While the junior teams enjoyed an end of season ice cream to reward all the great hockey played this season, the older teams and senior squads were in Munster League and Cup action.
Nenagh's junior boys team rounded off their season with a friendly game against Catholic Institute in Limerick on Frida followed by a post-game bowling and pizza.
Munster Men's Cup Semi-Final
Nenagh 0-3 Bandon
Nenagh travelled to West Cork for their Munster Cup semi-final clash against Bandon.
The visitors played well in the first half, moving the ball well and creating chances. Two short corners were saved well by the Bandon goalkeeper which could have edged to visitors ahead. Bandon took their opportunity when it arose to take the lead heading into half time.
It was all to play for as the second half began but Bandon neutralized the Nenagh threat in midfield and the wing, taking the potency out of the go-forward ball. A controversial goal gave Bandon the momentum while Nenagh were left to chase the game. Nenagh had a couple of opportunities to score but just couldn't find the critical final touch. Bandon's tactics paid dividends and when they scored again in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, the game was out of reach. Nenagh had a couple of chances to grab a consolation goal but some strong defence by Bandon managed to keep them out.
Munster Senior Ladies League
Nenagh 2-0 Belvedere
Nenagh travelled to Ballincollig to take on Belvedere in the Munster League.
The game was a tight contest with Belvedere looking to neutralize the Nenagh attack. A super save by the Nenagh goalie in the first quarter, and it remained nil all heading into the second half.
Nenagh's composure and strong tactics began to pay off and they broke the deadlock finally in the fourth quarter with a well-worked goal by Celia Montero. Belvedere counter-attacked but were held off by a solid Nenagh defence. A second goal came moments later when Grace Mulrooney passed the ball to Aoibhinn Murphy in the Belvedere D. Her strike rebounded off the keepers’ pads and Hollie O’Brien reacted swiftly to tap it in on her reverse stick. With minutes to go, Belvedere kept up the tempo but with a Nenagh's defence set solidly there was no way through.
Munster Under 18 Girls League
Nenagh 1-1 Ennis
Dreadful conditions persisted throughout, the Ennis v Nenagh game which was held at the Laurel Hill grounds in Limerick. The game remained scoreless until the third quarter when Nenagh broke the deadlock with a superb goal from Tara McTiernan. Ennis however found the equaliser in the dying minutes.
Munster Under 16 Girl League
Nenagh 1-2 Kinsale
Nenagh played their last home game of the season on Saturday against Kinsale. The girls were looking to build on two strong performances to earn a long awaited win. They started strongly with some good plays resulting in a goal scored by Lauren Cleary, in the first quarter.
Nenagh continued with a strong second quarter performance with some scoring opportunities but Kinsale had also started to settle a with some good passages of play that were dealt with by the Nenagh defence.
Leading going into the second half, Nenagh had the win within their sights but fell off intensity and work-rate allowing Kinsale to grow in confidence. They put wave after wave of attack and goalie Aibhilin Cantwell, kept the Nenagh side ahead with some super saves. The pressure eventually resulted in an equalizer in the third quarter.
Kinsale fought right to the end when they were rewarded with the winning score in the last five minutes.
"This is a game that we could have won easily", said coach Hilary Curley.
"It has been a long season but today just shows that any reduction in work-rate or intensity gets punished by goals. This is important learning for the girls going forward. Our last match of the season is in two weeks so the girls will rally again for this".