PEGASUS beat Muckross with a gritty performance in the final of the Sharwoods Irish senior cup at Belfield on Saturday. Pegasus winning goal came 14 minutes into extra time from a short corner cleanly struck by Clare Samways. The score was one all at the end of ordinary time.
Muckross controlled the game in the early stages and were rewarded when Triona Bowtell and Kathy Johnston combined down the left wing and released Mary Logue, who flicked the ball across the goal for Clodagh McMorland to coolly slot the ball into the goal.
Pegasus fought back gamely and equalised six minutes before halftime. In an attempt to clear the ball from the circle, Patricia McHugh, who had been defending stoutly, inadvertently pushed the ball into Joanne Campbell's path. Campbell took the gift with pleasure to level affairs.
Pegasus had the better of the second half. They managed to get themselves into good positions, but went unrewarded because of poor shooting. Erika Henry nearly gave them the lead with five minutes to go, but McHugh made up for her earlier mistake by nudging the ball off Henry's stick, thereby preventing a goal.
McMorland was the star of the Muckross team. Apart from her goal, she contributed enormously to their all round game. Logue played a pivotal role in Muckross's attack, as did Cathy Johnston. It was fitting, therefore, that all three were involved in Muckross's goal.
The weekend was not all disappointment for Muckross however. Loreto and Old Alex drew their Leinster League match two all which presented Muckross with the league title. It is the club's fifth consecutive Leinster League championship.
The fight to avoid relegation took an unexpected turn as both Clontarf and Maids won their matches against Railway Union and Pembroke Wanderers respectively. This leaves Genesis at the bottom of the league by one point. Relegation will be decided in the final round of fixtures when the three bottom teams face the three top teams.
The Munster Senior Cup final replay was won by Harlequins, 3-2 who denied UCC a third successive cup victory.
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