In the most thrilling way possible, Railway Union secured their first-ever Champions Trophy in Banbridge on Sunday. The winning moment was when Róisín Upton scored from a penalty stroke in the last moment, leading to a 1-0 triumph over the reigning champions, Loreto. The penalty was given as a result of Loreto’s goalkeeper, Liz Murphy, fouling Niamh Carey, enabling Upton to calmly dispatch the ball into the lower left corner of the goal.
Despite her impressive performance throughout the game, including several dramatic saves and a remarkable diving stop from Upton five minutes before the end, Liz Murphy could not change the course of the match. Although Loreto demonstrated strong performance at the game’s start, especially after their 7-1 semi-final victory over UCD, they failed to penetrate Railway’s solid defence, which had also kept the Catholic Institute scoreless in their semi-final.
If it wasn’t for Murphy’s commendable performance, Railway could have secured a more significant win. The journey to the Championship drew to a close with Loreto suffering a 0-1 defeat to Railway Union, propelled by Róisín Upton’s decisive penalty.
Champions Trophy (hosted in Banbridge) – Semi-finals: Loreto 7 (2 each for H McLoughlin, Y Pratt, R Kelly and 1 for M Jennings), UCD 1 (M Power); Railway Union 1 (A Bourke), Catholic Institute 0. Finals: Loreto 0, Railway Union 1 (penalty scored by R Upton).