21/09/2026
Moyne Villa U15 girls travelled to Loughrea on a beautiful sunny day for a special occasion: the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Moyne Villa made a flying start, going 4–0 up after just 19 minutes, but the scoreline didn’t tell the full story. Loughrea showed great determination and never allowed the visitors to become too comfortable, continually testing our defence and GK Sarah R., who produced a handful of brilliant interventions to keep the home side to two goals.
Moyne Villa took the lead after just one minute. Imogen won the ball in midfield and released Ava through the middle, with Ava keeping her composure to finish coolly past the keeper.
Three minutes later, Sarah B. put Ava through. The keeper saved her shot, but Emma W. was in the right place to tuck away the rebound for 2–0.
On 15 minutes, Emma W. released Ava again, and Ava made no mistake, finishing past the keeper for her second.
The fourth came on 19 minutes. Sarah B. did excellent work down the right before releasing Emma W., who split the defence with a perfectly timed pass to Elena. Just on the pitch, Elena made an immediate impact, finishing first time with her first touch.
Loughrea responded strongly. A free kick from outside their box, caught Mv defense by surprise and they found the net in the 36th minute, and five minutes after the beginning of the second half, they scored again, now from a corner to make it 4–2. Sarah R. was particularly important during this period, making several excellent saves to prevent Loughrea from getting the third.
Eventually Moyne Villa settled and responded with two more goals. On 58 minutes, Imogen released Emma, who held off her defender before blasting the ball into the corner from outside the box.
Seven minutes later, Alexa split the defence with a superb pass to Emma, who finished with a powerful shot to complete the scoring at 6–2.
An entertaining and competitive first meeting between the sides. Moyne Villa can be pleased with the attacking football and response to Loughrea’s comeback, while full credit goes to Loughrea for their determination and never-say-die attitude throughout.