Dwyer's introduction tips tie in Bennerkerry/Tinryland's favour

It says much about Lauren Dwyer’s elite level mentality that just minutes after the final whistle of the final that she helped decide in her team’s favour, rather than look at the three points she scored it was the goal chance that she missed that was preying on her mind.

Yes, maybe she have turned the ball into the net when she pounced on the rebound after Aoibhín Webb’s shot had been saved by Nicole Hanley but nobody else leaving SETU Carlow on Saturday afternoon was talking that chance.

Instead, it was Dwyer’s three brilliant scores that decided the game that preoccupied people’s minds.

“I’ll just have nightmares about the one I missed in front of goals,” smiled Dwyer, but at the same time she knew how important the contribution she made was in deciding the final.

“The girls knew my strengths and knew what ball to give in. As much as I could I just wanted to do whatever I could do to help the girls and I’m happy to kick the three points but if that was in training I think I probably would have missed those three chances! Somebody was looking down on us today, and there’s many people not here with us. My mam, Leah’s mam, Amanda (Kinsella), everyone’s looking down on us. We’re a tight squad and days like this are just unbelievable,” she said.

It was just good to see Dywer back on the pitch and approaching something like her best. Her hugely soccer career at Wexford FC petered out in the last year due to persistent injuries and Dwyer praised both Leah Mullins and Nuala Mohan for the roles they played in getting her back out on the pitch.

“This time last year I wouldn’t have dreamed that I would be back on a pitch playing any games. Nuala and Leah have both minded me, Chris, Conor, Ali, I’m just delighted.

“It’s the stuff you dream of. I have to give credit Leah, if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be back at all. She does Physio for the Asca team that I coach and she just said it in passing, like ‘how would you feel about coming back to B/T now that you aren’t playing soccer’. I talked to Nuala, my actual physio, and she said it was a great idea. So between the two of them they got me back on to the pitch. I’m chuffed I did. It’s not just me, I’m not back that long, the others have been on the go for seven months and I’m just delighted for them all now.

“I’ve only played three games, it’s only the last six weeks, two months that I am back. It’s not that they are minding me but they are easing me back into game time. The management have been fantastic, Alison (Miller), the girls took me back with open arms and I’m thrilled to help out in whatever way I can,” said Dwyer.

Although she scored those crucial three points, Dwyer emphasised that it was far from a one player show and said that it’s the strength in depth that her team have that has made them back-to-back champions.

“We said it before the match about the fact that Bennekerry/Tinryland and Old Leighlin have played in the last eight finals but if you look at the squad depth we have, we players from Leah Mullins playing in her 20th county final to the young girls there. There’s so much depth there that it’s just unbelievable,” she said.