Gaeltec U14B County Final
St Anne’s 3-6 Rower Inistioge 1-2
A strong second half performance saw St Annes turn around an interval deficit and end as deserved winners of this very competitive U14B championship final played in Kells Road last Sunday afternoon. St Annes would have entered this match as favourites after a strong showing in both the summer league and championship to date but they knew that they would face a stern test from the Rower Inistioge girls who have made considerable improvement during the championship which saw them record five strong wins to make it to this U14B final. Indeed, the first half suggested an upset was on the cards as the underdogs grabbed an interval lead of two points; however, St Annes emerged as a different team in the second period and managed to turn this well attended match in their favour early in this half to get a lead they never relinquished to the end.
On a breezy afternoon, the opening exchanges were frenetic as both sides competed furiously for every ball and this contributed to a hugely competitive opening half even though scores were hard to come by. Both defences led by Ellie Costigan & Isabelle Murphy for St Annes and Kayla Galavan & Meabh Kehoe for Rower Inistioge refused to concede any easy chances let alone scores and it took until the 15th minute for Rower Inistioge to open the scoring with a pointed free from Aoibhe Murphy. St Annes did level the match five minutes later with a score from Sarah McEvoy but the Rower girls were starting to get the better of proceedings and this led to a fine goal in the 25th minute after a fine finish from Katie Doyle. St Annes did get the last score of the half through a point from Saoirse Ryan but they headed to the break down by 1-1 to 0-2 with it all to do in the second period.
The second half proved to be a different affair as St Annes attacked from the off with renewed purpose and this time they managed to puncture some holes in the Rower defence to grab control of the contest. A strong opening ten minutes saw them score 2-2 without reply – both goals from the impressive Sarah McEvoy – and this gave them a 2-4 to 1-1. Both sides traded points over the next ten minutes to leave the scores at 2-5 (SA) to 1-2 (RI) as we entered the final five minutes. St Annes continued to drive home their advantage in the closing minutes and added further scores through an excellent Saoirse Ryan point and a third goal from Sarah McEvoy (completing her hat-trick). Overall, this was an impressive second half turnaround from St Annes while this half proved bridge too far for the Rower Inistioge girls who bravely battled to the end. For St Annes, this continues what is turning out to be a very successful underage camogie season, and with upcoming finals in U16 and minor to come in the coming weeks, it has the potential to become an outstanding season for them.
St Annes: Faye Murphy, Aoibhinn Doherty, Ellie Costigan, Hannah Garrett, Aine Casey, Isabelle Murphy, Helen Renehan, Ava Power, Emily Delaney, Sarah McEvoy, Saoirse Ryan, Grace Nicholson, Erin Rose Lonergan, Aobha O’Loughlin, Abbie Delaney. Subs: Isabelle Larkin, Kate McEvoy, Zoe Power, Maeve O’Loughlin, Ella Bergin, Lily Murphy.
Rower Inistioge: Mollie Cotteral, Isabelle Delaney, Kayla Galavan, Eabha Murphy, Hannah Reardon, Maebh Kehoe, Caoimhe Flood, Aine Lonergan, Olivia Muldowney, Aoibhe Murphy, Grace Tynan, Lily Belle Sheehan, Caiomhe Beehan, Katie Doyle, Saoirse Roche. Subs: Ruth Tynan, Elsie Lyng, Kitty Bookle, Sarah Byrne, Aoibhinn Lawlor, Emily Mahon, Ciara Fitzpatrick, Aoibhinn Kelly.
Referee: John McCormack
By PRO Thu 9th Oct
