Piltown advance in Junior Grade

Kilkenny Rivercourt Hotel Junior Championship Rd 1.

Piltown 3 -10 Blacks and Whites 2- 06

By Jason O’Brien, Piltown PRO

Piltown progressed to a Championship ¼ final after overcoming a spirited Blacks and Whites team in Graiguenamanagh on Sunday afternoon.

Piltown got a great start from their first attack when the ball was lobbed towards the square and wing forward Aoife O’Shea got the ball in hand and gave Siofra McGilligan in the B&W goal no chance with a shot high into the net. It was a bad start for the girls from Skeoughvosteen, but they replied with a score as corner forward Sophie Phelan put the ball over the bar, but yet again, Piltown went straight back down and got goal number two, this time scored by Leah Cooney.

It was a disastrous start for Blacks and Whites, and when Chloe Holden put a free over the bar, it left them six points down after 5 minutes. But it got worse as Nicola Phelan got a point and then another goal from the right side before Cliodhna Murphy steadied the Blacks and Whites ship a little bit with a point from play and one from a free.

Leah Cooney tagged on another point before a foul by a Piltown defender resulted in a penalty being awarded. It was Cliodhna Murphy standing over the sliotar and she went to the left side, and it barely beat Maire Beth Kirby’s outstretched hurley and into the bottom corner.

Would this kickstart their match? Piltown replied with three points from Leah Cooney before Cliodhna Murphy continued her fine display of shooting by scoring 3 more frees to close out the half.

Half Time score: Piltown 3-06  Blacks & Whites 1-06.

It was turning into a tough game, and Blacks and Whites were battling to get back into it, but Lorna O’Shea, who was outstanding throughout the game, and Alice Talbot were working really hard and denying Blacks and Whites any options.

Alice got a score herself in the 32^nd minute, with the scoring chances now being limited as the scoreline seemed to affect both sides display. Too far ahead and too far behind and the game itself suffered as we only had 3 scores in the first 23 minutes of the half, with Chloe Holden grabbing her third point of the game, before Katie Whelan, who was wearing the number 5 jersey, tore down the left wing in the 53^rd minute and lobbed a dangerous, goalies nightmare of a ball towards the back post , and it went inside the post for Blacks and Whites second goal of the day.
That was to be their one and only score of the second half. Piltown weren’t finished though as Edel Long, who fielded some great high balls all day and Nicola Phelan scored the final points of the game.

Piltown march on to the Quarter Final.

Final Score – Piltown 3-10 Blacks & Whites 2-6

Scorers – Piltown – Leah Cooney 1-2, Aoife O’Shea 1-0 , Chloe Holden 0-3 (1f), Nicola Phelan 1-2, Edel Long, Alice Talbot 0-1 each

Blacks And Whites – Cliodhna Murphy 1-5 (4f + 1 pen goal), Katie Whelan 1-0, Sophie Phelan 0-1