WOMEN’S IRISH HOCKEY CHALLENGE FINAL
BANGOR 3
KILKEEL 3
Bangor win 3-2 on penalty run-ins
BANGOR Hockey Club’s ladies won the Irish Hockey Challenge trophy for the second time in three seasons last Saturday afternoon, when they emerged victorious in a penalty shoot-out victory after a pulsating cup final against Kilkeel at a sun-kissed Lisnagarvey Hockey Club in Hillsborough.
This was a cup final that was hugely entertaining for the large crowd in attendance from start to finish. The Bangor girls were dominant in the early exchanges and gained the initiative in the 15th minute when Hannah Lawden latched onto a Brooke Stranaghan pass to put the Seasiders in front.
The lead was doubled in the 28th minute when Glenlola schoolgirl Ruby Monaghan unleashed a reverse strike rocket that gave the Kilkeel custodian no chance as the ball nestled high into the net.
Kilkeel reduced the arrears from a penalty corner variation just before the half-time interval, Bangor holding a slender 2-1 lead at the break. They then started to dominate the play at the beginning of the second half as the girls in blue and yellow struggled to gain any fluidity to their play.
And Kilkeel’s dominance paid off when they equalised, again from a penalty corner set-piece, and the final was deadlocked at 2-2. The girls from the Mourne county continued to press and a well-taken goal minutes into the fourth quarter made it 3-2 with just 15 minutes left on the clock.
With their backs to the wall Bangor came out fighting and in the remainder of the contest they once again increased both the tempo and their performance levels. Chances from open play and penalty corner awards went astray, but five minutes from time the pressure paid off when Louise McKibben forced home from close in to gain parity once again at 3-3.
And so it was onto sudden death penalty runs to decide the destination of the title. Kilkeel won the toss and elected to go first, duly converting their first two, but Bangor goalkeeper and captain Amber Dempster was able to thwart the last three attempts and when Lucie McNaught and Ruby Monaghan had converted for Bangor the scene was set for Brooke Stranaghan to seal the victory – she duly obliged to cue the Bangor celebrations.
It was a clash that really could have gone either way, but somehow the girls in blue and yellow found a way. Their desire and will to never give in was in abundance and each and every player deserves huge credit. A season that started out so poorly finished with their Senior League 2 status preserved and two trophies for this young squad.
Reflecting after the game, delighted head coach Gareth Stranaghan said: “I am so proud of these girls. They showed a desire, a will to win, and a never-give-up mentality that epitomised how much it means to represent not only our club but the city of Bangor.
“It’s a day they will never forget, winning an Irish Hockey trophy, and they each deserve it”.
Cup final squad: Amber Dempster (C), Louise McKibben, Stephanie Mitchell, Molly Bret, Ellie Dines, Erin McKinley, Hannah Boyd, Ruby Monaghan, Hannah Grant, Lucie McNaught, Brooke Stranaghan, Hannah Lawden, Matilda Urry, Anna Jackson, Vanessa Monaghan, Rachel Groves, Janna Best, Amy Nesbitt.
