Category / Ladies Football

by thesaffrongael

Morgan inspires Carryduff to victory at Corrigan

LGFA Ladies JFC

St. John’s 1-5 Carryduff 1-9

St. John’s made their exit from the Ulster LGFA Junior Championship when they fell to a well organised, Maura Morgan inspired Carryduffy at Corrigan Park on Sunday.

The Johnnies enjoyed plenty of possession over the hour but found it difficult to break down a strong Carryduff defence that dealt well with most of what the Corrigan Park side could throw at them.

Lusine Adams pointed the Whiterock Road side into an early lead before Maura Morgan replied from a 45th minute free to level the contest.

The visitors soon settled into an early rhythm Katie Foy kicked them into the lead with a point in the 9th minute and further points from the impressive Morgan and Cara Donnelly had them 0-4 to 0-1 ahead by the 14th minute.

St. John’s pushed hard to get back into contention but Katie Foy, Sian O’Neill and Ashling Wojcieszak in the Carryduff defence were equal to everything that came their way.

Orla Corr raised St. John’s second white flag of the afternoon from a free in the 17th minute but the home side were grateful to their keeper, Sinead McAleavey who pulled off a good save to deny Cara Donnelly who looked in for the game’s opening goal.

Undeterred, the visitors continued to push forward and Maura Morgan added a point from a free before Cara Donnelly split the uprights from play to move her side four ahead after 21 minutes.

Donnelly’s point would prove to be the final score of the half but St. John’s were dealt a blow just before the break when Niamh Hamill limped out of the contest injured to be replaced by Hannah McAllister.

The Corrigan Park side needed a good start to the second half if they were to get themselves into the game but in the event it was Maura Morgan who extended the Carrduff lead from a free in the third minute.

Back came St. John’s with Lusine Adams splitting the posts in the 6th and 8th minutes to close the gap to three and suddenly there was a glimmer of hope for the girls in blue but that hope was quickly extinguished.

A good move from the resulting kick-out saw the Down champions move the ball smartly to the other end of the field and Ciara McLornan finished to the net to move her side six ahead.

St. John’s were still giving it everything and were enjoying a bit of success themselves as Orla Corr pointed in the 14th minute before Cora Magee brought the biggest cheer of the day from the home support when she fired past Caoimhe Lavery in the ‘Duff’ goals.

Suddenly there was only two points between the sides with 12 minutes still remaining but once again the visitors defence shut up shop as they turned everything that St. John’s could throw at them.

They replied with a couple of points themselves through Cara Donnelly in the 21st minute and another from goal scorer McLornan in injury time to ease home winners by four points and book a place in the semi-final.

by thesaffrongael

Late Morgan magic swings it Glenavy’s way

LGFA Ulster Intermediate Football Championship

Glenavy 4-7 Rostrevor 2-7

A late Ellen Morgan piece of magic swung this Ulster LGFA IFC clash the way of St Joseph’s Glenavy when they overcame the considerable challenge of a Niamh Rice inspired Rostrevor in the Ulster Intermediate Football Championship in wet conditions at Chapel Hill on Saturday.

The home side looked to be heading for a comfortable victory when they led by 2-3 to 0-1 after 19 minutes, their goals coming from Aoibheann Monaghan and Grainne McLaughlin but it was visitors Rostrevor who finished the half strongly.

Ellen Morgan (14) struck a late goal to swing the game Glenavy’s way

Niamh Rice led the way for the Down champions and she would add 1-3 to Aislinn McGeough’s early point to close the gap to a goal by half time, the Glenavy cause not helped by a yellow card decision late in the half

Rostrevor started the second half as they had finished the first with Colleen Crios and Aoife Murphy pointing to close the gap to one after six minutes before Ellen Morgan edged the home side two in front with a point in the 11th minute, their first score in over 20 minutes.

It seemed in vain as the Down girls came roaring back and when the impressive Niamh Rice rattled the Glenavy net in the 16th minute, Rostrevor were ahead for the first time and looking the likelier winners.

Clara Mulvenna followed with a point to put the Down champions two ahead in the 18th minute but it would be their final score of the game as Glenavy picked themselves of the canvas to finish strongly.

