21 August 2006 DOWN V WESTMEATH - ST MARY'S ARDEE Share this Article 0 0 0 Shares! 0 Shares! ALL IRELAND U16 B SEMI FINAL DOWN V WESTMEATH – ST MARY’S ARDEE DOWN 4-19 WESTMEATH 2-7 The Down U16 girls team stormed through to the All Ireland B Final with an immense display of skill and determination to overcome a physical Westmeath team in Ardee. Playing n front of a vocal Down support, it was Down who made the better start, with half forward Sheena Kelly, showing well in the opening minutes. They got off the mark after four minutes with a free from Grainne Kelly following a foul on Saval player Lorrraine Havern. Westmeath started to come into the game with a good foray forward by Maud Foley. The forward worked herself into a good position in front of goal and fired the ball low only to be blocked by Sinead Fegan. The first goal for Down came on the seven-minute mark following some excellent link up play between Cara Laverty, Grainne Kelly and scorer Orla Fegan. Running off Kelly’s shoulder, the Shamrocks player picked up the pass before striking the ball low to the ‘keeper’s left. Further scores from Kelly and Natashya Lennon who hit a superb point after beating her marker with pace. Westmeath had their chances to get on the score sheet but a number of easy misses and the tenacious tackling of the Down half backs saw their rewards limited to one point mid way through the half. They made a great chance for themselves as half-back Joanna Maher pushed up the wing and crossed a dangerous ball into the box. The resulting strike from three yards out appeared goal bound only for Niamh McGowan to pull off a full length diving block. The determination shown by the Saval player seemed to spread through the team as they sought to press home their advantage before half time. Grainne Kelly duly obliged on the twenty-minute mark with a goal following good movement by Orla Fegan. The roles were reversed two minutes later as a lovely inside pass from Kelly provide Fegan with an easy chance to take her point. The teams exchanged a number of points up to the half way mark but a last minute scrambled goal by Lorraine Havern reinforced their advantage going into half time. The Mourne girls headed for the changing rooms very much buoyed by their efforts and with one foot in the final. Half time score Down 3-7 Westmeath 0-04. If the first half had been pleasing for managers John McCarthy and Noel Haughey, the second half was a pure delight. Down took up where they left off with points from Grainne Kelly, Lorraine Havern and Orla Fegan (0-3). However the foundation for every attack was the performance of each of the six backs, who dominated their markers and gave great supply of ball up the wings. Goal keeper Christine McCarthy was excellent, making some key saves to deny Westmeath a chance to get back into the game. Midfielder Polly Moane also gave a hi tempo performance, cleaning up everything around the centre of the field. Corner forwards Cara Laverty (2-0) and Lorraine Havern (1-3) always provided an option out wide with the pace of centre forwards Natashya Lennon (0-1) and Grainne Kelly too much for the brave Westmeath defence, who to their credit never stopped working. Kelly dominated the Westmeath backs for the whole of the second half, scoring and passing at will, picking up an eventual personal tally of 1-11. While Westmeath hit a number of scores towards the end of the game, the domination of Down across every sector was too much to overcome, with their delight at the end of the game all too obvious. So a first ever All Ireland final for the U16s beckons and is duly deserved following a text book display of passing, movement and determination. Personal performances from Grainne Kelly and ‘keeper Christine McCarthy saw them compete for the player of the match award but it was the performance of the team unit that was most encouraging. Managers John McCarthy and Noel Haughey were delighted at the end of the game, commenting “our work rate today was outstanding. We needed a real team performance and that’s what the girls produced – our passing, shooting and blocking were top drawer. But the biggest thing was our determination. We fought for every ball and showed real passion on the field. Every single player deserves credit for our performance today”. The All Ireland final will be held on September 16th – venue to be announced. Down team Christine McCarthy, Catherine Boden, Niamh McGowan, Ciara McArdle, Roisin Torney, Paula Gribben (0-1), Sinead Fegan (capt), Polly Moane, Clara Fitzpatrick, Sheena Kelly, Grainne Kelly (1-11), Orla Fegan (0-3), Lorraine Havern (1-3), Natashya Lennon (0-1), Cara Laverty (2-0). Subs: Grace Cole, Eimear McKay, Catherine Digney, Niamh Millar, Catherine Haughian, Bronagh Kerr, Siobhan Lively, Ann Marie Monaghan, Ann McCall, Anna McDonald, Laura Morgan, Sileen McDonald, Mary O’Hare, Lisa Devlin, Niamh O’Riordan, Courtney Linden Share this Article 0 0