St Canice’s Credit Union Minor B County Final
James Stephens 2-7 Rower Inistioge 2-6
James Stephens claimed the Minor B championship title with a narrow one point win after a really hard fought close contest against Rower Inistioge in Gowran on a pleasant September Sunday afternoon. Both sides had overcome stiff opposition to make it to the final of this knockout competition which started with 12 teams and both gave it their all in a match where very little separated them all through. In the end the Village girls did just enough inspired by the excellent Emily Lauhoff but this was very much a team effort on both sides in a match that kept the huge crowd from both sides on the edge of their seats for long periods.
A noticeable feature of the match from the opening minutes was the hard fought tenacious tackling by both sides which limited the amount of scoring chances but which made for an intense contest. At the end of a frenetic opening five minutes, the Rower girls received a huge boost when a Fauve Walsh shot from close range found the net – although James Stephens quickly settled to the task and rattled over three unanswered points from Laura Leahy (2 from play, 1 free) to draw level by the 13th minute. Both defences led by Lucy Lennon and Emily Lauhoff for James Stephens and Eimear Cotterall and Ellen Spellman for the Rower girls were largely on top while further afield Lucy Coomey (JS) and Muireann Kenny (RI) were showing very well. This led to relatively low scoring from both sides and the half time score of 1-2 (RI) to 0-5 (JS) was a fair reflection of the very close fought nature of this contest.
The second half saw the game open up a bit more on the scoring front and James Stephens initially made a fast start with 1-1 (goal from Mia Dunne) in the opening three minutes giving them a 1-6 to 1-2 lead. They were rocked moments later with a kicked effort to the net by Eve Rice for Rower Inistioge but they continued to press again for the next ten minutes and had stretched their lead out to 2-7 to 2-2 by the 42nd minute thanks in part to a goal from Sorcha Larkin. Remarkably they failed to score for the rest of their contest although their defence proved to be very resilient to the increased pressure from the Rower girls as the match progressed. The Rower were in bother by the three quarter mark but with their own defence now starting to shut down the James Stephens attack, they proceeded to turn the momentum of the match and points from play from Meadbh Kenny and two frees from Muireann Kenny helped reduce the margin to two points. A further Rower point from Muireann Kenny brought the match to a one point game and extra time looked a distinct possibility; however the James Stephens girls led by Emily Lauhoff remained defiant to the end and huge celebrations followed when referee Paul Hunston sounded the full time whistle shortly afterwards. Overall a fine match between two well prepared sides despite the relatively low scoring and a fitting end to a hugely competitive Minor B championship in 2026.
James Stephens: Saoirse Egan, Aoibh Lawlor, Lucy Lennon, Alice Quinn, Caoimhe Egan, Emily Lauhoff, Daisy Coomey, Ria Quinn, Lucy Coomey, Niamh Moore, Maura Barton, Laura Leahy, Katie Murphy, Mia Dunne, Sorcha Larkin. Subs: Emma Larkin, Aoileann Cantwell, Ellie Larkin, Roisin O’Shea, Hannah Devine, Hannah Purcell, Freya Doyle, Ali McDonald.
Rower Inistioge: Heidi Culleton, Carolann Lawler, Eimear Cotterell, Izzy Morrissey, Lauren Kelly, Lauren Kelly, Ellen Spellman, Muireann Kenny, Hilary Muldowney, Ciara Bolger, Chloe Lyng. Meabh Kenny, Fauvre Walsh, Laoise Kehoe (C), Niamh Doyle. Subs: Eve Rice, Meabh Kehoe, Aoibhe Murphy, Sophie Bolger, Isabelle Delaney, Kathlyn O’Keeffe, Katie Doyle, Olivia Muldowney.
Referee: Paul Hunston
By PRO Sat 19th Sep
