Antrim LGFA Senior Football Championship
Moneyglass 6-18 St Paul’s 1-02
Pics by Elaine Kelly Photography
Reigning champions Moneyglass delivered a ruthless exhibition of scoring to book their place in the Antrim Ladies GAA Senior final, dispatching challengers St. Paul’s in a heavily one-sided semi-final clash. As the scoreline indicates, Moneyglass proved far too strong for the opposition, executing a blistering first-half attack that put the game to bed before the interval.
The match opened with Moneyglass setting an unforgiving pace. Centre forward Maria O’Neill found the back of the net just three minutes into the game. St. Paul’s managed a brief response a minute later when Cara Mervyn slotted over a point to get her side on the board. However, this proved to be St. Paul’s only score of the opening half as the reigning champions unleashed a devastating nine-minute scoring spree.
Between the 6th and 12th minutes, Moneyglass completely dismantled the St. Paul’s defence, racking up three goals and two points. Orlaith Prenter and Ruby McErlain hit a point each, followed rapidly by three consecutive goals from Prenter (10 mins), McErlain (11 mins), and full forward Cathy Carey on 12 minutes.
With the St. Paul’s defence reeling, Moneyglass spent the remainder of the half effortlessly tapping over points. O’Neill, McErlain, Carey, and Prenter—who accounted for three of these points—kept the scoreboard ticking over seamlessly. By the time the halftime whistle blew, Moneyglass had amassed a commanding 4-10 to 0-1 lead.
The second half brought no respite for St. Paul’s, with Maria O’Neill firing her second goal of the match just two minutes after the restart. Aine Tubridy provided a fleeting moment of celebration for St. Paul’s in the 3rd minute with a well-taken goal, but the momentum immediately swung back to the champions.
Moneyglass utilised their bench to keep the pressure on. Bronagh Devlin added further gloss to the scorecard late and a final score from Cathy Carey in the 28th minute sealed an overwhelming 6-18 total for Moneyglass, firmly establishing their credentials to retain the county title.
Moneyglass: 1 Aine Devlin, 2 Aoife Leahy, 3 Niamh McIntosh, 4 Caitlin Griffin, 5 Rebecca Bradley, 6 Emma Louise McAreavey, 7 Cliona Griffin, 8 Laura McCann, 9 Sarah O’Neill, 10 Leah Stewart, 11 Maria O’Neill, 12 Bronagh Devlin, 13 Ruby McErlain, 14 Cathy Carey, 15 Orlaith Prenter, 17 Aoife McGrogan, 18 Cara Burns, 19 Aedin Vallely, 20 Niamh Neeson, 21 Alica Boyd, 22 Annie Griffin, 23 Eve Bradley, 24 Michelle Mullin, 25 Enya Carey, 26 Beverley Graffin, 27 JoJo Darragh, 28 Katie McCloskey, 29 Aoife Madden, 30 Leah Cassidy, Molly Gribbon, Aoife Kelly, Eleanor Mallon, Anna McCann, Ciara McCoy-Thompson.
St. Paul’s: 1 Fionnghuala Rocks, 2 Abaigh McNally, 3 Maria Hanna, 4 Cliodhna Phillips, 5 Caoimhe Mervyn, 6 Eimile Rogers Duffy, 7 Aoife Mervyn, 8 Gemma McGroarty, 9 Aine Tubridy, 10 Orla Munce, 11 Orlaith McCrory, 12 Cara Mervyn, 13 Leila O’Rawe, 14 Amy Murray, 15 Orlaigh Walker, 17 Laoise Mervyn, Ciara Brown, Omolara Dahunsi, Nichola Gervin, Seana Harley-Moyes, Olivia May, Jade McGee, Nicole Munce, Mairead Murray, Dairine Phillips, Aoibh Ward.
