HOLDERS Royal School, Armagh will face their Orchard County near neighbours Portadown College in the Wednesday, March 6 final of the Belfast Telegraph Schoolgirls’ Senior Cup.
And the Portadown girls will have a double incentive, aiming to land the trophy as a silver lining to the famous old school’s centenary year celebrations and at the same time denying Armagh a double after Portadown lost to them in the schools Super League final earlier in the school year.
The official dinner takes place two nights after the final with celebrated ‘old girls’ Lady Mary Peters and TV’s Gloria Hunniford as guests of honour and both would be delighted to share the top table with the Telegraph Cup.
But first they must overcome a stern challenge from Armagh. Portadown booked their place in the decider with a 3-1 win over Ballyclare High in the semi-final at Stormont PlayBall, thanks to Sophie McMahon’s double strike and one from Emily Adamson.
Armagh reached their third straight Senior Cup Final with a 4-2 win over Rainey Endowed in the second semi-final with Joni Cunningham on target twice. Stormont will also host the final with an evening push-back in a break from the traditional afternoon start.
With their added incentives, Portadown captain Rachel Lennon admitted: “It would mean so much to win this
“Most of us came up through Killicomaine Junior High where we won the Junior Cup, so to do the same in the Senior Cup would mean so much. This team is just one big friend group.
“Everyone’s happy with how we played in the semi-final and we’re going to try and play the same way in the final. I’d love to beat Armagh. That would make my life complete.”
Sophie McMahon struck twice before half-time, along with a goal from Emily Adamson, to put Portadown firmly in command in their semi-final with Louise Nesbitt netting a late consolation for Ballyclare.
In the second semi, double goalscorer Joni Cunningham struck from two penalty corners either side of half-time, with Scarlett Taylor and Daisy Nicholson also firing home, to underline Armagh’s determination to hold onto their title. Evie Duncan had given Rainey hope with a goal after just two minutes but Armagh responded quickly with three goals in a seven minute blitz before the end of the first quarter.
Joni Cunningham was first off the mark with a fine finish from a penalty corner, Scarlett Taylor made it two and Daisy Nicholson added a third before Rainey hit back with a superb strike from Georgina McGuickin, putting them back in the game at 3-2 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Joni Cunningham’s second six minutes from time proved the insurance goal for Armagh.
As they began looking forward to another final, their co-captain Ellie Stevenson said: “We know Portadown quite well as we played them in the Super League Final and in the group stages. A lot of the girls play for the Armagh and Portadown clubs, so this is going to be a rivalry game for us.”
Fellow co-captain Annie Cunningham, the sister of double goalscorer Joni, added: “It’s a surreal feeling. It’s not often you get to play in back-to-back finals so we’re very excited to see what we can get out of it. We have a different team, it’s a different opponent, we don’t know what to expect.
“I love to see Joni get a goal. It’s another Cunningham on the scoreboard, so if I don’t score, it’s great that Joni did.”
Belfast Telegraph Schools Cup finalists Portadown College (above) and Royal School, Armagh (below)
Armagh’s Joni Cunningham (centre) takes goal salute
