Doherty Woodshavings Antrim Junior Camogie Championship – Preliminary round
Gort Na Mona 4-14 Rossa II 1-05
By Kevin Herron at Enright Park
Gort Na Mona progressed to the quarter-final of the Antrim junior camogie semi-finals after a comfortable 4-14-1-05 victory over Rossa II at Enright Park on Friday evening.
Danielle Hughes scored the first of her sides four goals just before the midway point in the first-half and within four minutes Grainne O’Hare conjured a second.
Rossa’s best spells arrived late in both half’s with Megan Maglinchey scrambling home a consolation goal late with the game well beyond doubt – but Gort Na Mona rubbed salt into the wounds with injury-time strikes from Aoibhin Enright and Fiona McCotter to seal a place in the last eight.
Conditions were less than ideal at a windswept Enright Park and scores were at a premium early on – Niamh Enright saw her third free drift wide of the posts but two minutes later the opening score arrived through Anna McCann at the second attempt to get her shot away.
McCann doubled her tally after Niamh Semple had levelled through a converted free for the visitors – though Gort Na Mona were the ascendancy early on and were 0-04-0-01 ahead within the first twelve minutes.
A neat interchange between Eimear and Niamh Enright saw the later add to McCann’s opening two scores and Enright extended her own personal tally to two with a perfectly converted free.
The opening goal arrived two minutes short of the midway point – Eimear Enright dropped a ball short of the target, however Gort full-forward Danielle Hughes kept the move alive and from a tight angle was able to hook the ball low past Rossa keeper Sophia Ernskine and into the net to give Gort Na Mona a 1-04-0-01 lead.
Eimear Enright and goal scorer Hughes then linked up to play in Aoibhin Enright for her first score of the evening and within a minute the Turf Lodge ladies had a second goal to show for the dominant start to proceedings.
Grainne O’Hare seized possession and burst forward before floating the ball over the reach of Ernskine and into the Rossa net to give her side a 2-05-0-01 lead.
A foul on Danielle Hughes lead to Niamh Enright converting her second free of the half to end her sides first-half scoring – Rossa were in need of some inspiration before the break and two scores arrived before referee Fionntán McCotter brought the first-half to a close.
Meabh Macurdy ended a baron spell of almost twenty minutes without a score – with a little help from the large upright and Niamh Semple converted her second free of the half as Rossa retreated to the dressing room with much work to do in order to salvage the game, trailing 2-06-0-03.
Gort Na Mona increased their lead within sixty seconds of the restart through Anna McCann and three successive frees from Niamh Enright brought her tally for the evening to six and had her side 2-10-0-03 ahead ten minutes into the second period.
Eimear Enright then conjured up an excellent score with a fine shot that sailed between the posts – a third goal was almost in the offering for the Gorts as Anna McCann’s floated pass fell into the palm of Danielle Hughes who was thwarted by a brave block from Ernskine in the Rossa goal.
Niamh Enright continued to punish Rossa from the placed ball with a further converted free at the beginning of the final quarter and after Anna McCann closed down a short clearance – Gort’s number eleven had her fourth point of the evening.
Trailing 2-13-0-03 with little under ten minutes remaining, Rossa were now playing merely for pride – they found their first score in 25 minutes through a Meabh McCurdy point but Gort Na Mona responded with their third goal of the game – as Aoibhin Enright lofted the ball over Ernskine to extend Gort’s lead, 3-13-0-04.
Two minutes from time Rossa secured a consolation goal as Niamh Semple dropped a free into the danger zone and after a scramble in the Gort Na Mona area Megan Maglinchey flicked the ball past Coleen McAvoy and into the Gort net.
Meabh McCurdy hit her sides final score of the evening with a fine point – Anna McCann responded with her final point of the evening on the stroke of full-time but Gort Na Mona weren’t quite finished and claimed their fourth goal in injury-time – McCann saw her shot spilled by Sophia Ernskine and with an empty net at her disposal Fiona McCotter poked home in the game’s final action before her namesake Fionntán sounded the final whistle to bring proceedings to an end.
Gort Na Mona progress to a home quarter-final with Ahoghill next Friday evening and will fancy their chances of progression on their evenings showing.
Gort Na Mona: C McAvoy, N Brown, G Cahill, L McNeil, C Scannell, K Cournane, R Maguire, F McCotter (1-00), N Enright (0-07, 0-06f), A Enright (1-01), A McCann (0-05), E Enright (0-01), G O’Hare (1-00), D Hughes (1-00), C Mulvenna. Subs: M Kearny for C Mulvenna (37 mins), R Healy for E Enright (52 mins), KJ Catney for G O’Hare (54 mins).
Rossa: S Ernskine, C Beatty,N O’Neill, C Loughran, N Semple (0-02f), E Savage, O McMenamin, M Maglinchey (1-00), H Savage, M Macurdy (0-03), O Boyle, E O’Neill, A Cawdwell, MT Fleming. Subs: C Maglinchey for E O’Neill (14 mins), E Shannon for O Boyle (14 mins).
Referee: Fionntán McCotter (Sarsfields)
Pics by Ciaràn ò Brolchàin