Category / Ladies Football

by thesaffrongael

Taggart goal the difference as St. James claim the bragging rights

WS DENNISON Intermediate Football Championship

Aldergrove 1-11 Glenavy 0-13

A goal from the excellent Caitlin Taggart in the 21st minute proved the difference in the end as St. James Aldergrove defeated neighbours, St. Joseph’s Glenavy it terrible conditions in Crumlin on Sunday evening.

Taggart was in excellent form as her side claimed the bragging rights for now in an excellent game of football which was a credit to both sides despite the incessant rain that fell throughout.

It was visitors Glenavy who got off to the better start as Ana Mulholland, Megan McGarry, Grainne McLaughlin and Aoibheann Monaghan fired them into a 0-4 to 0-0 lead by the 5th minute.

In a game of changing fortunes it was St. James Aldergrove who responded positively as Aoife Taggart replied with three points for the home side and another from Nicole Jones had it all square by the 15th minute.

The home side were dominating at this stage and Orlagh Mullin pulled off a smart save in to deny them when a goal looked on but it provided only temporary respite.

Taggart pointed the Crumlin side ahead for the first time from a free in the 20th minute and a minute later she capitalised on a bad kick-out to send a dipping shot over the head of Orlagh Mullin to put her side four ahead.

The Aldergrove number 10 was running riot at this stage and she added a point from play and followed with another from a free to put her side six ahead and they were threatening to run away with it at this stage.

The Chapel Hill side picked themselves up of the floor however with Natasha O’Neill kicking their first score for 20 minutes and Grainne McLaughlin, Megan McGarry, McLaughlin again and Natasha O’Neill kicked unanswered points to leave just one between the sides as the half time whistle sounded.

Half Time: Aldergrove 1-7 Glenavy 0-9

Ther momentum was very much with the visitors as the opening half came to an end and when Grainne McLaughlin fired over the equaliser after 30 seconds of the new half it was St. Joseph’s who were looking the more likely winners.

Aldergrove were having none of it and spurred on by their talisman, Caitlin Taggart they fired over the next two points to restore their lead but as conditions deteriorated the scoring from both sides slowed down.

Natasha O’Neill closed the gap to the minimum once more with a point for Glenavy in the 16th minute and Paula Masterson for St. James and the excellent Grainne McLaughlin for Glenavy exchanged further minors.

It still looked anybody’s game as it entered the final ten minutes but Caitlin Taggart converted a great free from out on the left to move the Crumlin side two in front.

Glenavy pressed hard in the closing stages but despite a brave effort from the visitors, an Ana Mulholland point with two minutes remaining was as close as they would get.

So for now the bragging rights belong to the Crumlin side but Glenavy can take consolation from the fact that these two sides will meet again in the Intermediate final and it offers them the opportunity to avenge tonight’s defeat.

St. James Aldergrove:  1 Anna McBride, 2 Bronach Mallon, 3 Anna Crossan, 4 Grace O’Neill, 5 Rebecca Marquess, 6 Aine Kelly, 7 Colleen McGuinness, 8 Caoimhe Bell, 9 Katierose Bell, 10 Caitlin Taggart, 11 Nicole Jones, 12 Bronagh McGuinness, 13 Emma McArt, 14 Aoife Taggart, 15 Paula Masterson

 St. Joseph’s Glenavy: 1 Orlagh Mullin, 2 Maire McStravick, 3 Meabh Bradley, 4 Aideen McCambridge, 5 Orla McLeod, 6 Bronagh Forester, 7 Natasha O’Neill, 8 Ana Mulholland, 9 Anna Rice, 10 Aoibheann Monaghan, 11 Grainne McLaughlin, 12 Megan McGarry, 13 Ellen Morgan, 14 Cathy Scannell, 15 Michelle Gregory.

Referee: Sean Toal

by thesaffrongael

Moneyglass advance to another final

LGFA Ladies U16A Championship

Moneyglass v St. Gall’s

Holders Moneyglass look odds on favourites to retain their trophy following this resounding win over St. Gall’s at Marian Hill on Tuesday night.

