The Midlands League have reached the Gaynor Cup Bowl final against Galway later today.
The representative side of the local soccer league will have the chance to win silverware in Limerick with kick off at 12.45pm.
This is the premier soccer competition for girls in Ireland and is played at U-14 level.
Laois have one representative on the Midlands team this year – Ciara Hilliard.
The St Aengus striker has been on the Emerging Talent Programme since U-10 and was also on the Centre of Excellence regional squad this year.
From Camross, Ciara is also a talented GAA player who has also represented Laois at U-14 level in camogie and football this year.
There is a second Laois link to the Midlands team as Ciara’s dad Henry is the head coach.
The Midlands began their campaign in UL on Monday with a 4-0 win over Clare.
Hilliard was on the scoresheet in that game as she netted the second just after half time.
The Midlands beat Roscommon District 2-1 in the second game on Tuesday but then lost 1-0 to North Tipperary in their final group game.
That left them second in the group and sent them into the ‘Bowl’ part of the competition.
The Midlands faced Kerry in the semi final of that competition yesterday and the sides could not be split in regulation time with the game ending 1-1.
A penalty shootout followed with Hilliard converting hers as Midlands won that 5-3.
Galway beat South Tipperary 8-1 in the other semi final so the Midlands will need a top performance to emerge as victors today.
The game is shown live on the SFAI Youtube page. Best of luck to Ciara, Henry and the Midlands team!
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