Thomastown edge pass Clara in 2nd Round of MLM Senior League Championship

Michael Lyng Motors Senior Camogie League Championship

Thomastown 1 – 12, Clara 0 – 13

Clara playing with the wind, hit the ground running with three quick points from Mary O’Connell, Emma Shortall and Keara Ryan.  Sophie McCabe opened Thomastown’s account with a fine point, followed by a second from Eva Hynes.  Keara Ryan extended Clara’s lead with another point in the 17^th minute; Emma Shortall was fouled after some tenacious defending from Thomastown which resulted in a penalty decision, Mary O’Connell appeared to miss hit the ball and struck the penalty over the bar. Thomastown scored the next two points from frees by Eva Hynes and Clara’s final score of the half came from a free by Mary O’Connell.  Thomastown lost their corner back Orla Kirwan to injury just before half time, where the score was Clara 0 – 06, Thomastown 0 – 04.

Thomastown were fastest out of the blocks in the second half with a pointed free and a point from play by Eva Hynes, followed by another point from Therese Donnelly. In the next five minutes both teams exchanged points with scores from Lucy Boyd, Therese Donnelly and Mary O’Connell before a long-range shot from Emma Shortall that went directly into the net was disallowed as a Clara player was deemed to be in the square.  Clara was further denied another goal attempt as Thomastown goalkeeper Libby Begley saved a second penalty shot from Mary O’Connell, the ball was cleared from defence by Sarah Barcoe to Sophie McCable who’s strong solo run resulted in a Thomastown goal, Clara struck back to level the game with two points in a row from Keara Ryan and Emma Shortall. The teams again exchanged points from Eva Hynes (free), Lucy Boyd and Anna Farrell.  Thomastown extended the lead to two points on 60 minutes with a free from Eva Hynes. Mary O’Connell converted another point from a free two minutes into the allocated three minutes of injury time to leave just one point between the sides.

But Thomastown had the final say with a well worked score from Therese Donnelly to win the game on a final score of 1 – 12, Clara 0 – 13.

This was a highly entertaining and hard-fought game, where Clara will feel they left scores behind them, while Thomastown were more efficient with their opportunities.

Clara Scorers: Mary O’Connell 6 pts (3F), Keara Ryan 3 pts., Emma Shortall 2 pts., Lucy Boyd 2 pts.

Thomastown Scorers: Eva Hynes 7 pts (5F), Sophie McCabe 1 – 01, Therese Donnelly 3 pts., Anna Farrell 1 pt.

Subs: Clara – Cara Brennan for Margaret O’Connell