Railway leave it late to see off doughty Trinity

Railway Union 2 Trinity 1

Railway Union's star women Kate Dillon and Emma Smyth eventually found the touch of finesse their side needed to break down a stubborn Trinity defence to claim their third Jacqui Potter Cup title in four seasons.

On paper, this looked set to be a cake walk for Railway but Trinity proved doughty fighters against a side laden with international talent. They found Laura Stephens and Vera Taaffe immaculate in defence while goalkeeper Charlotte Dunne pulled off six top drawer saves inside the first 15 minutes alone.

For Railway, while their approach play was fluid, their shooting was wayward, suffering a series of miscues throughout. It almost cost them dear as Maeve Reidy got the students in front from just their second of two attacks in the entire game. Anna May Whelan instigated it with a sweep into the circle finding Hannah Clark who redirected the ball to the right post where Reidy was waiting to tap in.

From there on, wave upon wave of Railway attacks were repelled while their penalty corner did not function with 11 going unconverted. But the Sandymount side eventually got level in the 59th minute after Stephens had twice cleared off the line.

Kate Dillon duly picked up the ball from a long corner, burst into the circle and flicked past Dunne at the near post. She subsequently played a key part in the winner five minutes later, stealing the ball on the edge of the circle and squaring for Smyth who half-volleyed home first time.

Elsewhere, Cork Harlequins confirmed their Munster Division One title courtesy of an emphatic 4-0 win over Catholic Institute in Rosbrien.

TRINITY: C Dunne, E McErlean, A Spain, H Clark, V Taaffe, A Naughton, A-M Whelan, L Stephens, A Dooley, C Dunne, A Boland, S Marshall. Subs: R Coleman, A Elliott, H Conway, M Reidy, S Boucher.
RAILWAY UNION: R Barnett, K Dillon, Z Delany, H Jenkinson, J McDonnell, E Smyth, E Dolan, S Hawkshaw, S Dooley, O Fox. Subs: G O'Flanagan, K Lloyd, J O'Halloran, R Clifford, E Lucey, N Telford.