Portadown College have done just about everything in the schoolgirls’ hockey sphere over the last two years.
They’ve been in Finals aplenty, brought through a wealth of young talent to supplement their experienced stars and created a winning atmosphere at the school, and on Wednesday they add another Semi-Final appearance to their CV as they prepare to take on Banbridge Academy in the second last-four tie of the Belfast Telegraph Schoolgirls’ Senior Cup at Lisnagarvey (2.00pm).
The one thing they don’t have? Silverware.
Had this Portadown team existed at any other time in schools’ history, they would likely have a wealth of medals around their necks and trophies in the cabinet. Instead, despite appearing in multiple Finals, they have always come unstuck against the unrelenting juggernaut that is Royal School Armagh.
“Getting to so many Finals but never actually winning is a real motivation. We’re really looking forward to trying to do that,” says Portadown star Evie Thompson.
“It is hard, you have to keep reminding yourself of the feeling of getting there and not winning as motivation and hopefully this time it will be us coming out on the right side.
“Running up a lot of Finals last year, and the Super League this year as well, we’ve worked so hard for it so it would mean so much for us to finally get one over the line.”
Last year only one goal separated Portadown and the Senior Cup title, Scarlett Taylor scoring the winner for Armagh in the Final at Stormont PlayBall and that has sat with them since, as has December’s Super League Final loss.
Rainey Endowed take on defending champions Royal School Armagh in the other Semi-Final
In Ulster Under-18s star Rebekah Lennon they have one of the most talented young players in the province and the hope is that this year they have found that extra one per cent that will take them over the line this time.
“We work so well together as a team and I think the year of experience has done us the world of good,” says Portadown’s Leah Galbraith.
“We’re a really hard-working team, we want to make the most of the opportunities we do get. We’ve always been a close-knit group but this year especially.
“We just want to lift the trophy for the school, for our coaches, for everyone who’s put the work in.”
One thing that has worked against them is that Semi-Final opponents Banbridge weren’t confirmed to be in the last-four until Saturday, a combination of unavailability and bad weather meaning their Quarter-Final against Wallace High was delayed until the last possible moment, meaning their preparation has been somewhat stymied.
But rather than worry about the short time to do some scouting on their rivals, Galbraith admits it’s allowed them to look inward instead, and that could be a positive in the grand scheme of things.
“We’ve mostly focused on ourselves, which is probably the right way to go about it because we haven’t known who we’re playing in advance,” she says.
“We’ve played Banbridge before (Portadown won in their Super League Semi-Final) so we know what to expect from them but, for us, we know that if we play the way we can then we think we can beat anyone.”
In Wednesday’s other Semi-Final, defending champions Armagh take on Rainey Endowed at 12.00pm as the hosts look to close in on back-to-back trebles having already won the Super League title, as well as three consecutive Senior Cup crowns.
They won’t have it all their own way, though, as Rainey are eager to end a run of their own that has seen them reach a plethora of Semi-Finals, however they are yet to be featured in a showpiece game that they are desperate to reach.
As they target another treble, with the All-Ireland Kate Russell Cup to defend as well should they make it three-in-a-row in the Senior Cup, the defending champions have another goal in mind: finishing their own time at the school on a high.
“As good as it is to win Cups and All-Irelands, our conversations in first year were about Upper Sixth year, we’re going to do it, we’re going to win the Schools’ Cup and we’re going to win the All-Irelands,” explains Armagh’s Grace McCool.
“Obviously you want to do it every year but this is our last year and we want to end it on a high.
“It’s a big privilege. No matter how many time we’ve done Super League and Senior Cup and All-Irelands, it’s still special every time we do it and our goals don’t change.
“We’re determined to keep winning and be successful. It’s been quite a run and we don’t want that to end now.”
For Rainey, the chance to turn the wave of excitement that has gripped the school over the last few weeks, with the rugby side having been in their own Semi-Final on Tuesday, is one they don’t want to pass up.
“The whole school is so excited right now, we have people coming up to us all the time asking about our game,” explained captain Kate Spillane.
“As a small school, it’s really cool to be in this position where we could be in the Senior Cup Final. Hopefully we can do that for Rainey.”
The two winners will qualify for the Final on Wednesday, March 5, which will be hosted at Stormont PlayBall with a 7.00pm start.