Foxrock/Cabinteely Crowned Leinster Champions

Leinster Junior Ladies Football Final Foxrock/Cabinteely 6-12
An Tochar 2-7

Goals win games and this was certainly the case in Athy on Sunday
afternoon as Foxrock/Cabinteely hit Wicklow side An Tochar for
six to claim the Leinster Junior title at the first attempt. While
the score line flattered the Dublin side, the game was a much
closer contest with the outcome in the balance until the final
quarter. This has been a momentous year for the South Dubliners
having already won the All Ireland Junior 7s Shield and Dublin
Junior Championship.

An Tochar won the toss and elected to play with the wind. The
Wicklow champions camped in their opponents half but the elements
proved difficult to contend with as a number of good chances carried
wide in the 1st half. Foxrock/Cabinteely defended tigerishly throughout
and although An Tochar corner-forward Nickie Dunne hit them with
two goals within a minute and a half of the restart, the young
Dubs composed themselves well scoring 2-2 within minutes. They
bounced back strongly, bettering their opening half tally of 3-5
by two points, as they wrote themselves into the history books.
This is certainly an incredible achievement for a club, who has
only fielded an adult team for the last two years. The South Dublin
side was unlucky not to lead the game at the end of the opening
quarter, with the sides tied at 0-3 each. Theresa Molloy saved
a well taken penalty in the 8th minute pushing it over the crossbar.
The Roundwood girls were disappointed to have a goal disallowed
by Carlow Referee Fran Mullins in the 10th minute. However, Foxrock/Cabinteely
rose to the occasion and three goals in a six minute spell ensured
a well merited 3-5 to 0-4 half-time advantage after playing into
a strong wind.

Ciara Murphy was the first goal scorer of the hour after 18
minutes and goals from half-forwards Amy Ring and Louise Stafford
gave Foxrock/Cabinteely a 3-4 to 0-4 lead after 24 minutes. Strong
winds and wet conditions didn’t prevent both teams from continuing
to battle hard and between them they only managed a point before
the interval from the boot of Anne Marie Murphy. Foxrock/Cabinteely
were determined to concede as little as possible into the strong
wind. They did so admirably with goalkeeper Sinead Murphy pulling
off a fine save, but nothing could have prepared Foxrock/Cabinteely
for the mini onslaught which An Tochar produced in the opening
stages of the second half as two quick goals from Nickie Dunne
cut the deficit to four points. But it was only a momentary lapse
by the eventual winners as they picked up the pieces and responded
very well with Louise Stafford taking her second goal of the contest.
Scores continued to flow freely from Foxrock/Cabinteely and it
wasn’t until the 48th minute that An Tochar took their next score,
but at that stage the Dublin girls held a 6-10 to 2-4 advantage.

This impressive haul included an excellent point from defender
Sinead Goldrick and a goal from Amy Ring on 37 minutes. Amy Connolly,
recently awarded Leinster Young Player of the Year added a well
taken goal in the 44th minute. Sinead Loughran entered the fray
to add a point. Doireann O’ Daly caused endless problems for the
Wicklow side at full forward using her height and strength under
the high ball. Many scores came from breaking ball in the wet
and windy conditions. Kirstie Mc Ardle faced a formidable task
in marking the experienced Anne Mc Gillycuddy but the young Dub
can take pride in conceding one point to her. Sinead Goldrick
countered Aimee Byrne, An Tochar’s main scoring threat, keeping
her scoreless throughout. Tiredness never set in for the Dubliners
and they gave their all, right until the finish as a more experienced
An Tochar side simply had no answer on this occasion. An Tochar
sprang their County star Chrissie Short, recently injured, and
her impact was immediate with a point after clever teamwork. Fran
Mullins (Carlow) had an excellent game as Referee throughout this
spirited and energetic contest. After the game Foxrock/Cabinteely
Captain Marla Candon accepted the cup from Bill Daly, Chairman
of the Leinster Council. Foxrock/Cabinteely now have a very difficult
assignment away to Monaghan and Ulster champions Latton in the
All-Ireland semi-final on November 11th.

FOXROCK/CABINTEELY: Sinead Murphy; Sinead Goldrick (0-2) , Blainaid
Callan, Kirsty McArdle; Caroline Callan, Elaine Bolger, Marla
Candon; Sarah Brophy, Ciara Murphy (1-3); Anne-Marie Murphy (0-4),
Amy Ring (2-0), Louise Stafford (2-1), Amy Connolly (1-1), Doireann
O’Daly, Sinead Murphy. Subs: Sinead Loughran (0-1) for Amy Ring;
Alex Whyte for L Stafford; Yvonne Gallagher for C Callan; Michele
Kennedy for S Murphy; Caroline Callan for M. Gallagher (inj).

AN TOCHAR: Theresa Molloy; Lorna O’Gorman, Tammy Breen, Shauna
Kearns; Rosie McAulay, Katie Wittingham, Jackie Nolan; Fiona White,
Mary Brady; Patricia Healy, Monica Lynch (0-2, 0-1f), Amie Byrne;
Nickie Dunne (2-3), Marcella Price (0-1), Anne McGillycuddy (0-1).
Subs: Aishling Byrne for Healy (12); Wendy Byrne for Wittingham
(HT); Aishling McHugh for Wittingham (54).

REFEREE: Fran Mullins (Carlow)