Well done to our U16 girls, who came through a fiery quarter-final against Aldergrove this evening to book their place in the semi-final!
Tonight’s game held a special significance for our club, as it was played in memory of Darren, the dad of our U16 player Kaya, who sadly passed away a few months ago. A moment’s silence was held before throw-in in his memory.
Both teams came flying out of the blocks, with goals and points exchanged at either end early on. Pearses worked tirelessly to deal with the threat of a strong Aldergrove attack, who looked to overload at every opportunity. The North Belfast girls, however, created four more opportunities than their opposition during the opening 30 minutes and went into the break six points ahead, 4-8 to 3-5.
The second half continued in exactly the same fashion, with neither team willing to give an inch. There were some excellent scores at either end, with Pearses’ Ellen and Aldergrove’s Holly proving particularly sharp in front of of the uprights. Plenty of other notable performances from this evening, Aoibhea Casey Yvie Kaya…to name a few!
It was always going to come down to which team could create the opportunities for their scorers and that remained in the balance until the final 15 minutes. Pearses rallied hard, turning over possession, winning individual battles and putting together some excellent passages of play to finally open up a decisive gap.
The girls showed incredible work rate, determination and composure when it mattered most. Every player played their part, and those individual battles ultimately made the difference.
A fantastic team performance from start to finish. Well done girls, semi-final secured!
St. Paul’s booked an impressive victory in the Antrim LGFA Senior Football Championship at Shaw’s Road, shaking off a highly competitive opening half to decisively dominate Glenavy in the second period, finishing on a scoreline of 2-12 to 1-6.
The early stages of the game were tightly contested as Glenavy started brightly, opening the scoring through a point from Anna Rice in the 10th minute. St. Paul’s responded immediately with a point from Nicola Girvan, only for Glenavy to restore their advantage with an Aiobheann Monaghan score. A great sequence then saw Orlaith McCrory land a point for St. Paul’s, followed closely by a well-taken goal from Aine Tubridy to push them ahead.
However, Glenavy refused to let the gaps widen in the first half; Monaghan pointed a free and Ellen Morgan added another to narrow the gap. After Amy Murray slotted over a fine point for St. Paul’s, Caoimhe McCartan struck back for Glenavy. The turning point of the half arrived in the 22nd minute when St. Paul’s midfielder Aine Tubridy broke through for a clinical goal, making it 1-3 to 0-5. Though Monaghan struck a final free for Glenavy, and Cassie Shannon pulled off a magnificent save to prevent further damage, St. Paul’s held a narrow 1-4 to 0-6 advantage at the half-time whistle.
The second half was a completely different affair as St. Paul’s came out of the traps with relentless intensity, holding Glenavy completely scoreless until deep into injury time. Orlaith McCrory set the tone by converting an early free, which was quickly followed by a brilliantly worked team move that ended with Cara Mervyn crashing the ball into the back of the net in the 5th minute. The points flowed freely from there as Nicole Munce and Aine Tubridy raised white flags to extend the lead. McCrory was in exceptional form during this dominant period, punishing Glenavy’s indiscretions with another pointed free before launching a spectacular long-range point from play in the 26th minute. Sub Aoibh Ward also got in on the scoring act, and Clodagh Mervyn added another tidy point as the Shaw’s Road side ran riot. Glenavy finally broke their second-half drought 32 minutes into the half when Ellen Morgan managed to find the net for a consolation goal, but McCrory had the final say for the victors, chipping over her final point in the 33rd minute to cap off a comprehensive second-half exhibition.
Aghagallon produced a ruthless attacking display to power past O’Donovan Rossa and secure their place in the next round of the Junior B Championship. The visitors made an explosive start and were ahead after a point from Eve McStravick (5) before Amy McGrath (13) struck the first of her six goals in the fourth minute. A second goal from McGrath followed six minutes later and, with further scores arriving from Kerrie Foster (21) and Olivia Jordan (15), Aghagallon opened up a commanding advantage. Rossa responded through Orlaith Lyttle (8) and stayed in touch when Amelia Morris (11) converted a penalty and followed up with a point from a free. However, McGrath continued to cause havoc in the Rossa defence, adding further scores before the break as Aghagallon carried a 2-7 to 1-4 lead into half-time.
