Convincing win for Rearcross U-13 Girls

Rearcross U13 Girls hosted Arra Rovers U-13 girls in Rearcross on Saturday morning with a 11am kick-off. This game was played in ideal conditions on a dry spring morning. The first half was very competitive with Rearcross just about edging it, with our defence on top with some really good passages of play ,with our midfield applying a lot of pressure , Kate Kennedy had a couple of efforts early on but found her range with about 15 minutes to half time when she picked up possession just inside the Arra half and ran powerfully towards goal, shooting from a tight angle inside the box, beating the goalkeeper at her near post. Rearcross survived a scare just before the break, when Ewa Kwiecinska and Aoibheann Devitt bravely denied the Arra attacker and prevented a certain goal, leaving the score 1 nil at the break to Rea.
Rearcross started the second half strongly and with our young midfielders of Anna Butler and Maria Collins battling gamely and grabbing possession time after time, which in turn helped Chloe Quinlan and Zofia Kwiecinska attack with menace and from one of these attacks, Zofia grabbed our second of the day with a right foot finish from inside the box. Rearcross were now on top with our defensive trio of Zara Maher, Aoibheann Devitt and Ruth Johnson breaking up several Arra attacks and counter attacking to great effect. Our front three of Kate Kennedy, Anna Kennedy and Ellie O Gorman proving to be a real handful in attack for the Arra rearguard. Rearcross made some positional changes in the second half, with Zofia Kwiecinska and Aoibheann Devitt swapping positions, Aoibheann to midfield and Zofia to the heart of our defence, both slotting in seamlessly. Rearcross we’re now on top and our 3 youngest players, Eve Richardson, Emma Nolan and Mary Hanly entered the fray, all 3 played and moved the ball smartly and from one of these moves, Emma Nolan got upended in the Arra penalty area, having played the ball past the Arra centre half and a penalty was awarded, Aoibheann Devitt took the resulting penalty and powerfully blasted to the net giving the Arra keeper no chance between the posts. Aoibheann got her second and Rearcross’s fourth a few minutes later, when she won a Arra kick out and finished from inside the box to leave it 4 nil. This was a very good performance from all the Rearcross ladies, with our younger girls fitting in well with their older teammates and making big contributions on the day, with some excellent passages of play throughout. Well done to Arra who battled gamely throughout, with a lot of their panel like Rearcross, eligible for this grade again next year.

Rearcross U-13 Girls Panel: Ewa Kwiecinska, Zara Maher, Aoibheann Devitt, Ruth Johnson, Anna Butler, Zofia Kwiecinska, Maria Collins, Chloe Quinlan, Kate Kennedy, Ellie O Gorman, Anna Kennedy, Emma Nolan, Eve Richardson, Mary Hanly

Arra Rovers Panel: P Fitzgerald, M Collins, B Hogan, E Hogan, I Dumitrescu, E Creamer, K O’Connor, A Coyle, H McNamara, S O’Halloran, K Brett, L Connolly, C Hennessy

Referee: Cathal Reamon Mullane

Report by Myles Devitt