Ballindaggin Ladies AFC

U12 Premier League playoff

Ballindaggin 0
Curracloe. 0
(AET)
Penalties - Sudden Death
Ballindaggin 4
Curracloe. 3

In what has to be one of the most pulsating climaxes to any of the underage divisions in the Wexford Womens Soccer League our squad of superstars dug deep today to become the DOUBLE CHAMPS for season 24/25.

Ballindaggin and Curracloe have faced off 4 times this year with only the cup final a few weeks ago being a one sided affair where the girls claimed the IFAC u12 Cup on a 3-0 scoreline.

Today, we knew Curracloe would be anxious to prove a point and would fight for everything and so it proved to be.

The game kicked off 15 minutes late and both teams took a bit of a soaking during that period. When the game did start it was the Ballindaggin girls who started brightest, very nearly making it 1-0 in the opening 60 seconds with the ball being cleared off the Curracloe line.

After Doris ran riot in the Cup final, scoring a hat trick, Curracloe set up today to frustrate the Ballindaggin attack and to be fair the tactic worked for a long time. Whilst the girls had the lions share of possession in the first half there was few clear cut chances.

As usual our midfield trio of Sarah, Leona and Jodie were strong, composed and forceful in midfield with our backline of Kaylin, Aoife and Ella linking well with midfield to transition defence into attack on several occasions. Caoimhe and Doris worked tirelessly upfront but the Curracloe backline held strong and repelled several Ballindaggin attacks. We went into the break 0-0.

The second half took on the same format as the first with Curracloe looking to play tactical long balls to their speedy attack. Our keeper, Emilia, in conjunction with Kaylin, Aoife and the newly introduced speed merchant Meg dealt with any such attacks.

Emily came on for Sarah and brought some excellent footwork to the proceedings but again the deep Curracloe backline proved impenetrable.

Whilst not called into action too often today the importance of an excellent keeper was shown to be the case when half way through the second half Curracloe got away down our right hand side and unleashed an excellent shot which was heading for the corner only for Emilia to get down low to pull off a brilliant save.

This caused the girls to up the gears again with our midfield of Leona, Jodie and Emily playing some fantastic football to open up the Curracloe backline and Caoimhe and Doris came close on several occasions but the ball simply would not cross the line.

Full time 0-0

Extra time was a tense affair with Leona coming close for Ballindaggin when an excellent shot from distance was saved and Caoimhe, with almost the last kick of the game, came agonisingly close to the winner.

For Curracloe Stevie Rae got away down our left hand side but Meg, Aoife and Kaylin done brilliantly to s***f out the attack.

Off to Penalties we went.

Doris and Leona converted our first 2 with Curracloe missing their first 2. Aoife converted our 3rd with Curracloe also scoring theirs. After 3 pens Ballindaggin 3 Curracloe 1.

Kaylin and Sarah then came so close to getting the winners but it wasn't to be and Curracloe converted pens 4 and 5.

After 5 pens Ballindaggin 3 Curracloe 3

SUDDEN DEATH

Penalty 6 was brilliantly put away by Jodie and then the Parish held it's breath...............Curracloe penalty 6 was well hit but Emilia pulled off an excellent save and the girls became History makers as they completed the u12 Premier League and IFAC Cup double.

This group have now won the u10 Cup, U11 Premier Division, U12 Cup and U12 Premier Division over the past 3 seasons as well as reaching the Schoolboys/girls Football Association of Ireland All Ireland trophy semi final this season.

To say we are proud of this formidable group of young ladies would be an understatement. They are a credit to their families and club.

Week in week out they play against the best version of every other team and week in week out they rise to the challenge.

A special thanks again to their management team of Derek and Damien who have huge support from Leigh Dreelan Melissa Codd and Syl Hipwell.

Well done girls and enjoy the few weeks off before the prep for u13 season 25/26 starts in earnest. 💪

We're absolutely delighted to confirm that our Chairperson, Sinead Ronan, has been awarded the Wexford Womens and Schoolgirls Soccer Leagues "Services to football" award.

A well deserved acknowledgement for Sinead who has given so much to football in Ballindaggin and Wexford.

Congratulations Sinéad.

