Here come the Goode times for Pembroke

LORETO...1 PEMBROKE...1 (Pembroke 3-2 on penalty strokes):Mary Goode and Orla Bell were the toast of Pembroke Wanderers at Grange Road yesterday as the club won its first senior trophy in 19 years, beating Loreto 3-2 on penalty strokes in the women's Leinster Cup final.

Bell's last-minute equaliser in extra time and her decisive conversion in the ensuing strokes competition helped end the trophy drought; Goode's outstanding performance demonstrated why she was called up to the senior Irish panel last week.

"I know I'm biased, but if there was anybody here from Ireland Mary must have played herself in to contention for a place in the Irish team," said Pembroke coach Roy Horsfield after the game.

Loreto were left to reflect on an absorbing final that they failed to win despite dominating from start to finish and will hope to make up for their disappointment in Sunday's Irish Senior Cup final against Cork Harlequins.

Pembroke's coaching team of Horsfield and Gino Barnwell, though, could only marvel at their team's resilience, in the face of incessant Loreto pressure, most notably their defence, in which Jessie Morris shone, but also vital to the cause were midfielder and captain Wendy Moffett and goalkeeper Goode.

Loreto had won nine short corners (12 in all) before Pembroke earned their first, but wayward shooting, a string of Goode saves and brave defending contributed to keeping the game scoreless until the seventh minute of extra time.

Aoife O'Brien (twice), Orla Ryan, Sarah Rand and Nikki Symmons were thwarted by Goode in the opening half hour before Pembroke almost scored from their first significant attack of the game - Wendy Hobson and Moffett were denied, though, by a superb double-save, just before the break, from Louisa Healy, another of Ireland's brightest goalkeeping prospects.

The pattern of the first half remained largely unchanged in the second, with Caitriona O'Kelly and Ryan maintaining their grip of midfield, but, again, Loreto failed to convert their supremacy into goals, despite some exquisite interplay between Symmons, Cathy McKean and Sarah Scott.

The Pembroke defence, with the Morris sisters, Jessie and Jo, at the centre, continued to defend tenaciously, with able assistance from Orla Canavan in midfield, and when they failed to prevent shots on goal Goode proved invincible. Three times she foiled Scott, the second a wonderful reflex save from the forward's first-time effort from Ryan's free. She also denied McKean, Rand and Symmons before the end of normal time.

It was only when Kathryn Henderson came on for Pembroke that they began to trouble the Loreto defence, with the substitute linking smartly on a number of occasions with Bell. Bell produced the pass of the game to set Henderson free on the left but her route to goal was obstructed and Viv Doran's shot from the resulting short corner was saved by Healy.

With four minutes to go a neat one-two between McKean and Scott in the Pembroke circle gave McKean the clearest opening of the game but she nudged her shot just wide of the right post.

Extra time, then. Before taking the lead Loreto had already gone close, through McKean again, and had won two short corners. The breakthrough came when McKean was shoved off the ball by Goode near goal and Sarah O'Meara converted the penalty with ease.

Game over? One would have thought so. Except Pembroke won only their fourth corner of the game, after Moffett's charge on goal was impeded, seconds before the final hooter. Bell kept her cool and fired low in to bottom left corner of the goal.

After four strokes each in the shoot-out it was 2-2, with Canavan and Sarah Clarke converting for Pembroke and Rand and O'Brien for Loreto; Goode saved from O'Meara and McKean, Healy from MacNicholas, with Henderson shooting wide.

Bell stepped up and put away her stroke before O'Kelly's effort was blocked by Goode, at which point Pembroke Wanderers celebrated their first Leinster Senior Cup triumph since 1984 with gusto.

"I'll wake up tomorrow and think, 'Jesus, we did it'," said Horsfield. "The best teams don't always win the cups, but we deserved it because we worked so bloody hard.

"Our season is made. Orla - and only Orla - could have done what she did. And Mary? What can I say? I think we're looking at a future Irish goalkeeper."

"I was five when Pembroke last won the Leinster Cup, our sub Emily Balbernie wasn't even born," said Goode, "and Orla was on that 1984 team. I am so happy for her because it's the Jacqui Potter Cup and Jacqui was one of Orla's best pals.

"She never thought she'd win the Leinster Cup again, so this means so, so much to her. I'm absolutely thrilled for her, and for everyone at Pembroke, it's a fantastic club."

LORETO: L Healy; R Brophy, S Rand, C Grealy, A O'Brien, S O'Meara, C O'Kelly, O Ryan, N Lyons (capt), N Symmons, C McKean. Subs: S Scott, S Cooney, N Keegan.

PEMBROKE: M Goode; C Hayes, Jo Morris, Jessie Morris, E MacNicholas, V Doran, W Moffett (capt), O Canavan, S Clarke, O Bell, L O'Hagan. Subs: K Henderson, W Hobson.

Umpires: K Eppel and C Metchette.