Megan McGarry replied with a point in the 21st minute as the Down side lost a player to a yellow card before Grainne McLaughlin levelled matters from a 26th minute free.

The Chapel Hill side pushed hard for a winner and Kerrianne Par in the Rostrevor goals pulled off as fine save to deny them and he game looked to be heading into extra time when Ellen Morgan produced her moment of magic with a goal, deep in injury time.

Rostrevor looked destraught and to rub salt in their wounds Natasha O’Neill followed immediately with another to send the Antrim champions through to the semi-finals where they will again enjoly home advantage when they face Grangemore.

Glenavy Scorers: Ellen Morgan 1-2, Grainne McLaughlin 1-2, Aoibheann Monaghan 1-0, Megan McGarry 0-2, Cara McGarry 0-1

Rostrevor Scorers: Niamh Rice 2-3, Aisling McGeough 0-1, Colleen Crios 0-1, Aoife Murphy 0-1, Clara Mulvenna 0-1

by thesaffrongael

Sarsfield’s make the step up to Division 1

LGFA Division 1-2 Promotion-Relegation play off

All Saints 2-9 Sarsfield’s 3-9

Sarsfield’s make the step up to division 1 next season while All Saints return to division 2 following their three point win over the Ballymena side in this promotion-relegation play-off on a slippery Quinn Park on Wednesday night.

The Stewartstown Road side opened sharply and had the ball in the All Saints net within 30 seconds through Rachel Rogan as the home side were caught cold from the throw in.

All Saints responded with points from Sianeese Maybin and Anna O’Kane but they were rocked back on their heels when a Laura McKernan shot, that appeared to be going over, dipped over the despairing grasp of Ciaran Devine.

Sarsfield’s Orla McNulty gets her shot away as Sinead McLaughlin attempts to block

Sarsfield’s were moving the ball around at pace and running at the home defence and Aimee Ferris and Naoise Farrelly added points to move them six ahead after 10 minutes before Anna O’Kane pulled one back from a free.

Players were struggling to keep their feet on the slippery surface and Rachel Rogan slipped with the goal at her mercy and at the other end Marnie O’Neill fired over after Niamh McNally in the Sarsfield’s goals pulled off a smart save to deny Sianeese Maybin.

O’Neill followed with another as the All Saints challenge began to gain some momentum but a great point from Laura McKernan at the other end moved the visitors 2-3 to 0-5 ahead at the break and they might well have been further ahead.

All Saints needed a good start to the second half and Sianeese Maybin provided it when she shot to the net after being placed by Molly Brady to close the gap to one.

All Saints Katie Connolly is challenged by Laura McKernan, Sarsfields during Wednesday night’s promotion-relegation play-off in Ballymena

They failed to build on that early success however as Duane Coleman and Carla McKenna continued to control matters around mid-field with their insatiable work rate and the excellent Laura McKernan fired over three on the bounce to mover her side four ahead.

Marnie O’Neill was starting to win a lot of ball in the All Saints attack and the home side were coming more and more into the game and O’Neill pointed before firing to the Sarsfield’s net from close range to tie the contest with ten minutes remaining.

Back came this year’s division 2 runners up and another well executed attack opened up the All Saints defence with Rachel Rogan palming a tantalising delivery to the net and move her side three ahead once more.

Sianeese maybin replied with a point and Cliodhna Metrustry added another to close the gap to one before the excellent McKernan produced another defence splitting run to ease the pressure.

It was still anyone’s game and an Anna O’Kane pointed free left it in the mix once more but Sarsfield’s would not be denied and they finished strongly with Laura McKernan pointing to bring her personal contribution for the evening to 1-6 and Rachel Rogan kicked the final point of the contest to send Sarsfield’s up to division 1 next year.

All Saints: 1 Ciara Devine, 2 Briana Lee Cushenan, 3 Niamh McMahon, 4 Kelly Wilson, 6 Katie Connolly, 13 Sinead McLaughlin, 7 Cliodhna Metrustry, 28 Cariona Quigley, 9 Roisin Ward, 10 Wiktoria Babuszawska, 11 Anna O’Kane, 12 Molly Brady, 14 Sianeese Maybin, 15 Marnie O’Neill, 16 Ella McLaughlin, 25 Emma Laverty, 18 Kelly O’Mullan, 22 C Hasson.

