Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Railway Union win first ever division one crown



Railway Union 2 (Kate Dillon, Emma Smyth) UCD 1 (Lisa Jacob)
Railway Union claimed their first ever women's Leinster Senior League final in over 100 years of hockey as they got the three points they needed at Park Avenue.

Victory was sealed, perhaps in the most fitting manner, by Emma Smyth's reverse-stick thunderbolt. One of the country's outstanding players this term, her second-half goal with 24 minutes remaining was one of the goals of the season and completed an incredible day on a personal level for the midfielder having received her first full international call* confirmed just a few hours earlier.

It was the decisive goal in a high quality encounter at Park Avenue and was enough to keep out of reach of Loreto. The Beaufort side can still draw level on points but, in tie situations, the amount of games won dictates the champion. Loreto can only achieve 12 league wins while this was Railway's 13th victory of the campaign from 15 games.

UCD had the best of the early chances, with Emer Lucey pulling off a spectacular block off the line to keep the game scoreless. In response, Kate Dillon emphatically roofed a switched penalty corner for a 1-0 half-time lead.

But the students are a lively outfit and leveled early in the second half when Roisin Flinn's sublime inside pass from the left channel, found international colleague Lisa Jacob one-on-one with Helen Stevenson. The Kilkenny woman deftly rounded the keeper to roll in before succumbing to what looked a nasty calf injury which ended her involvement on the night.

And then came Smyth's wonderful effort. Her path to goal initially looked well guarded as she drifted back and forth with her back to goal but she found a chink of light far out on the left edge of the circle and unleashed a rasping, rising shot to bulge the netting and restore the advantage.

A couple of nervy defensive moments ensued, including four UCD corners, but Railway held on to ensure the title.

As the champagne bottles popped in the Railway bar, coach Mick McKinnon explained that a major factor in his side's progression was a new found self-confidence to go with a talent he always believed the players had.

"When I came here, I said I had a three-year plan and year two was to win Leinster and we’re on track to hopefully win something at All-Ireland level, although we haven’t ruled out this year’s IHL.

“I just think there’s a belief now. We beat Hermes in the first league game of the season and a lot of these girls had never beaten them before. That gave them the belief to go on a roll.

"I do get a bit angry when people talk about these players not being very good, I mean there’s been some comments going round; but you can’t coach a bad team to win a title – there’s very good players in this team."

McKinnon has managed to marry a strong professional ethic in his team - aided by his impressive support team - with a certain light-hearted demeanour, creating one a unique atmosphere within his squad which, he feels, has gone a long way to scoring this maiden success.

"I said to them before tonight’s game 'I’d rather lose it our way than to win it someone else's way' but we won it our way. You see the amount of fun we have in this place?

“I wouldn’t coach if it wasn’t fun. After all, this is our chosen leisure time. If it’s not fun, why do it? Every training session we try and have a bit of craic. There’s been a couple of times this year when I’ve tried to reel them in a bit from partying a bit too hard but its part of what they are and what makes them a team."

They wrap up the title with three league games left to play while Loreto have a chance for near instant revenge on Saturday in a vital IHL group decider.

* More on this on Tuesday morning. For a couple more pics from tonight, click here

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great game, well done to both sides. End to end stuff with great skills from both sides.
Good umpiring by both umpires. How come they did not do the cup final?


Good luck to UCD in cup final.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Railway. Great to see them win it with McKinnon's coaching ethos. We're all amateurs and do it for the love of the game, so enjoy it.

Jen Kenefick said...

Railway are ledges!!!!
Well done guys!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Mick, the Management Team and the Railway Squad. Enjoy the celebrations, well done.
Bacchus

Anonymous said...

congrats railway! totally deserved most consistant team in the league this year. great bunch of girls delighted for them!

Anonymous said...

must be one of the best coaches in the country!

Anonymous said...

Congrats Railway, best team to watch this year, 13 wins from 15, deserved winners.

Anonymous said...

In relation to the cup final: the simple fact is that LHUA were instructed to use women only - sexist or what - if your a man and are prepared to go out week in week out to do the top league matches why not can you not do a cup final - and this is only at senior level, all other finals are spread over the two sexes.

Linda said...

As president of Railway Union Ladies Hockey Club, I would like to congratulate the girls on a fantastic season - you have worked hard and trained hard and you deserve it, to Mick, Una and Jonty - thank you

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Railway!! A well earned win! How fitting for both Emma Smyth and Kate Dillon to secure their teams victory, both being the longest standing members of the 1st team! Great Coaching, and what a great attitude! About time Emma Smyth got called up to the Irish Squad... a well earned spot!

Anonymous said...

My god, what a goal!

Anonymous said...

'light-hearted demeanour'- you've obviously never seen Mick when he's cross. Ha ha. Anyway congrats to you Mick and the players. I'm delighted for you, Denise

Anonymous said...

mick's cross rants are very rare and usually very amusing. the man can't stay angry! unless it's directed at umpires.. then it sticks!

well done to all involved. great finish from Emma, she's a superb natural talent with flair and a brain to go with it.

