Bray give powerful display

Loreto Bray coach Alice Errity and her assistant Maura Flahive weren't quite sure who to hug first after yesterday's Esat Digiphone-sponsored Leinster Schools' Senior Cup final at Grange Road. They had, after all, 11 stars to choose from after the team beat High School 3-0 with so composed and powerful a performance that it belied their tender years.

The match was effectively over as a contest after just 10 minutes by which time Bray had taken a two-goal lead. The captain Leah Spillane opened the scoring with a wonderful solo effort, drifting in to the left of the circle before driving a ferocious shot in to the top-right corner of the net. Catherine Murray produced an ever finer score, surging through midfield and slotting the ball low to the left past goalkeeper Natalie May.

High School, while largely overpowered, showed tremendous spirit in denying their opponents another goal in the closing stages, with May, sweeper Adele Camier and centreback Brenda McParland combining on several occasions to deny the Bray attack. Fine work by Debbie Walker, Rachel McSharry and Lora Dolan in High School's best spell of the match midway through the second half threatened to reduce the deficit but the heart of the Bray defence, Sandra Doyle and Linda O'Neill, proved invincible. Emily McManus sealed the win with the third goal in the 64th minute when she turned home Cecilia Joyce's deflected cross from the right.

While one shouldn't burden a teenager with the tag of "she will play for the senior Irish team one day", it's difficult to resist the temptation in Leah Spillane's case, while the same could be said of Catherine Murray and Linda O'Neill and . . . well, most of the Bray team.

LORETO BRAY: L Doyle, S Doyle, I Joyce, A Challoner, C Murray, T Kelly, L Spillane (capt), E McManus, L Byrne, L O'Neill, C Joyce. Subs: G Howe, L Barrie, S O'Toole, A M Lynch, R Freeman. Coach: A Errity.

HIGH SCHOOL: N May, K Camp, R Cox, R Draper, L Dolan, J Hickey, B McParland, R McSharry, R O'Reilly, D Walker (capt), A Camier. Subs: E Holmes, K Baird, K Mahon, S Keogh, M Willoughby. Coach: D Sixsmith.

Umpires: F Brehony and J Girdham.