara’s made it three wins from three with a full nine points collected.
Carey’s side were lucky to come out of their first encounter with a 1-0 win over the Mount Sackville girls.
Winning ways continued for the Templeogue tornadoes as they doubled their advantage against Inchicore’s Mercy College to claim a 2-0 win.
Woodbrook College played out a seven goal thriller in the final group game with Templeogue prevailing 5-2 to keep their record intact.
The final showcase was an edgy affair with neither team willing to put players forward in fear of a stunning counter attack.
Close controlled possession was the order of the day. Goalscorer McDonnell will be open to watch for the provincial decider as well as netminder Ciara.
