Gaeltec Utilities Minor C Camogie League Final
St Annes 4-11 Thomastown 3-8
The minor camogie girls of St Annes and Thomastown served up a very competitive and enjoyable league final on Monday evening 11th July in Galmoy. The winners recovered from a slow start but a strong scoring burst in the second quarter gave them a cushion at the break which they never relinquished; however, Thomastown battled gamely throughout and threatened a comeback win midway through the second half before a goal eight minutes from time by Clea Whelan finally gave the home side the breathing space they needed to see this game through.
The opening exchanges of this final suggested a goal fest was in store as Thomastown rattled the St Annes net twice inside the first four minutes, both smart finishes from the impressive Sophie McCabe who was a handful for the St Annes defence throughout. Aoife McCormack did goal for the home side in-between the two Thomastown goals to leave the score at 2-0 (T) to 1-0 (SA) after four minutes. The standard was high throughout this match particularly in the first half and St Annes settled to the task with Sinead Henderson driving them on from midfield and their forward line looked very threatening for the remainder of the first half. They had drawn level by the 7th minute with three quick points from Mairead Duggan (2) and Niamh Drennan, and two further scores from Niamh Drennan (1 free, 1 from play) were cancelled by two Thomastown points from Sophie McCabe (Free) and Ellen Treacy to leave the sides level at 1-5 (SA) to 2-2 (T) after 15 minutes. The second quarter belonged to St Annes who tacked on a further 2-4 to 0-2 for Thomastown to open up a clear lead heading into the break. This scoring burst included two goals from captain Aoife McCormack who was a real handful for Thomastown at full forward while points were added by the impressive Niamh Drennan, Clea Whelan and Mairead Duggan. Thomastown did counter with two points from frees by Sophie McCabe but the half-time scoreline of 3-9 (SA) to 2-4 (T) suggested that the home side had taken clear control of the contest. Indeed, St Annes could have had further goals during this spell of dominance to be even further clear.
Thomastown to their credit emerged for the second half in determined fashion and with much tighter defending, they held St Annes scoreless for the opening ten minutes of this half. They did add two points from play by Sophie McCabe and when the same player goaled from a penalty in the 39th minute, this match was firmly back in the balance. The next ten minutes saw both sides trade points from Mairead Duggan (2 frees) to Sophie McCabe (1 free) to leave the scoreline at 3-11 (SA) to 3-7 (T) as we entered the last ten minutes. St Annes were struggling to regain control at this time and were indebted to a number of fine plays by Mairead Duggan who covered lots of ground in this period. St Annes did then produce a fine move which led to a smart finish to the net by Clea Whelan to open up a seven point margin and the only remaining score after this was a Thomastown point by Caoimhe Fennelly. Overall, St Annes were deserving winners and looked very impressive when they were in full flow particularly during the second quarter. Thomastown fought well throughout and had the better of the second half but they had themselves too much of a deficit to overturn in the second half. Overall a very competitive match between two fine sides who now go on to the Minor C knockout championship which starts on Tuesday 18th August.
Teams: St Annes: Orla Duggan, Béibhinn Tobin, Grainne O’Loughlin, Leah Daly, Níadha Garrett, Aoife O Grady, Cara Delaney, Sinead Henderson, Cora Doherty, Ellen Nolan, Mairead Duggan, Niamh Drennan, Clea Whelan, Aoife McCormack, Macy Downey. Subs: Ciara Fogarty, Laura Fogarty, Orlaith Corcoran, Mia Nicholson, Kate O’Higgins, Grace Delaney.
Thomastown: Clodagh Galway, Hannah O’Reilly, Megan O’Reilly, Aoife Bambrick, Katie Begley, Aisling Coverdale, Anna Morrissey, Marie Farrell, Réailtín Lannon, Grace Hickey, Ellen Treacy, Millie Grace Hughes, Ava Connolly, Sophie McCabe, Sarah Jane Morrissey. Subs: Katie Davis, Ruby Bay Hammond, Lauren Moore, Coco Teehan Roche, Caoimhe Fennelly, Aoife Ravenhall, Lisa Ryan, Shauna Doherty, Aíne Bambrick.
Referee: Gay Rafter
By PRO Tue 12th Aug
