St Ergnat’s 4-11 St Brigid’s 1-07

Antrim and Ulster champions St Ergnats Moneyglass cemented their dominance in Antrim ladies’ football by capturing their sixth consecutive Antrim Senior Football Championship title, overpowering St Brigid’s with a comprehensive 4-11 to 1-07 victory at The Bear Pit, home of Sarsfields.
Despite the eventual champions’ commanding overall performance, it was St Brigid’s who opened the scoring when Abigail Carleton fired over a point just three minutes in. However, Moneyglass quickly settled their nerves. Cliona Griffin leveled the game in the seventh minute before St Ergnat’s unleashed a devastating two-minute spell. Maria O’Neill struck for the game’s first goal in the ninth minute, and Cathy Carey followed up with a second major just two minutes later, completely shifting the momentum.
Carey added another point to her tally in the 17th minute, kicking off a steady stream of Moneyglass scores. St Brigid’s fought hard to stay in touch, with Ellie Murphy pointing in the 18th minute and Laura Agnew adding scores in the 19th and 26th minutes. Emma Ferran also split the posts for the challengers just before the break. Still, Moneyglass remained relentless, finishing the half strongly with points from Ruby Mc Erlain, a brace from Orlaith Prenter, and a final first-half score from O’Neill to leave the halftime score reading 2-06 to 0-05 in favour of the defending champions.

The second half began with renewed fight from St Brigid’s as Aileen McDonnell scored in the opening minute. Moneyglass responded swiftly through Mc Erlain in the second minute, though Agnew kept St Brigid’s ticking over with a 10th-minute point. Moneyglass then tightened their grip on the trophy with a trio of points between the 13th and 16th minutes—two more from the accurate Prenter and another from O’Neill.
St Brigid’s found a lifeline in the 20th minute when Cliodhna Logan found the back of the net, giving her side a brief glimmer of hope. The champions, however, provided an immediate and emphatic answer. Orlaith Prenter raised a green flag of her own in the 22nd minute, and after another O’Neill point, Ruby Mc Erlain hammered home Moneyglass’s fourth goal in the 26th minute.
That final surge firmly extinguished any chance of a late comeback. St Ergnats’ potent attacking rotation proved too much to handle, as they outscored St Brigid’s 2-05 to 1-02 in the second period. The final whistle confirmed a 4-11 to 1-07 triumph, officially securing a historic six-in-a-row for this brilliant Moneyglass side who now set off in defence of their Ulster title.