It was an historic weekend for Connacht hockey as the Girls' U-16 team claimed the province's first ever interprovincials underage title in front of a delighted home crowd at the Dangan Hockey grounds in Galway on Sunday.

In an exciting climax to the tournament against holders Ulster, the Connacht girls lost a thrilling match 4-3 but claimed the title on goal-difference, having prevented Ulster claiming the two-goal victory they needed to retain the crown.

Ulster had led 2-0 and 3-1 and looked set to seal a third interpros triumph in succession, but a brave fight-back saw goals from Katie Coydre and Eavan Murphy level the tie at 3-3 before Ulster snatched an ultimately futile victory.

The cornerstone of Connacht's success was a marvellous 4-1 victory over Leinster earlier on Sunday morning. Goals from Tara Melvin, Ciara Meagher, Lynsey Trainor and Katie Coydre stunned the visiting side and provided a crucial boost to Connacht's goal difference.

Connacht had set the tone for a successful weekend with two comfortable wins on Saturday.

Goals from Codyre and Dora Gorman were enough to claim a 2-0 win over South East, while a brace from Murphy and further goals from Freddie Timmins and Coydre again completed an easy 4-0 win over Munster.

It was a richly-deserved triumph for coach Richie Malone and manager Finola McGuinness who were visibly delighted with the performance of the girls.

Captain Freddie Timmins led from the front all weekend and Katie Coydre scored in every game with Eavan Murphy, Tara Melvin and Dora Gorman all extremely influential for the Champions.

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