By 
CAMOGIE- ALL-IRELAND INTERMEDIATE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP SEM-FINAL
IT was an Ulster title won in unforgettable fashion last Saturday by a delighted Eglish squad who are now focused on this Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final with Ballincollig (Cork).
Last weekend’s 1-10 to 0-12 victory over a gallant Crossmaglen team at Eoghan Ruadh Park in Dungannon is a scoreline that rightly suggests a tight tussle but the story of this keenly contested replay runs deeper than that. The destination of the Ulster trophy hinged on a penalty that Eglish keeper Brenda Horsfield fired to the net with time virtually up. What a way to win a coveted Ulster crown!
Midfielder Reagan Fay was congratulated afterwards by well wishers that included her proud grandfather, Jim Fay, who was a renowned player in his footballing days with Eglish. Reagan also picked up the Player-of-the-Match accolade on but she very quickly expressed praise for the whole team.
This was an Ulster triumph that owed so much to the collective Eglish effort and spirit, as Reagan explains:
“ I am so proud of every single girl on the squad. Young players stepped up this year and pushed hard for places.
“The backbone of the team was missing from last year plus we had some injuries but we managed to come through a close county championship before encountering Crossmaglen over 120 minutes of hard camogie.
“ We went into the first game against Crossmaglen not knowing much about them. They were strong and speedy, so we were expecting another very tough game in the replay. We had to up our own intensity plus pace and we really brought it all.
“ The week between the draw and replay saw us work hard and our defence put in a great performance on Saturday, cutting out a lot of the Crossmaglen attacks. They were not able to score as much from play this time but the pressure was still on and we had to chase the game the whole way.
“ We managed to get the break very late on and a big shout out to Brenda(Horsfield) who answered the call to come out of retirement this year. She played in nets and got us over the winning line with by putting that penalty in the back of the net on Saturday,”, stressed the midfielder.
The Ulster celebrations were put on ice early since Eglish face the challenge of Ballincollig from Cork in an All-Ireland semi-final this Sunday. Ballincollig won their county title before landing the Munster club title when they got the better of Moycarkey Borris at the final hurdle. Leah Hannigan scored 2-2 for Ballincollig as her team battled to a great win. Goalkeeper Ana Hartnett won the Player-of-the Match award after a string of good saves.
Reagan Fay and the St Patrick’s camp are ready for a tough test this Sunday then as attention turns to the All-Ireland phase:
“ We will go out and play our own game, trying to bring that same intensity and pace. The talent and determination within the Eglish camogie camp overall helped to bring us the Ulster title. For me personally, this Ulster win after such tough games was the best of my camogie career and now we must aim to give the All-Ireland semi-final a real rattle.
‘’ Antoin (McCaffery) and Leona (Gallagher) coming on board this year in the management has really brought the young girls on. The whole squad is showing great heart, hunger plus a never-say-die spirit and now we need to bring that again on Sunday,’’ added Reagan.
Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final(November 30th) is scheduled for Glenisk O’Connor Park in Tullamore at 1-00pm as Eglish strive to keep a great championship run going this side of Christmas.