The home side were relentless right from throw in as they hit eight points in the opening 18 minutes with Josephine Darragh 0-4, Katie McCloskey 0-2 Rubvy 0-1 and Annie Griffin 0-1 the players on target.

St. Gall’s were giving it everything they had but had only a pointed free from Shauneen Stewart to show for their efforts.

Any hopes of a comeback were quickly dismissed however as Katie McCloskey rattled the St. Gall’s net in the 22nd and 24th minutes and Annie Griffin and Josephine Darragh added points before Shauneen Stewart converted her second free of the half for the visitors as the game edged into time added on.

HT Moneyglass 2-10 St. Gall’s 0-2

Any thoughts that St. Ergnat’s would ease up in the second half were soon dismissed as Josephine Darragh, Leah Stewart, Annie Griffin and Mia McLarnon added points by the 13th minute with Aoife Garland raising St. Gall’s only point from play.

The home side continued to dominate in every department despite the best efforts of their opponents and the excellent Katie McCloskey finished to the net for her third and fourth goals at the end of the third quarter.

Josephine Darragh, Katie McCloskey 0-2, Josephine Darragh and Leah Cassidy added points before Ruby McErlain got through for St. Ergnat’s 5th goal with five minutes remaining.

The reigning champions finished as they started with Leah Stewart 0-2 and Annie Griffin adding points and they will now meet Clann hEireann Cargin, who defeated Gort na Mona 3-10 to 0-12 in the other semi-final, next Tuesday, 19th September in the decider.

by thesaffrongael

Dahunsi powers St. Paul’s to victory

Northern Property LGFA SFC

St. Paul’s 2-15 St. Brigid’s 2-8

St. Paul’s and St. Brigid’s served up an entertaining game of football in the LGFA Northern Property Senior Football Championship at Shaw’s Road on Sunday.

The home side always held the upper hand and led by 0-10 to 0-5 at the break and a goal from Emilie Duffy midway through the second half put them in a strong position.

Emma McFerran replied with a goal for the Musgrave Park side in the 52nd minute to give them hope but a second St. Paul’s goal from Lara Dahunsi from the penalty spot put the home side in control.

St. Brigid’s fought right to the end and were rewarded for their efforts when Ciara Austin got through for a goal in injury time but it proved too little-too late.

It was St. Paul’s who got off to the better start with Lara Dahunsi pointing them ahead after 25 seconds and the same player added another by the second minute.

Laura Agnew replied with St. Brigid’s opening point but Dahunsi was presenting problems on the ’40’ and she came back with two more to bring her personal tally to four with only 6 minutes gone.

St. Brigid’s were giving it everything to get their own game going and Hanna D saw her effort come back off a post and it was Lara Dahunsi who would continue to torment the visitors defence.

The Musgrave Park girls found their shooting boots during the second quarter with Cliodhna Logan and Laura Agnew bringing their total to five by the half way stage but Lara Dahunsi and Emilie Duffy kept the score board ticking for St. Paul’s to leave them five ahead at the break.

Half time score: St Brigids 0-5(5) St Paul’s 0-10(10)

St. Paul’s continued to edge the exchanges on the restart as they added four further points by the 5th minute with St. Brigid’s only response coming from a Laura Agnew free.

Lara Dahunsi replied with another point for St. Paul’s before Elilie Duffy fired home the game’s opening goal in the 14th minute.

Both sides exchanged points and a goal from Emma Ferran in the 22nd minute gave St. Birigid’s a glimmer of hope but four minutes later Lara Dahunsi fired home from the penalty spot to put the contest out of reach.

To their credit St. Brigid’s continued to fight and a goal from Ciara Austin as the game crept into injury time closed the gap to seven but only served to put a better reflection on the score-line.

Lara Dahunsi was superb for the Shaw’s Road side and finished the game with 1-6 while Emilie Duffy and Ciara Brown were also prominent and contributed 1-2 for a good all round St. Paul’s side.

Laura Agnew carried the greatest threat for St. Brigid’s and finished with 0-3 to her credit while Emma Ferran and Ciara Autin were the St. Brigid’s goal scorers.

