Michael Lyng Motors Senior Championship Round 1
Windgap 2-14 O’Loughlin Gaels 1-13
Strong Finish Sees Windgap Edge Tight Opening Fixture Against O’Loughlin Gaels
A strong closing ten minutes in which they outscored their opponents by 0-4 to 0-0 helped Windgap get off to a winning start in the first round of the senior championship in Windgap on Sunday 17th August. Played on a very pleasant morning, both sides had periods of dominance and Windgap’s ability to get more scores from the opportunities presented ultimately saw them through. For O’Loughlin Gaels, this was a tough start to the senior championship after winning the Intermediate championship last year but they will know that they are well capable of upsetting most teams in the senior grade with a small few improvements in the coming weeks.
O’Loughlin Gaels opened backed by the wind elements and dominated the opening ten minutes after conceding an opening point to an Ona Kennedy free (W) in the opening minute; however, they missed a number of opportunities to score some goals & points during this period. They did open their account through Laura Greene in the 3rd minute and both sides traded scores for the next ten minutes with Windgap points from Megan Kenneally and Ona Kennedy being countered by O’Loughlin Gaels scores from the excellent Laura Murphy and Laura Greene. O’Loughlin Gaels continued to have the initiative for the next ten minutes and a fine finish to the net by Riona Crowley in the 16th minute followed by three Laura Murphy scores (two from frees) saw them lead by 1-7 to 0-5 as half time approached. Windgap were under pressure at this time but they received a huge boost with a great finish to the net by Ciara O’Shea in the 29th minute and both sides added a point a piece in first half added time to leave the half time score at O’Loughlin Gaels 1-8 Windgap 1-5.
The opening ten minutes of the second half saw both sides add points through Sontae Jackson (2) for Windgap and Laura Murphy (2 frees) for O’Loughlin Gaels. Windgap then produced their best move of the match which saw a fine Margaret Purcell run and pass to Ciara O’Shea who again produced an unstoppable finish to the net to draw the sides level at Windgap 2-7 O’Loughlin Gaels 1-10 by the 40th minute. O’Loughlin Gaels batted well for the next ten minutes against the wind elements and a smart point from play by Aoife Shealy in the 50th minute levelled the match at 2-10 (W) to 1-13 (OL) with all to play for. Windgap defence led by Caoimhe Power and Gillian Costello then managed to get a grip on the O’Loughlin Gaels forwards and scores at the other end from Ona Kennedy (3 frees) and an insurance point from Rachel O’Meara saw them emerge as winners after a very competitive encounter.
Teams: Windgap: Ali Kennedy, Caoimhe Power, Emer Moylan, Moya Egan, Orlaith O’Shea, Margaret Purcell, Nathania Jackson, Ona Kennedy, Gillian Costello, Molly Walsh (C), Sarah McCarthy, Ciara O’Shea, Sontae Jackson, Megan Kenneally, Rachel O’Meara Subs: Laura Doyle, Ava Lily O’Neill, Laura Foley, Aisling Foley, Aisling O’Shea, Emer Smith, Denise Foley
O’Loughlin Gaels: Kate Furlong, Jennifer Holohan, Ailbhe Galwey, Shauna Brennan, Riona Crowley, Danielle Quigley, Abigail Egan, Jennifer O’Keeffe, Laura Greene, Ruth Crowley, Laura Murphy, Emma Poyntz, Aoife Shealy, Kate Lawless, Ena Lawlor. Subs: Eve Brannigan, Siofra O’Leary, Hannah Quinn, Iveta Vasiliauskaite, Aoibhe Quinn, Samantha Mguni, Eva Collins, Ava Butler, Shauna Ryan, Angela Fahy, Ava O’Grady
Referee: Conor Everard
By PRO Wed 20th Aug
