All County Camogie League – Division 1
Portglenone 2-15 Cushendall 2-13
By John McIlwaine
Portglenone held off a great Cushendall fightback to seal a win in their opening game of the All County Camogie League Division 1 in Portglenone tonight. Wearing their new saffron and black kit for the first time the Geraldines appeared to be running away with the game early on, but Cushendall showed great fighting spirit as they battled back bit by bit and in the end it took and excellent save by the home team’s goalkeeper Patricia McCarry to deny the visitors.
Portglenone dominated the opening quarter and after Orlagh O’Hara had put Cushendall ahead they hit back strongly with six points and a goal inside ten minutes. Team captain Katie McAleese started it with a point from a 45, Naimh McKee and Cathrine O’Kane hit points apiece before McAleese grabbed her third of the game. She wasn’t finished there, and after Naimh Doherty pointed one from play, she tacked on another one from a free to stretch the gap to 0-6 to 0-1. Things got even better for the Geraldines in the eleventh minute when full forward Jane Carey broke in from the left and rattled the ball to the Ruairi Og net to stretch her team’s lead to eight, and it was beginning to look like the visitors were in for a torrid night.
However the Cushendall girls were starting to find their rhythm and with Orlagh O’Hara leading the line they clawed their way back into contention with O’Hara hitting two points and Coleen Patterson one to cut the gap to five. O’Hara made her presence felt again when she struck a long free from midfield all the way into the Portglenone goalmouth and as the ball appeared to be dropping over the crossbar it suddenly dipped and ended up in the net. Suddenly there was just two points in the game, but to their credit Portglenone reacted to the danger as they dominated the final minutes of the half, and boosted by a second goal from Jane Carey they went on to lead by 2-6 to 1-3 at half time.
Sinead Cosgrove pulled a point back for Cushendall in the opening minute of the second half but the home team replied right away through Eimear Donaghy. Orlagh O’Hara grabbed another point for Cushendall, but again the home side had an answer as Katie McAleese fired over, but when O’Hara followed her next point with a cracking goal the visitors suddenly had new belief. Portglenone struck again with two points from McAleese and one from Naimh Doherty to go five clear with sixteen minutes left to play but they would add just one more point for the remainder of the game as Cushendall kept edging back into the game. Sinead Cosgrove and Coleen Patterson sent over points, and though Catherine O’Kane came back with one for Portglenone on fifty minutes the visitors kept on coming. With darkness descending Orlagh O’Hara, Brogan Abram and Siobhan McKillop fired over to cut the gap to two and when Sinead Cosgrove gained possession close to goal deep in injury time it looked like they might steel a victory. However the Geraldine’s keeper Patricia McCarry was equal to the task and she turned the ball away as the final whistle sounded to give her team victory.
Nuala and Roisin Kelly of sponsors McCauley Trailers presents the new kit to Portglenone captain Katie McAleese before Tuesday evening’s game with Cushendall
Portglenone
Patricia McCarry, Catriona McNicholl, Christine O’Kane, Maria McLarnon, Una Doherty, Naimh Doherty, Eimear Donaghy, Roisin Kelly, Shannon Darragh, Katie McAleese, Catherine O’Kane, Naimh McKee, Jane Carey, Laura McAleese, Eimear McKee
Cushendall
Noleen Cosgrove, Aoife McClafferty, Clare Kearney, Gemma Black, Clodagh McKillop, Laura McMullan, Caoimhe McNaughton, Dervla Cosgrove, Nuala McQuillan, Orla O’Hara, Coleen Patterson, Siobhan McKillop, Brogan Abhram, Sinead Cosgrove, Ellen Leech
Pics by John McIlwaine