HAT-TRICK STAR EILISH INSPIRES GOWRAN GIRLS TO U-14 TRIUMPH

By Michael O’Leary

Gaeltec U-14 Roinn D County Final

Young Irelands Gowran 6-5

Tullogher 3-4

A Superb Team Performance saw the Gowran Girls take control from late in the first-half, as they defeated the gallant hard battling efforts of Tullogher who refused to wilt having to fight back from an impossible situation.

Playing with a Very Strong Wind Advantage throughout the Opening-Half on a Warm Sunny Autumnal Afternoon in Thomastown, Young Irelands completely dominated possession for the majority of the half as they led 5-2 to 1-0 at Half-Time.

After two early wides, the Young Irelands Girls opened their account when Eilish Keating flicked home a goal after she got on the end of a long range from Eimear Brennan. 1-0 to 0-0.

Eimear herself was on target for Goal Number Two in the 9th minute, when she brilliantly dispatched a Penalty after Chloe Pitt was fouled. 2-0 to 0-0.

Chloe added a point from play as they led 2-1 to 0-0 at the first Water Break.

Tullogher were starting to enjoy more possession, & with the highly impressive Ciara Nolan just denied by Young Irelands Goalkeeper Holly Drennan in the 14th minute, Ciara made amends with a well taken goal two minutes later (16th minute). 2-1 to 1-0.

However, the Young Irelands Girls responded with a goalscoring blitz to put the themselves in a very commanding position by Half-Time.

They Scored A Hat-Trick of goals in a Five Minute spell between the 19th & 24th minute, as goals from Alex Brennan, A Speculative effort from Eilish Keating & a Chloe Pitt from an acute angle that flew past the goalkeeper suddenly put them 13 points clear. 5-1 to 1-0.

Eilish added an excellent point from play to complete the first-half scoring as they led by 14 points at the interval (5-2 to 1-0), & her Hat-Trick of goals was completed early in the Second-Half courtesy of a Superbly taken effort. 6-2 to 1-0.

However, massive credit must be given to the Tullogher Girls for the way they battle ferociously while facing a mission impossible task.

They restricted the Gowran girls to just three points for the remainder of the game, as they added 2-4 to their account.

A well taken goal from Ava O’Leary in the 36th minute began the fightback, before points from Lily Ryan & Aoibheann Ryan narrowed the deficit further.

The Strong Running Centre-Forward Alex Brennan pointed to keep the scoreboard ticking over (6-3 to 2-2), before Lily Ryan & Ciara Nolan added further points for the Tullogher Girls. 6-3 to 2-4.

Tullogher’s persistence was rewarded further when Ciara Nolan rifled home a goal in the 52nd minute to reduce the advantage further, but it was Young Irelands who had the final say as Alex Brennan added two late points either side of an Aoife Cummins goal chance that was brilliantly saved by Holly Drennan.

A Terrific Wholehearted Contest that was fought out right to the very end, & the Gowran Girls had stars all over the field.

Goalkeeper Holly Drennan was immense & on numerous occasions she had to deal with danger situations around her own goalmouth, but she did very well.

Defensively, they were watertight, solid & resilient particularly throughout the Second-Half when they had to soak up a lot of pressure.

Caoimhe Drennan at Full-Back was consistently accomplished throughout, while Katelyn McEvoy & the Hard-Working Midfielder Kathy Phelan gave towering displays also.

Eilish Keating & Chloe Pitt led way in attack – contributing 5-2 between them – along with Alex Brennan in the Second-Half, while one player who deserves a special mention is Lucy Coomey.

Lucy worked tirelessly throughout, & she did an awful lot of hard grafting in helping out her own defense.

A real unsung hero.

As mentioned Tullogher battled gallantly right to the end & the efforts of Ciara Nolan, Lily Ryan, Ava O’Leary & Aoibheann Ryan deserve an honourable mention.

Huge Congratulations to the Girls on a Fantastic Triumph & to the Management Team of John Drennan, Anne-Marie Byrne, Aisling Hennessy & Padraig Brennan.

TEAMS:

Young Irelands Gowran – Holly Drennan, Lauren Phelan (Captain), Caoimhe Drennan, Aimee Byrne, Katelyn McEvoy, Orla Brennan, Doireann Farrell, Kathy Phelan, Eimear Brennan (1-0 Penalty), Katie Comerford, Alex Brennan (0-3), Lucy Coomey, Orla Brennan, Chloe Pitt (2-1), Eilish Keating (3-1)

REST OF PANEL: Caoimhe Fitzgerald, Lucy Langton, Ellie Carter, Chloe Lynch, Aoife Brennan, Aoibheann Drennan, Sadhbh Farrell, Bronagh O’Neill

MANAGEMENT TEAM: John Drennan, Anne-Marie Byrne, Aisling Hennessy & Padraig Brennan

Tullogher – Maeve Phelan, Sarah Connell, Shona Flanagan, Laura Barron, Caoimhe Connolly, Aoife Dooley, Siobhan Handrick, Lily Ryan (0-2), Ava O’Leary (1-0), Aoibheann Ryan (0-1), Ciara Nolan (2-1), Aoife Cummins, Ella Morrissey, Clara Walsh, Saoirse Doherty

REST OF PANEL: Jane O’Shea, Shauna Bookle, Rachel Murphy, Aoife Purcell, Leah O’Lone, Isabelle Murphy, Aisling Power

MANAGEMENT TEAM: Jane Handrick, Marie Ryan, Donal Cummins,

REFEREE: Liz Dempsey (Thomastown)