Anonymous said...

Well done to Railway, truly well deserved. In particular congratulations to Isobel Joyce, captain and a stand out player for me at left back. She can be proud of a great season as player and captain.

Anonymous said...

Your are right we need more men umpiring the ladies game. This will help the level improve.

Anonymous said...

don't think it matters what gender they are, just so long as we, as a community, get less abusive and more proactve to get more people to take up a whistle

Anonymous said...

An absolute cracker of a goal...as good as I've seen a long time. Great for her to have it on video. Railway by far the best team this year!

Anonymous said...

So are you saying the men are the best umpires in the ladies league? I notice there was one lady and a man umpiring last night.

Anonymous said...

"By far the best team this year!!" Lets not get too carried away though the IHL is the big one and all the best team in Ireland will win this. Don't mean to take from Railways achivement but not losing any players to the Irish set up is massive and all the top players will be available to play in the IHL making it the toughest and best competition in the country. Lets wait and see how Railway fair in this before calling them the "best team this year".

Anonymous said...

"By far the best team"??? In the Leinster League??

Anonymous said...

As a neutral, the international player issue was touted as a big issue at the start of the year but ended up being a bit of a misnomer in relation to the title race.

For matches, Loreto were scarcely affected in terms of matches, though they may have missed players for training sessions. They got a postponement against hermes on the grounds of a player availablility while they played and won against Trinity without the stars.

Anonymous said...

more pictures??

Anonymous said...

I was in railway bar after the match...and the railway girls were beaming!! it really did put a smile on my face to see how much it meant to them ....especially becuase they did it with their friends.....
their unity is what got them so far...!
well done girls..job well done

Anonymous said...

CONGRATS TO RAILWAY,SUCH A WELL DESERVED WIN,THEY DESERVED IT SO MUCH..THEY HAVE WORKED VERY HARD SO FAR THIS SEASON,AND NEXT STEP TO WIN THE IHL....FERGUS(RAILWAY)

Anonymous said...

Congrats Railway. Most consistent team in Leinster league this year.

Anonymous said...

Didnt think I'd have to clarify but what I meant was that Railway were by far the best team in the league. Winner of the IHL would obviously determine who is the best team in Ireland.

Anonymous said...

stephen anymore pictures??...

Anonymous said...

Well done girlies, Im so proud of you all,u put the work in all season and it shows. Ur definatly ABOVE AVERAGE!!!!!!!!!! Railers is amazers!!!!!!!!!!!!! (this is the 1 and only time ill be using ERS!)

Let the celebrations begin.....
Congrats
Carol Mackenzie

Stephen Findlater said...

That's the lot for the pictures.

Anonymous said...

Raillers for life!!! xoxo
Gossip Girl

fi said...

Absolutely brilliant...well done to the railway squad, coaches and management on the League win. It was so nice to see so many beaming faces - a well deserved result for the tremendous hard work.
it's so nice to see positive feedback on the blog for a change!
(And a few bloggers' names too - how refreshing.)
It is about time that people posting negative comments stop hiding behind the 'anonymous' tag!

on another note, could i take this opportunity to congratulate Stephen Findlater on his trojan work - I hope you get the credit you deserve for bringing hockey kicking and screaming into the noughties! well done....

Anonymous said...

So are you saying the men are the best umpires in the ladies league? I notice there was one lady and a man umpiring last night.

March 31, 2009 4:43 PM

In answer to the above comment: the two umpires who did this match are the best two umpires in the leinster ladies panel - I thought they did a great job, unlike some umpires they let the game flow and it was not all about them but about the players - well done

Anonymous said...

If by "misnomer" March 31, 2009 5:49 PM means that the international player issue wasn't in fact a "big issue", I would have to disagree. I don't want to take anything from Railway's achievements but there was no consistency in the way the rule was applied (for some matches teams were given postponements, others weren't) and certain teams were definitely affected in terms of player participation both in matches, and perhaps more importantly, in terms of training.

That said, this is always a problem for the top teams. If you're a good team, you attract good players which is fantastic but at times they're just not available. That's life. The only thing I think that was new this year is that postponements were granted on an inconsistent basis and against the proclaimed policy. The IHL has always been the true test of standard as every year, each team in the country has had their full complement of players available. I look forward to seeing how the teams fare this year.
Well done to Railway in the league though and, as March 31, 2009 9:01am kicked off with, good luck to UCD in the Irish Cup Final!

Anonymous said...

May I also congratulate Stephen on his blog - its a great facility for hockey followers - also thanks to his photographers for their brilliant photos throughout the year. May I suggest that Stephen be acknowledged at the hockey awards night!!!

SS

Duggie said...

Well done Railway ladies, you've come a long way since the team of the 60s that I remember. Well done also to Emma Smyth daughter of Brendan. My own daughter Eleanor is featuring in the Surrey league at junior level. I must get down to Park Avenue before the end of the season to see the wonder women.