U22A County Final
Tullaroan 3-11 St Brigids 1-10
A strong closing quarter during which they scored 1-4 without reply proved to be the difference in what was a pulsating U22A final played in Freshford last Sunday morning. A huge crowd turned up to see these near neighbours do battle and both sides did not disappoint with what was an excellent contest played in a very sporting manner throughout the hour. For Tullaroan, this caps a second successive U22 title having captured the U22B title last year and the future is certainly bright for them with an excellent se of players many of which have represented the county at various levels. St Brigids will also feel that they have a strong set of players to build their adult team on for future years as they more than matched their opponents for long spells in what was their second successive U22 A final.
The first half of this contest ebbed and flowed from the off: Tullaroan were fast out of the blocks with a Katie Dunphy point inside the opening minute and a goal from Emma Bibby from a ground pull a minute later gave them an early four point lead. St Brigids were struggling for a few moments to get a foothold in the match but led by Moya O’Brien at full back and Claire Doheny at midfield they soon tore into the contest and they had tied up the scores at 1-2 (T) to 0-5 (SB) by the 15th minute with fine scores from Tara Cody (0-3, 2 frees), Molly Conroy and Reece Delaney. Tullaroan soon responded with four unanswered points of their own from Ella Walton (free), Anna Doheny (free) and two fine scores from play by Katie Dunphy and Ciara Dunne. This gave Tullaroan a four point lead by the 23rd minute but St Brigids then countered with three fine points from play through Molly Conroy, Leah Brett and Siobhan Kenny – and they could well have had a few goals in the closing minutes of the first half as a couple of close misses at this time would eventually prove to be costly later in the match. This left the half time score as Tullaroan 1-6 to St Brigids 0-8 after a high quality contest with huge determination and high skill levels from both sides.
The opening fifteen minutes of the second half continued what had happened in the first half: St Brigids started with the quick goal this time inside the opening minute of the half with a smart finish to the net by Siobhan Kenny and the following ten minutes saw St Brigids miss a number of chances to increase the lead still further. Tullaroan did settle with a huge pointed free from the sideline by Ella Walton and when Emma Bibby finished a fine move to the net a minute later, they were back in front 2-7 to 1-8. St Brigids again bounced back with two pointed frees from Tara Cody to level the match by the 45th minute but remarkably they failed to add any further scores for the remainder of the contest as Tullaroan’s defence and midfield led by Grace Brennan and the Doheny twins (Eleanor and Shannon) got on top of their opponents. Tullaroan started to push for home with points from Ella Walton, Ciara Dunne and an Ella Walton free to open up a three point advantage as we entered the closing five minutes. Both sides had chances for scores at this time but when Tullaroan’s Ciara Dunne finished another fine move to the net in the 57th minute, they had a six point advantage which St Brigids were unable to reduce. A further point from Rachel Brennan then sealed a somewhat flattering winning margin for Tullaroan who held on for a fine victory which was a great source of pride to their supporters when referee Eamon Mansfield sounded the full time whistle. Overall, this was an excellent advertisement for this camogie grade and well done to both sides for giving their all in this fine contest with many fine performances on both teams.
Tullaroan: Rachel Walsh, Jessica Cuddy, Grace Brennan, Leanne Simpson, Grace Keoghan, Anna Doheny, Orla O’Grady, Shannon Doheny, Eleanor Doheny, Emma Bibby, Rachel Brennan, Katie Dunphy, Eimear Davis, Ella Walton, Emma Walsh
Subs: Elly Holland, Ciara Dunne
St Brigids: Katie Ronan, Róisín Foley, Moya O’Brien, Georgina Casey, Lauren East, Ava Brett, Chloe Teehan, Tara Cody, Claire Doheny, Ruth Purcell, Reece Delaney, Molly Conroy, Leah Brett, Lauren Ronan, Siobhan Kenny
Subs: Maggie Maher, Robin Delaney, Kate Purcell, Nicola Kenny, Ella Cody, Katie Maher, Kate McCluskey
Referee: Eamon Mansfield
By PRO Wed 3rd Dec
