Cuddy and Dunne to the fore for Castletown against Holy Family
Doireann Cuddy finished with 4-3 while keeper Poppy Dunne made some great saves
Castletown were crowned Roinn 1 Camogie champions after a thrilling encounter with Holy Family Portlaoise that saw Doireann Cuddy deliver a sensational individual performance.
Played in glorious sunshine that required a second-half water break, the final was an entertaining, end-to-end clash between two committed teams, with Castletown’s Cuddy and Holy Family's Poppy Browne providing the fireworks in the opening half.
Castletown 5-5
Holy Family 3-3
Castletown opened the scoring through Cuddy before Browne responded with a point for Holy Family. Cuddy then took the game by the scruff of the neck, hitting two quick-fire goals to push Castletown into an early lead. Browne hit back with a goal of her own to keep Holy Family in touch, but Cuddy wasn’t finished, adding two more goals and a pair of points before the break. That left Castletown ahead 4-3 to 1-1 at half-time, with all of their scores coming from Cuddy. Browne, likewise, had contributed every point for her side.
Holy Family introduced Beth Lindsay at the break, and she made an immediate impact with a goal to reduce the gap, but Castletown maintained their advantage. Olivia Canavan then found the net for Holy Family to bring them within four points, as the Portlaoise school rallied strongly.
However, Castletown began to spread the scoring load. Clodagh O’Connor landed a fine point, breaking Cuddy’s scoring monopoly, before Lilian Bennett struck for their fifth goal of the day to reassert their grip on the game.
Holy Family pushed hard for the goals they needed, but were repeatedly denied by Castletown goalkeeper Poppy Dunne, who pulled off a string of vital saves. Browne added another point, but Castletown were able to keep them at arm’s length.
SCORERS– Castletown: Doireann Cuddy 4-3, Lilian Bennett 1-1, Clodagh O’Connor 0-1. Holy Family: Poppy Browne 1-3, Olivia Canavan and Beth Lindsay 1-0 each.
CASTLETOWN: Poppy Dunne, Keeva O’Brien Holmes, Faye Lyons, Molly Byrne, Erin Cuddy, Doireann Cuddy, Lilian Bennett, Ruby Grehan, Clodagh O’Connor. Subs: Saoire Egan Breen, Naoise Doheny, Katie Kelly.
HOLY FAMILY: Darcie Carroll, Leah Kavanagh, Aoibhe O’Shea, Sofia Murphy, Olivia Canavan, Ruby Browne, Lily Blendell, Poppy Browne, Sarah Skehan. Subs: Katie Blendell, Aine Bannon, Beth Lindsay, Anna Scully, Alannah Cahill, Mya Dunne.