Gaeltec Utilities Minor A Camogie League Final
Windgap 4-13 Danesfort 3-11 (after extra time)
‘A great match which neither side deserved to lose’ were the words of referee Owen Beehan at the conclusion of this enthralling Minor A league final played in Windgap on Saturday morning and this was a sentiment which neatly summarised what all witnessed over the eighty minutes of this contest. Like all great matches, this ebbed and flowed with both sides having periods of dominance only for the other side to regain the initiative and the conclusion to both normal time and extra time was dramatic as Windgap ended up winning a match they looked likely to lose in normal time.
On a pleasant sunny morning, both defences opened on top and it took until the fifth minute for the excellent Shauna Mahony to open Danesfort’s account from play. Ciara O’Shea levelled matters from a free minutes later and this pattern continued with further scores for Windgap from Caoimhe Power and Ciara O’Shea (F) being cancelled out by Danesfort scores from Shana Mahony (2) and Niamh Davis to leave the scores tied at 0-4 (D) to 0-3(D) after 15 minutes. Danesfort then received a boost when a long free from Niamh Davis ended up in the Windgap net but Windgap rallied well to this setback by outscoring their opponents by 0-5 to 0-2 for the remainder of the half with fine scores from Ciara O’Shea, Aisling O’Shea and Rachel Cullen. Indeed they were unlucky not to be ahead at the break as a fine run and shot by captain Laura Doyle just missed the target close to the half time break. At the other end, Niamh Davis and Shauna Mahony continued to impress in the Danesfort half forward line and all was to play for when referee Owen Beehan (who did a great job throughout letting play flow as much as possible) blew for the half time break (Danesfort 1-6 Windgap 0-8).
Having finished the first half in the ascendancy, Windgap started the second half as they had left off – they hit the front within 30 seconds of the restart as a great run from Ciara O’Shea led to Aisling O’Shea finding the Danesfort net. Danesfort replied with a Niamh David free but a further goal for Windgap – this time a smart finish by Kate O’Brien after a clever pass from Rachel Cullen saw them open up a four point lead by the 35th minute. Both sides pushed hard for supremacy in this crucial third quarter and scores were traded over the next ten minutes to leave the score at 2-10 (W) to 1-10 (D) by the 45th minute. Danesfort then had a period on top which included a smart point from Lisa Fitzpatrick and a goal from the very direct running Shauna Mahony to lead 2-11 to 2-10 by the 50th minute. Caomhe Power did steady Windgap with a fine score from play and five minutes of end-to-end play followed with both defences (led by Moya Egan & Ona Kennedy for Windgap, and Jill O’Brien & Aileen Gleeson for Danesfort) held firm. A crucial score did arrive in the 56th minute when Shauna Mahony finished expertly to the net to put Danesfort on the cusp of victory and they held this three point advantage as the match entered added-on time. Windgap battled on in a game that looked to be going against them and in the dying moments, a final attack saw the ball land in Ciara O’Shea’s hand and she found the net to dramatically force the match to extra time (Windgap 3-11 Danesfort 3-11).
Buoyed by the last second goal to force extra time, Windgap held the upper hand for the first period of extra time with Ona Kennedy, Lucy Crowley and Ciara O’Shea very much to the fore. They led by two points (3-13 to 3-11) at the end of the first period of extra time and no further scores were added until the last minute of the second period of extra time when Shauna Mahony saw a goalbound effort well saved by Windgap keeper Naveah Drennan before Windgap moved upfield and a great ground pull by Alaina O’Shea found the net to bring the match to a close. The final whistle sounded shortly afterwards and certainly this was a contest which could easily have been won by Danesfort – and overall this was a great advertisement for Kilkenny Camogie with a very even contest between two sporting teams going to the wire. There were many fine performances on both sides – with the tussle between Ona Kennedy (W) vs Shauna Mahony (D) being worth the admission fee alone. Both sides now go forward to the Minor A knockout championship which starts on August 26th.
Teams: Windgap: Naveah Drennan, Abbie Vaughan, Moya Egan, Lucy Crowley, Laura Doyle (C), Ona Kennedy (0-1 F), Ellie Power, Caoimhe Power (0-2), Cathy Power, Ava Phelan, Ciara O’Shea (1-7, 4F), Rachel Cullen (0-1), Shonna King, Aisling O’Shea (1-2), Alaina O’Shea (1-0). Subs: Kate O’Brien (1-0), Chloe Drennan, Tamara Whelan, Ellie Brazil, Kate Kelleher, Elena Saunders, Sarah Power, Sarah Kate O’Shea, Anna Miller, Lorna Miller, Jenny Saunders (inj).
Danesfort: Anna Walsh, Ava Walsh, Jill O’Brien, Isabelle Galvin, Talor Rafter, Aileen Gleeson, Aine Hoban, Millie Ireland-Wall, Ailbhe Ni Casaide, Niamh Davis (C), Shauna Mahony, Cadhia Boylan, Ruth Fitzpatrick, Lisa Fitzpatrick (0-1), Orla Gleeson. Subs: Aoibhe Molloy, Sophie Gilmore, Ellen Hanafin, Mai Kearney, Aoibheann O’Reilly, Mia Lawlor, Sophie Sheehan, Emily Doyle, Molly Cunniffe (inj), Aoife Cunningham (inj).
Referee: Owen Beehan
By PRO Sun 10th Aug