Sarsfields: 1 Niamh McNally, 2 Tammylee Taggart, 3 Laura Brady, 4 Francesca Quattromana, 5 Ellie Kearns, 6 Niamh Crothers, 7 Rebecca Crummey, 8 Duane Coleman, 9 Carla McKenna, 10 Orla McNulty, 11 Dearbhla Farrelly, 12 Naoise Farrelly, 13 Aimee Ferris, 14 Rachel Rogan, 15 Laura McKernan

Referee: Stephen Higgins (Tir na nOg)

Sarsfield’s celebrate their promotion winning victory over All Saints in Ballymena on Wednesday night
by thesaffrongael

Moneyglass complete championship clean sweep

LGFA Minor A Final

St. Ergnat’s 2-11 St. Brigid’s 4-3

St. Ergnat’s Moneyglass completed their clean sweep of chamionships from U14 to Senior level in 2023 with this Minor A victory over St. Brigid’s in a tight final at Colaiste Feirste on Sunday night. 

Elated by the success of their senior side in Donaghmoyne, many of the large travelling support made the long journey from Monaghan to Belfast and their Minors didn’t disappoint as they defeated St. Brigid’s in a great final.

The game itself was end to end with St Brigid’s taking the lead early on after a few quick goals gave them a convincing head start. 

After those early setbacks, Olivia Marron settled herself between the sticks and her excellent kick out distribution allowed Alica Boyd and Leah Stewart to run riot through the middle. 

Katie McCloskey, who was in fine form, finally broke the defence and scored a rocket of a goal to take the pressure off the Moneyglass girls. Jojo Darragh stepped up and kicked three frees to get her team in front after a shaky start.

A tackle from Orlaith McAteer was deemed illegal by the referee and resulted in a ten minute stint in the sin bin for the big full-forward.

But that didn’t deter the girls from Moneyglass as they stuck to their game plan and managed to keep their heads above the water, going in at half time, only one point down, thanks to another Katie McCloskey goal. 

The second half kicked off as it got cooler and cooler in the city. 

It was almost 9pm and with 30 minutes of football to play, it was anyone’s game. 

St Brigid’s were certainly causing problems, as they tackled hard and attacked at speed but it was Moneyglass who stepped it up a gear and frequently added to the scoreboard, with Annie Griffin, Ruby and Alica Boyd all contributing. 

Only a handful of hours prior to the minor final, Sarah O’Neill, Leah Stewart, Alica Boyd and Leah Cassidy played huge rules in helping the Moneyglass seniors dethrone the current Ulster Champions, in Donaghmoyne so they would have been forgiven for having tired legs, sore bodies and less than optimum performances.

However, it was quite the opposite. With another six girls on the Senior panel, who also had the long bus journey prior to the final to contend with, there was no evidence of any hardship as they all played their hearts out.

Cara McKeefrey in particular did a tremendous job marking one of St Brides key players. 

With only seven minutes left on the clock, Sarah O’Neill found herself in the sin bin after a receiving a yellow card. 

In that same period of play, at Brigid’s struck gold with a major as they punished a lapse in concentration in the Moneyglass camp.  With just minutes left to play, it was a one point game and the tensions were high. 

Moneyglass tagged on one more score to make it a two point game and on that note, the full time whistle blew. 

A tremendous day for the Moneyglass minors and heartbreak for a very strong St Brigid’s side.

by thesaffrongael

Con Magees dominate second half to take Minor B Championship

U17B LGFA Championship Final

Glenravel 4-16 St. John’s 3-7

An comfortable early season win for St Johns over Con Magees augured well for the ladies from the Whiterock Road in this Minor B Championship final, and for large periods of the opening half the blue and whites were very much in contention at a sun swept Dunsilly.

The opening minutes saw both teams miss opportunities to take an early lead, before Con Magees opened the scoring with a point from Leona Gillen following a lovely pass from Clodagh McPeake.

