Templeogue Synge Street 2-08 BSJ 5-14
An away game against Templeogue Synge Street is never easy. They are a hard team to beat, been competitive in their championship campaign to date, only losing out narrowly to Lucan Sarsfields the last time out. BSJ had only a narrow win against the same opposition. Small margins.
Historically, TSS have also had a knack for scoring goals, so the final fixture of the championship for the BSJ ladies was always going to be a tough challenge for players and mentors alike. With a rare championship semi-final place at stake, and plenty of supporters hoping for a win, there was an added sense of pressure.
I have been reporting on this team since 2023 and have watched them grow from a sapling into a mature tree under a committed and strategic leadership team. On Wednesday night, all those early-morning gym sessions and wet and cold Monday-night training sessions were rewarded as the team produced one of their best performances of the season.
Within 15 minutes of kick-off, BSJ were 1-03 to 0-02 ahead. TSS are a very good team, but they struggled to get a foothold as the BSJ ladies won the key early exchanges. Our midfield began to take control, and the foundations were being laid for a very impressive performance.
Despite BSJ's territorial advantage, TSS were always dangerous, with a few very tall and strong players peppered around the pitch. Our defenders needed to be at their best and repeatedly managed to rob the TSS forwards of dangerous ball just when it looked as though the home side might create an opening. At the other end, TSS struggled to cope with the speed of BSJ's ball movement from defence into attack. Sublime passages of play were rewarded with another goal, another point and, eventually, a healthy half-time lead of 2-11 to 1-03.
The second half started slowly for BSJ. An early TSS goal, followed by a few sweetly struck points, gave the home side some momentum. They also began to press our kick-outs successfully as the home supporters came to life. Suddenly the scoreline read 2-13 to 2-04. It was still a big gap, but it was closing. TSS sensed an opportunity to get back into the game and were playing with extra drive.
We knew this was never going to be easy, but true to form, BSJ raised their game again. In Katie Taylor parlance, we landed a few well-placed jabs and body blows. Three more fantastic goals followed, putting the game beyond doubt and bringing the final score to 5-14 to 2-08.
Player of the Match honours went to Orlagh and Grace, who between them gave the home defence a lot to think about over the hour. Another great night for the group, their families, the mentors and the loyal BSJ supporters who continue to turn up and get behind the team.
Thanks for coming out to support the ladies. Results from elsewhere filtered in and we look forward to a semi-final on home turf against St. Maur’s.