FOUR sides booked their spots in the Stevenson Cup and Bowl finals with wins at Havelock Park.
Dromore High School and Foyle College both progressed to the final of the Bowl whereas Portadown College and Royal School Armagh will renew their rivalry in the Cup final.
The first game of the day saw Dromore High School come from behind to beat a resilient Glenlola Collegiate side 2-1.
After a quiet start to the fixture, Glenlola took the lead in the 22nd minute as Matilda Urry reacted quickest to a loose ball in the circle following a penalty corner.
However, despite a solid defensive display, the Bangor school couldn’t hold on to their lead as Amber Murphy levelled with a reverse strike into the roof of the net before Holly Stewart got the game winning goal with just three minutes of play remaining.
With the game ending 2-1 to Dromore High School, they became the first side to reach this year’s finals of the Stevenson competitions.
In the second Bowl semi-final, Foyle College put in a brilliant performance to beat Lurgan College 4-1.
It took just 10 minutes for the eventual winners to break the deadlock as they caught Lurgan on the break before Lucy Thompson tapped in at the back post.
Just three minutes later they doubled their advantage with Emma Alford scoring a second counter-attack goal of the game.
Meanwhile, Alford got her second goal of the game on the brink of half-time to seemingly put the result beyond doubt, but that was before Camryn Wilson gave Lurgan a lifeline as she converted from a penalty corner to bring the score to 3-1.
However, at the beginning of the final quarter, Ella McLaughlin broke into the circle before finishing from a tight angle to restore the three-goal advantage and seal a 4-1 win for her side.
In the Stevenson Cup, Royal School Armagh overcame Methodist College Belfast 2-0 in the first semi-final.
Following a strong opening quarter for MCB, it was Armagh who took the lead with the final touch before the break as Niamh Smith deflected goalward.
After tense second and third quarters, Katie Herron doubled her side’s advantage when she found a yard of space at the top of the circle before turning and firing into the bottom left corner after 41 minutes of play.
Having gone two goals behind, there was no way back into the game for Methody despite a strong performance as Royal School Armagh booked their place in the final.
The final game of the day saw Portadown College see off a strong Rainey Endowed side with a 2-1 win.
In a perfect start for Portadown, Lucy Megaw opened the scoring after just four minutes as she reacted quickest to a save from Rainey goalkeeper Lola Henderson.
Just six minutes later the side were 2-0 ahead as Emily Adamson fired an effort from the top of the circle into the roof of the net and seemingly set her side on their way.
However, in the closing stages of the third quarter Rainey Endowed were given a route back into the game as Alexa McCrea finished off a well-worked penalty corner routine to make it 2-1.
Despite their best efforts, it proved to be too little too late as a late attacking surge from Rainey was not enough to find an equaliser as they were narrowly beaten 2-1.
Semi-final results from Stevenson Cup and Bowl matches, formerly the Superleague, being played at Havelock Park, Banbridge
Stevenson Bowl (Senior)
Glenlola Collegiate 1 Dromore High School 2
Lurgan College 1 Foyle College 4
Final: Dromore High v Foyle College
Stevenson Cup (Senior)
Royal School Armagh 2 Methodist College Belfast 0
Portadown College 2 Rainey Endowed 1
Final: RS Armagh v Portadown College
Stevenson Bowl (U14) – Thursday, November 7
Cookstown High School v Lurgan Junior High School (10:30am)
Glenlola Collegiate v Dromore High School (12:30pm)
Stevenson Cup (U14) – Thursday, November 7
Banbridge Academy v Victoria College Belfast (2:15pm)
Killicomaine Junior High School v Rainey Endowed (4:00pm)
Armagh huddle
Portadown College celebrate