A strong run forward by Ana Adams saw St Johns pull back with Luisne Adams slotting over a resultant free. St Johns pressed hard but were frustrated by wayward shooting that saw a number of wides and prevented them from pushing ahead.

Clodagh McPeake set the pattern for the game with a pass to Lucia McQuillan who bulged the net for Glenravel for the first time in the afternoon. Glenravel were enjoying the majority of territory and possession at this stage, but found themselves repeatedly held at bay by a resolute St Johns defence.

Gillen put further space between the teams with a point coming from a pass from the increasingly dominant Erin Coulter, who seemed to be covering every blade of grass for the ladies from Glenravel.

St Johns were still holding their own in this game with Luisne Adams leading the way with a further point from play. Hopes rose when Siobhan Meade followed up and punched her way through the Con Magees defence to slot the ball firmly in the net.

Glenravel immediately responded with Coulter placing the ball confidently into the hands of Lucia McQuillen who promptly placed it in the St Johns’ nets. This goal was followed up by two further points from Beth and Lucia McQuillan to leave Glenravel ahead by double scores.

Again St Johns responded with a point from Ana Adams and several goal opportunities presented themselves for St Johns to show that this game was still very much alive. Gillen’s point for Glenravel was answered with the eventual breakthrough for St Johns as Luisne Adams lobbed Caitlin McKeown in the Glenravel net for a deserved goal from play.

The concluding minutes of the opening half saw the Glenravel ladies increase the pressure on the St Johns defence, with Cliodhna McBride and Aisling Mulholland adding further points, with Ana Adams responding for St Johns to leave three points between the sides at the short whistle.

Half-Time: Glenravel 2-7 St Johns 2-4

St Johns started the second half strongly but were unable to convert this pressure into scores before the Glenravel ladies eventually found their rhythm and increasingly dominated this game. Three consecutive points from the on fire Leona Gillen pushed them ahead by 6 points but the Johnnies gave a spirited response with a goal from the ever dangerous Luisne Adams.  However this score marked a turning point in this final. Lucia McQuillan replied with a goal straight from the kick out, and the dominance of Glenravel was further emphasised with a second goal soon after from Beth McQuillan.

St Johns never gave up, but the strong runs and speed of Erin Coulter were proving key in pushing the Glenravel ladies towards this Minor B title. Siobhan Mead and Ana Adams put further points over for the Johnnies but these were to prove all too little as Glenravel ended the game well in command. Caitlin McKeown came out of the Glenravel nets and added more firepower to the Glenravel attack.

The final score of the game appropriately came following a strong run by player of the game Coulter through the St Johns defence to be converted by Lucia McQuillan.

A well-deserved victory for Glenravel, but the Johnnies will have got great heart and encouragement from the spirit and determination displayed by their young team as they gave their best until the final whistle.

Final Score: Glenravel 4-16 St Johns 3-7

Glenravel: 1 Caitlin McKeown 2 Cailin McDonnell 3 Ellie Jo Butler 0-1 4 Eimear Butler 5 Emily Sharpe 6 Aisling Mulholland 0-1 7 Eimear McCann 8 Megan Law 9 Erin Coulter 10 Cliodhna McBride 0-1 11 Leona Gillen 0-7 12 Aoibhin McKenna 13 Beth McQuillan 0-1 14 Lucia McQuillan 3-2 15 Clodagh McPeake 1-3, Annie Higgins, Keira Young, Orlaith McDonnell, Hannah McDonnell, Ciara O’Neill, Emer Kelly, Moya Mulholland, Caitlín Law,

St Johns: 1 Orla Nolan 2 Caoimhe Scannell 3 Sinead McAleavey 4 Fiadh McKeough 5 Lucy Reynolds 6 Carla Hamill 7 Keela McAllister 8 Siobhan Mead 1-1 9 Siobhan McGurk 10 Hannah McAllister 0-1 11 Luisne Adams 2-2(1f) 12 Emma Early 13 Ana Adams 0-3 14 Catherine Thompson 15 Caolite Close, Eimear Johnston, Ava Kennedy, Leah McCrudden, Bronagh Irvine