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
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.
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.
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.
The superb Niamh McKinley led Tir na nOg to victory over All Saints Ballymena in Sunday’s U17C Football Championship in sparkling overhead conditions at Fr. Maginn Park, Glenravel.
The Whitehill side’s captain kicked all five of her side’s first half points to leave them leading 0-5 to 0-0 at the halfway stage as a shot shy All Saints failed time and again to make the best of good approach play in the opening half.
The Ballymena girls finally broke their duck when a shot from Anna O’Kane dropped over Tir na nOg keeper, Catriona McCann in the 5th minute of the second half but that would be as close as they got with the Randalstown girls pushing on for a deserved win.
Niamh McKinley, who was outstanding for Tir na nOg, is closed down by Cliodhna Metrustry, All Saints
It was All Saints who made the early running with Anna O’Kane and Cliodhna Metrustry and Keely O’Mullan prominent but too often a pass too many led to them being turned over by a strong Tir na nOg defence.
Slowly though Tir na nOg settled and Orlagh McNally in the All Saints goals pulled off a good save to deny Aime Gartside what looked a certain goal.
Both sides were guilty of poor shooting and it was 13 minutes before the first score arrived with Niamh McKinley pointing Tir na nOg ahead from a free.
The Ballymena girls tried to respond but continued to kick away possession as McKinley kicked her first point from play and added three more before half time to put the Randalstown girls in a commanding position as Martin Mulholland blew his half time whistle.
Aime Gartside increased the Tir na nOg lead with a point in the opening minute of the new half and the excellent Niamh McKinley looked certain to increase her personal tally but Orlagh McNally pulled off her second good save of the contest to deny the Tir na nOg Number 11.
All Saints Keely O’Mullan drives forward from mid-field
.
All Saints were badly in need of a score and there was a touch of good fortune about it when it arrived as Anna O’Kane’s driven effort dipped below Catriona McCann’s crossbar to leave just three in it with five minutes of the new half gone.
Fortune appeared to be on their side when Amy Gartside’s fisted goal was ruled out for a square ball infringement at the other end with All Saints attempting to respond at the other end but the Ballymena side were guilty of a bad miss.
A minute later the girls in Blue were awarded a penalty and once again it was Ballymena’s McNally to face McKinley and again McNally proved up to the task as she denied the Tir na nOg captain from the spot to keep her side’s fading hopes alive
It was the Randalstown side who would kick the next score with Shannon McNeilly splitting the posts and further points from Niamh McKinley and Eimhear McCloskey saw them 0-9 to 1-0 ahead by the 19th minute.
Tir na nOg’s Shauna Robinson breaks up an All Saints attack
Orlagh McNally in the All Saints goals had been excellent throughout the contest but she was finally beaten when Uisneach McCann finished to the net following a fine double save by the All Saints custodian.
It looked as good as over at this stage but to their credit the Ballymena side fought to the end with Cliodhna Metrustry and Anna O’Kane firing over points and substitute Erinn White getting in for a late goal.
A good game of football, well refereed by Martin Mulholland with the best team winning and in Niamh McKinley Tir na nOg had the outstanding player on view.
The Randalstown side were solid in defence with Emma Gartside, Shannon McNeilly and Shauna Robinson the pick of a strong unit. At mid-field Caoife Smith and Jessica Simpson got through a power of work while Niamh McKinley had excellent colleagues in attack in Eimhear McCloskey and Aime Gartside.
Orlagh McNally was excellent in the All Saints goals while no nonsense full-back, Brianna Cushenan, Leah McArdle and Alex Spurgeon were strong in defence. Keely O’Mullan was outstanding at mid-field and had strong support from Cliodhna Metrustry while Anna O’Kane, Orla Lemon and Lucy McGuigan were best in attack.