Any hopes of a Rossa comeback were dealt a major blow immediately after the restart. McGrath struck twice more in quick succession, while Kerrie Foster (21) and Caoimhe Scannell (12) added points as Aghagallon stretched their lead further. Substitute Martha Haughian (17) made an immediate impact, landing two points before finding the net as Aghagallon continued to pile on the pressure. Their strength in depth was evident as fresh legs maintained the tempo throughout the second half. To their credit, Rossa continued to battle. Eimear McElvanna (4) scored 1-2 after being moved from defence to attack. Meanwhile Chloe Irvine (19) contributed two points from play. Despite that response, Aghagallon always looked in control. The final flourish came from the outstanding Amy McGrath (13), who completed a remarkable tally with two late goals to finish with 6-3, capping a dominant Aghagallon performance as they ran out convincing winners.
A passionate crowd of supporters from the Glens and from North Belfast gathered at Fennell Park yesterday evening for the preliminary round of the Antrim Ladies Junior Football Championship. With the sun descending beautifully behind them in the shadow of Cavehill, little did they realise the exhibition of Gaelic football that was in store for them as the Senior Ladies of Ardoyne Kickhams and Glenariffe Oisíns gave battle.
Given their blistering league form, Ardoyne entered the clash as clear favourites, and as the opening half developed it looked a certainty that this game would follow the league form book. The ever-reliable Anna McGarry got the Ardoyne ladies off to a dream start. She struck twice in quick succession, hitting the back of the net with two goals to rattle the visitors. Her clinical finishing was brilliantly aided by the in-form Alex Trainor, who confidently slotted over the first of her impressive six points of the evening.
It was well past the ten-minute mark before Sionainn Graham finally registered the first goal for the visitors, offering a lifeline for the Glenariffe side. In truth, however, the remainder of the half was utterly dominated by the home side, who dictated the pace and won the vital battles across the pitch.
The closing minutes of the first half saw Ailisa Frame emphasise Ardoyne’s dominance with a gaol and point to put the ladies from the District a clear nine points ahead and firmly in the driving seat of this game.
Alex Trainor struck first blood for Ardoyne immediately after the restart, slotting over her opening point of the second half to extend the home side’s lead. However, Glenariffe’s powerhouse, Sionnain Graham, quickly gave notice that the half-time break had breathed new life and hope into the Glens side, firing home her second goal of the game.
For a brief moment, the Kickhams duo of Trainor and Orla McGarry looked to have restored order, combining beautifully to tag on a goal and a point between them. Yet, what followed blew the game completely wide open. Over the next fifteen minutes, Glenariffe somehow established dominance. Launching a blitz on the Ardoyne goals, they rattled off an incredible 2-06 to leave the sides locked dead even as the third quarter came to a dramatic close. Saorla Maguire pulled off a magnificent save for the Ardoyne ladies, that unfortunately led an injury requiring her replacement between the posts for Ardoyne.
The final quarter of this game was an absolute war of attrition as the teams traded score for score in a furious, high-octane battle. Neither side was willing to blink, ultimately forcing a period of extra time to try to separate two teams that refused to be beaten.
As the sun fully disappeared behind the Belfast hills, the players left every single ounce of energy on the pitch. Both panels fought tooth and nail to establish ascendancy under the fading light. Ardoyne dug deep, showing their quality by slotting over six crucial points during extra time. However, it was Glenariffe who found the lethal touch when it mattered most. The visitors hit the home side with two devastating goals and a vital point, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
With the final whistle, this exhibition of pulsating football saw the heroic effort from the Ardoyne ladies fall just short, while Glenariffe deservedly secured progress to the next round of the Championship by the bare minimum.
Naomh Eanna ladies celebrated the end of a successful league campaign with an inter panel challenge match.
Amber and Black versus Black and Amber.
The Glengormley girls negotiated their way through a highly competitive league two campaign suffering only a solitary defeat in 15 games. Very impressive to achieve this with the quality teams from Sarsfields, Ardoyne and Cargin mounting their own title challenges.While the younger division 3 squad have finished in the runners-up spot losing out to an excellent Aghagallon team and playing predominantly as an u20 squad to lose just 3 times.
With both teams having their final league games conceded the players prepared for the upcoming Junior and Junior B championship with a competitive match refereed by Sean Maguire.
Presenting the trophy to Naomh Eanna captain Orla McNulty Sean paid tribute to the skills of all the players on display and wished the Hightown girls good luck in the championships and for next year.
With exciting teams at u16 and u14 emerging the future looks bright for the lgfa in the Glengormley hills as they return to Division 1 for the first time in 5 years.
