We caught up with our first Women’s AIL match on Friday evening at Shaw’s Bridge as Cooke entertained Suttonians in a re-arranged fixture following an earlier postponement due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth.

The game started in comparatively dry conditions but there were a few torrential downpours which didn’t help our coverage. Suttonians started the better, but the home defence held strong and, from 10 minutes in , Cooke had started to build up a head of steam bringing the play up to the carpark end of the pitch.

The home team squandered a couple of golden chances, due to a bit of while line fever amongst the forwards, as they kept Suttonians pinned in their own 22. However, just as it looked like the Dublin side had weathered the storm, a break from Ilse van Staden, on the 13th minute, ended with the former international rounding the Sutts defence to finish close to the posts. Amanda Morton added the extras to give Cooke a 7 – 0 lead.

It was a period where Cooke could have had pulled clear but they lacked the composure to finish off their chances and Suttonians began to work their way back into the game.

The largest downpour arrived about 25 minutes in and the game was a bit of a lottery. Suttonians made the best of the conditions and, after keeping Cooked pinned in their own half for a good fifteen minutes they finally got their reward with Emma Jordan going over for a try just before the break. Órfhlaith Murray added the conversion to take the score to 7 – 7 at half time.

It was a scrappy enough second half. Cooke just about edged the second half territory and possession but Suttonians did more with the possession they had.

In a tight game, the visitors opted to kick a penalty, mid way through the half, Catherine Martin adding the three points to take the score to 7 – 10 in Suttonians favour.

The Dublin side wrapped the game up about 15 minutes later with their prop Janita Kareta crashing over out wide after a period of pressure on the Cooke line. No conversion, but the 7 – 15 lead was enough to see Suttonians return to Dublin with the 4 points.

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