The Irish Banshees – including six players from Donegal – are through to the AFL International Cup Grand Final after a brilliant win over the Great Britain Swans.
A nail-biting eight-point win, on a 23-15 scoreline, fired the Banshees into a meeting with reigning champions Canada on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.
Gweedore’s Roisin McFadden, Aisling Gilespie, Rachel McGee, Carolann Cassidy and Fiona Roarty are joined in the Banshees’ squad by Letterkenny’s Leona Russell and former LyIT student Aine Higgins.
At Royal Park, the Banshees – who had won all of their group games – had to wait to strike late for the win.
Carol Breen broke the deadlock in the final minute of the second quarter with a classy goal on the run which came as great relief for the Irish contingent in the crowd.
Weight of numbers eventually told for the Irish, with Colleen Quinn kicking the go-ahead goal with just under ten minutes remaining, sparking wild celebrations from the Irish crowd behind the goals.
Gillian Behan was then able to put the icing on the cake, gathering the ball and dashing across the half-forward line before slotting a magnificent goal from a tight angle, much to the relief to the Irish coaching staff.
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