Rosina McManus Cup semi-final:
Aquinas Grammar 6-6 St Genevieve’s 4-5
THE all-Belfast semi-final in the Rosina McManus Cup went right to the wire in Cherryvale on Tuesday afternoon with late goals from Honora Sands and Maisie Quilton seeing last year’s Shield champions Aquinas Grammar overcome St Geneieve’s.
The Ravenhill Road school led for almost the entire match, but St Genevieve’s kept clipping at the heels with midfielder Aimee Ferris the star performer and Rhea Hanna, Eliana Grant and Cady Brennan solid at the back with Autumn Connolly-Wallace and Ella Cavanagh catching the eye up front.
For the winners Mary Angela Nic Cárthaigh and hat-trick heroine Maisie Quilton stood out with solid performances from Veronica Boyle and Sophia Little.
Quilton’s goal 12 minutes in put Aquinas 1-3 to 0-2 ahead and Anna McArdle also goaled before Aimee Ferris got the first of her three goals. She bagged another just before the break to leave Aquinas with a single point advantage, 2-3 to 2-2.
Quilton scored her second goal on the re-start. But Niamh Curry hit back with a goal and when Ferris completed her hat-trick 13 minutes into the second half, the girls from west Belfast had edged ahead by 4-2 to 3-4.
That lead last just four minutes with Nic Cárthaigh finding the net for Aquinas. Points were traded over the next ten minutes and with 55 minutes gone it was very much in the melting pot at 4-5 to 4-3.
However Aquinas finished strongly with a point from Katie Christie followed by goals each from Honora Sands and Quilton to see them through to the final.
The second semi-final, between St Joseph’s Donaghmore and St Joseph’s Crossmaglen, has been postponed until January 5th with the decider pencilled in for a week later.
Aquinas: M Quilton 3-0, MA Nic Cárthaigh 1-1, A McArdle and H Sands 1-0 each, E Bagnall and K Christie 0-2 each, G Engman and M Lawn 0-1 each