Royal School Armagh win Girls Senior Cup hockey final after victory over Stratheran

The first quarter of the game was a tight affair, with neither team able to score.

In the second quarter, RSA broke the deadlock with a short corner goal by Rhianna Gillespie to open a one-goal lead heading into the second half.

Strathearn School tried to rally back in the third quarter but RSA's defence stood firm.

RSA wrapped up the win in the dying seconds of the third quarter with another short corner goal, this time from Joni Cunningham, to secure a 2-0 success.

RSA captain, Anna McKew, expressed her gratitude to Strathearn for a keenly fought game.

"Thank you for a really great season and a lot of hard work, but we finally got there," she said.

“I can’t believe it. Our hard work finally paid off. That moment of lifting the trophy with the girls around me – no feeling can compare to that.

"Unfortunately we came up just short last year, but we kept most of the same team and this year we won Superleague and now that we’ve won the Cup, last year is now firmly in the past and we are now champions,” added the Armagh skipper.

"But the work isn’t over, we now have the Kate Russell coming up and we have our sights set on that. We won Superleague and we’ve now won the Cup, so this is just another step to add for this team and we’re eager to win all three.

"We can do it one more time.”

Strathearn captain, Niamh Hatfield, said was proud of her team's achievement in reaching the final.

“It was amazing to see everyone who came out and watched us,” she said.

"I think we did inspire them and made them all proud because we had more girls than we’ve ever had out watching us today.”

Ulster Hockey CEO Marc Scott congratulated both teams on a fantastic game.

"It was a close battle, and both teams fought hard. All credit to our champions, Royal School Armagh, on their victory. I'd like to say a thank you to our sponsors Belfast Telegraph.”