11 March 2011

The WSCAI Intervarsities continued in Cork Institute of Technology today and didn’t disappoint with drama and excitement.

In the third round group games this morning, UCC and CCFE battled it out in the local derby.  UCC took the lead early in the first but a well placed equalizer gave CCFE a lifeline but the draw was enough to secure UCC’s place in the Cup semi final. UL were made to work hard for their three points against DCU, with the DCU keeper Susan O’Connell in fine form.  It wasn’t until the final 10mins when UL scored a penalty and a second quickly after to see them top the group. UCD and IT Tralee went right to the wire and only goal difference separated the two sides in the group which saw UCD head to the Cup semi for a second consecutive year. In Group A it was all to play for as all three teams had opportunity to advance.  NUI Galway had to await the outcome of IT Sligo v AIT.  It was all going NUIG’s way as Sligo took a deserving 2-0 lead, however, in injury time Athlone caught Sligo on the break and scored a vital goal which saw they pip NUIG into second.  A result which saw NUIG knocked out and AIT advance to plate semi final.

In the afternoon, the plate semi finals kicked off in style.  DCU got off to the best possible start, putting 4 goals passed CCFE in the first half and eventually won 5-1.  In the other plate semi final Athlone proved too strong for IT Tralee and ran out comfortable 4-0 winners despite a battling performance from the Kerry side.

The cup semi finals lived up to all the expectations of two quality games.  UCD and IT Sligo was end to end from start to finish with both sides creating clear chances and testing the keepers early on.  It wasn’t until the second half that Sligo broke the deadlock but UCD replied within minutes forcing the game in extra time.  IT Sligo proved too clinical in front of goal as Deirdre Doherty rose highest to power home a remarkable header to seal the win and secure their place in the Cup Final.  Meanwhile in the UL v UCC game, it was backs to the wall for most of the game as UCC threw bodies in front of everything that UL threw at them.  It wasn’t all UL though and as the game advanced and remained all square, UCC began to grow in confidence and could’ve taken the lead themselves.  However, extra time was to decide the outcome, with a penalty awarded from a tackle on the edge of the penalty box.  Up stepped Ruth Fahy and made no mistake from this pressure kick to send UL into the Cup final for yet another year.

For photos from today’s games click here

Results: Thursday 10^th March

Group A: Athlone IT 1-1 NUI Galway

Group B:  IT Tralee 2-1 Mary Immaculate College

Group C:  Dublin City University 1-0 Cork IT

Group D: CCFE 1-0 IT Blanchardstown

Group A:  IT Sligo 1-0 NUI Galway

Group B:  University College Dublin 2-0 Mary Immaculate College

Group C:  University of Limerick 6-0 Cork IT

Group D: University College Cork IT 5-1 Blanchardstown

Friday 11^th March

Group A:  IT Sligo 2-1 Athlone IT

Group B:  University College Dublin 1-1 IT Tralee 

Group C:  University of Limerick 2-0 Dublin City University 

Group D:  University College Cork 1-1 CCFE

Cup Semi Finals :

University College Dublin 1-2 IT Sligo (after extra time)

University College Cork  0-1University of Limerick (after extra time)  

Plate Semi Finals:

IT Tralee 0-4 Athlone IT

CCFE 1-5 Dublin City University

Fixtures:

Cup Final

University of Limerick v IT Sligo (14.30)

Plate Final

Athlone IT v Dublin City University (11.00)