Purple and Gold, Blue and White — and a Battle Worth Winning
It was a day of Blue and White and Purple and Gold. Kevin’s and Kilmacud. Purple and Gold are regal colours, after all, and you have to have pretensions to take the throne.
At 4pm, a small squad of 16 Kevin’s girls took the field. At 5.15pm, they returned to the sideline.
We always knew that stepping up to Division 1 would be a challenge. When you have a bad day, you can get badly stitched up, as happened against Faughs. When you have a good day, you can still walk off beaten, as we did against Na Fianna, feeling that the game had somehow slipped away from us.
A roller coaster is one way to describe this group of girls. Today was more white-knuckle ride.
But one thing you can say for sure: they have heart and determination to match the skills they have worked so hard to develop.
Kevin’s started strongly, taking some excellent early scores and finding the net twice. The play was open and positive. Our defence held firm, forcing Kilmacud to shoot from distance. With just two inside forwards, Viv roaming from the corner and three players operating around midfield, Kevin’s found space and used the longer ball intelligently to create more chances. At half-time, we had established a healthy lead: 3–6 to 0–8.
Kilmacud emerged for the second half with renewed determination. A few goals and points, again coming from distance, steadily ate into the lead. Midway through the half, the margin had narrowed to three points, then two. With five minutes remaining, it was still only a two-point game. An important Kevin’s point with two minutes left offered us a little respite, but there was no room for complacency. Back came Kilmacud. A strong attack was repelled, but a free was awarded 20 metres from goal. The blue-and-white goalmouth was packed. You could sense it: this had all the makings of another one of those days.
The free struck. The ball drifted wide. Game over. Kevin’s by three!
There was relief, certainly, but there should also be real pride, massive pride and joy. Inwardly I celebrated this for the girls, but we just told them straight. It was a quality performance and we were damn proud of them. As good as they have ever been. Division 1 is a different level of challenge. The margins are tighter, the pressure greater, and even a strong performance does not guarantee a result. This group is finding that out for itself, one match at a time.
For many of these girls, this is their second experience of playing U16 Div 1 on different panels. I’m not sure how many teams we have had in Division 1 down through the years in Camogie or Hurling, but to put it in context. Those girls played 2 or more games this weekend. 8 of the final 15 are U15 and some U14. All wing positions had U14 or U15 players. The entire half-back line was players who are U14 or U15.
They are learning what it takes to compete at this level, to recover when momentum swings against them, and to keep going when the pressure is at its most intense. Today, they did all of that. The purple and gold fought hard today but, but the blue and white had other ideas. It was a great game and a victory hard fought but well earned.
Final score Kevin’s 4:13 Kilmacud Crokes 3:13
Todays team was: Cliodhna Jacobs; Iosald Stanley; Sadhbh Doogan; Aoibheann Dowling; Lilly Gannon; Chloe Madden; Abbie Jordan; Hannah Poole; Eimear Dowling; Alannah Groves; Meabh Ramos Finnegan; Freya McKeon; Holly Farrelly; Rachel Leahy; Viv O’Sullivan; Muireann Kelly.