St. Paul’s:1 Shauna Murphy, 2 Caoimhe Stewart, 3 Aoife Sullivan, 4 Cliona  Phillips, 5 Gemma McGroarty, 6 Stacy McCann, 7 Enya Daye, 8 Aine Lynch, 9 Seana Moyes, 10 Niamh Ritchie,11 Lara Dahunsi, 12 Aisling Hyndman, 13 Aoife Mervyn, 14 Emilie Duffy,15 Ciara Brown

St Brigids:1 – Julie Colgan, 2 – Caoimhe, 3 – Aoife Murnaghan, 4 – Cora,  5 – Cliodhna McG,  6 – Emma Ferran, 7 Theresa Mellon, 8 – Maeve 9  Laura Agnew, 10 – Ciara Austin, 11 – Aileen, 12 – Mary Mitchell, 13 – Hanna D,14 – Cliodhna Logan, 15 – Ellie Murphy

Referee: Piarais McCaffery

by thesaffrongael

St. John’s advance against battling Saints

Kennedy Centre LGFA JFC

All Saints 1-9 St. John’s 2-10

St. Johns advanced to the semi-final of the Kennedy Centre JFC with a win over All Saints in Ballymena on Friday night. When these sides met in the league earlier in the season the Johnnies lades won convincingly and they went into this championship game as firm favourites.

It didn’t quite work out that way however and the Ballymena girls made the visitors fight for their victory with the sides level at 0-5 apiece at half time.

The loss of their mid-fielder Anna Kearney to a Yellow card in the second half proved a blow that the home side never recovered from and it was St. John’s who ran out deserving winners in the end.

All Saints set up with a good game plan that helped to frustrate the St Johns forwards in the first half. Having lost heavily to their opponents earlier in the league campaign All Saints set about their task with great determination. St Johns opened the scoring but were being forced to shoot from distance and difficult angles and on occasions get turned over by the Saints defence. All Saints managed to get on the scoreboard themselves with good points from Anna OKane, Roisin Ward and Sianeese Maybin.

HT 0-5 TO 0-5

St Johns flew out of the traps in the 2nd half with the home side guilty of some poor handling errors as they team they built up a 6 point lead. 

However a smartly taken goal by 2nd half substitute Laura McAleese got All Saints back in the game and when St Johns lost midfielder Orla Mallon to a yellow card and sin bin it looked like the home side could be on for a shock. However a Yellow Card for influential midfielder Anna Kearney meant St Johns were able to see out the game comfortably and move forward to the semi-finals. 

Siantelle Boyd, Siobhan McGurk, Carla Hamill, Olivia Cardwell, Niamh Hamill and Debbie Boyd impressed in an excellent St. John’s side while Katie Connolly, Anna Kearney, Anna O’Kane, Roisin Ward and Sianeese Maybin were best in a battling All Saints side.

St. John’s now meet Sarsfields, who defeated Ardoyne at Fennell Park in their quarter-final while the second semi-final sees Rossa travel to Hannastown to take on Lamh Dhearg

All Saints Scorers: Anna O’Kane 0-4, Sianeese Maybin 0-3, Roisin Ward 0-2, Laura McAleese 1-0

by thesaffrongael

Naomh Gall U16 Ladies are league champions

Naomh Gall U16 Ladies lifted the league title recently after an unbeaten run of games played across the past few months. 

With re-fixes and summer holidays playing their part, it fell to the last two games of the season to secure the win for the ladies, who have worked tirelessly this year and put in some superb performances on the pitch in the last two games , played over the course of 3 days, to eventually enjoy the spoils.  

Hard work and commitment is not lacking in this group of young ladies or their mentors, past and present, having won the McGlone Cup as U10’s and lifting the league title as U12’s.  They always want to succeed and put 100% effort into attempting to achieve that. 

Thursday 31st August was a special night for this group and St Galls as a club, in particular when current Ladies County Chairwoman and St Galls member, Fionnuala Murphy, presented the team with the league trophy to joyous smiles and celebrations.

This group of girls represent the club with pride and are very worthy of all their successes, hopefully with many more to come.  Thanks to the parents and supporters who ferry their daughters around to training and matches, and help in any small way to make moments like this happen #NGA