Kennedy Centre Ladies Junior Shield
The Glenariffe team who beat Sarsfields in the Ladies Junior Football Shield semi-final in Waterfoot. Pic by John McIlwaine
Glenariffe Oisins 6-6 Patrick Sarsfields 0-7
A superb display from centre forward Naoimh O’Neill, which yielded a total of 4 goals and 5 points helped steer Glenariffe to victory over Sarsfields in the semi-final of the Ladies Junior Football Shield at Glenariffe on Sunday evening. Played in a gale force wind that blew straight down the glen and across the field at right angles O’Neill was superb during a first half during which she scored all but one point of her team’s 3-6 total, the other point coming from Clare Emerson with the last kick of the opening half. The centre half forward got her team ahead in the opening minute with a point before adding goals in the fourth and sixth minutes. Two points from play and one from a free put her team 2-4 to 0-0 clear after fifteen minutes but she wasn’t finished there and she completed her hat-trick of goals on twenty minutes and added another point on 23 before Emmerson grabbed her point on 30 minutes to send the Oisins in at half time with a 3-6 to 0-0 cushion.
Sarsfields were much better during the second half and points from Murphy and Aoife Caldwell (2) got them going. Dearbhla Farrelly made it four without reply when she soloed through from midfield to score and excellent point but Glenariffe went straight up the field and a Laura McMullan shot found the Sarsfields net, off the underside of the crossbar.
Aoife Farrelly, Caitlin Murphy and Aoife Caldwell all responded with top class scorers for the visitors but Glenariffe finished strong with goals from substitute Analiese Laffan and Naomh O’Neill to book their place in the final.