Westport's Sacred Heart secure back to back All Ireland final appearances

ALL IRELAND POST PRIMARY SCHOOL SENIOR A SEMI-FINAL

Sacred Heart Westport 1-10

Maynooth Education Campus 0-8

It will go down as one of the greatest victories in Sacred Heart history.

To make a second consecutive All Ireland senior final, in the fashion they did, can be nothing but admired.

It was no easy task for the Westport side.

Maynooth Education campus were a skilled team, with the majority of their side donning county colours at different age groups. However, after Mayo U-16 Aoife Meaney, kicked the opening point in the first minute, Westport did not look back.

Sacred Heart were leading 0-2 to 0-0 with 12 minutes played, when Maynooth wing forward, Aoife Murnane, saw a straight red card.

However, the Leinster Champions did not let their heads drop, and after some excellent displays from both defences, the teams went in at the interval with Westport leading 0-5 to 0-3.

Despite the extra player, the two-point lead far from guaranteed Westport the win.

The second half was a cagey affair. With 40 minutes played, Maynooth Education Campus trailed by a single point. That was until Player of the Match, Sarah Mulroy broke past three defenders and rattled the back of the net for the Sacred Heart.

After that, the Connacht champions kept their composure and played patient football to see out the game.

Sacred Heart will be looking to erase the heartbreak of last year’s final, when they take on Our Lady’s Castleblayney of Monaghan, in this year’s All-Ireland Final.

Read a full report and reaction in Tuesday’s edition of The Mayo News.