A fantastic article in this week's paper acknowledging the brilliant treble of cups at 10, 11 and 12 level 💪

Very best of luck to Marshalstown NS as they head to the Aviva tomorrow to try and claim back to back National titles. Special mention to Ballindaggin Ladies AFC girls Abi, Wallis and Emily. Everyone at the club wish all the girls the best of luck in what is an incredible achievement FAI Schools Wexford Youths Womens Football Club

U11 WEXFORD CUP FINAL

Ballindaggin took on Forth Celtic today in the Wexford U11 cup final in Bunclody. After a fantastic cup run this season, the girls were eagerly awaiting this fixture. Determined to get a good start in the game, the girls battled hard all over the field in the opening minutes and just on the 9 minute mark, Emily Redmond found the net, giving Ballindaggin the edge. Captain Emilia Jordan played many a long ball throughout the game, and was sturdy between the posts, as she has been for the duration of the season. The defence of Chloe Fagan and Robyn Delaney were solid at the back and put a stop to any Forth Celtic attack. Ellen Gethings battled hard around the middle, assisted by Laragh Power who put in a fantastic 50 mins of soccer. Emily Redmond playing up front today netted for the second time just before the break giving Ballindaggin a 2-0 lead at the break.

Determined to drive on, Ballindaggin pressed hard with Caoimhe Warren working tirelessly up front and just 3 mins into the second half, Emily Redmond had netted for the third time. From here, Ballindaggin never looked back. Holly Bolton Lee and Ella Spillane both made a great impact when introduced. There is no better day than Cup Final day to produce the team performance of the year!

Final score Ballindaggin 3 - 0 Forth Celtic

These girls have had a phenomenal year - they have grown in confidence, skill and love of the game. Most importantly, they have become a team of leaders and we are so proud of them. This cup win completes the triple for the Ballindaggin club who have now won U10, U11 and U12 Cups 🏆🏆🏆

Special mention to Emily Redmond who not only scored a hat-trick today
⚽⚽⚽ but picked up a truly deserved "Player of the Match" award.

U11 WEXFORD CUP FINAL

Ballindaggin 3
Forth Celtic 0

Our magnificent u11s have only gone and completed an unprecedented treble for the club meaning Ballindaggin have now claimed the u10, 11 and 12 cups in the last week.

An emphatic hat trick for Emily Redmond completed an unbelievable 7 days for the club.

A more detailed match report will follow

Our brilliant u11s are out on Sunday in the u11 Wexford Cup Final as they try to bring an unprecedented treble of underage cups to the club. We're hoping to add the u11 Cup to the u10 and 12 Cups which came home to Ballindaggin last Saturday.

The very best of luck to the girls and their management team from everyone at the club. 💪

Ballindaggin's mighty u10s took on Camolin Celtic in the cup final yesterday. A great occasion for the girls to be part of cup final day. The girls settled into the game well and dominated early on in the game around the middle. Midways through the first half, Robyn Armstrong took on three defenders and sent a rocket of a shot to the net to give Ballindaggin the lead. This really lifted the performance with great spells of play being played from the back through Aoife Armstrong and Ellen Gethings. Meabh Cullen was solid in the goal throughout the game and had some great kickouts. The fantastic Robyn Armstrong sn**ched a second before half time. Katie Kelly battled hard up front, holding up the ball and making good passes. She was unlucky not to get on the score sheet.

Ballindaggin started the second half full of confidence and Armstrong found the net for the third time straight from the tip. Katie Ryan worked tirelessly around the middle, helping out in defence and also setting up several attacks. Captain Laragh Power covered every blade of grass and was rewarded for her efforts following a goalmouth scramble. Credit to Camolin who never stopped battling throughout the game. Aoife Armstrong and Ellen Gethings showed great composure in the second half and handled any Camolin attack that came their way. Robyn stepped up for her fourth of the game, followed by a Laragh Power one on one with the keeper. Faye Boland battled hard up front when introduced and was so unlucky not to sn**ch a goal. Laragh finished off the scoring with a great volley to the net, giving her a hat-trick.

Huge well done to manager Will and coaches David and Fionn. The girls have had a phenomenal season and we look forward to many more big days ahead. The whole club is so proud of the performance these girls gave yesterday.

Robyn ⚽⚽⚽⚽
Laragh ⚽⚽⚽

Special mention to Robyn Armstrong who received "Player of the match" award - truly deserved.

Thanks also to Bunclody AFC for providing brilliant facilities. It really made the occasion fantastic for the girls to pick up the u10 Cup