Galway Ladies Junior Team defend their crown in style.

Galway Ladies Junior Team defend their crown in style.

The N17 Electrical Superstore sponsored, Galway Ladies Junior
Team played the first round of the Championship against
Sligo in Sligo on Saturday evening last and won it in style
on a score line of 5 – 17 to 0 – 6.

The Junior team of 2002 won the Division two League Final
and the All Ireland and so all that team had to move up
to the Senior rank. This newly formed Junior team, under
the management of Pat Gleeson with Michael Ryder and Caroline
Delaney, started out their League campaign in November and
continued in the footsteps of their predecessors and went
all the way to win the Division 3 League Final. Having lost
a number of players to the Senior panel one would have felt
that they had a major challenge on their hands facing into
the Championship, however they took it in their stride and
it was a joy to watch this very young team score 5 goals
and 17 points, most of them from play, to earn a place in
the Connacht Semi – final.

This game started out very promising, in the first 30 seconds
Michelle Delaney scored a point for Galway and this was
followed inside a minute with a Sligo point. This settled
both teams down and they played good football in the opening
ten to fifteen minutes. Marie Morris, who put in an outstanding
performance for Galway through the whole game, got their
second point on the fifth minute followed by another from
Helen Carroll. Sligo kept the pressure on and after a few
wides got their second score in the 9th minute. By this
time Galway had settled down and they had a succession of
points two from Michelle Delaney and one each from Diane
Murphy, Una Carroll and Niamh Duggan. On the fifteenth minute
Sligo got their third point. On the 17th minute Diane Murphy
put over a superb point from a free followed by another
from play by Marie Morris. On the 20 minute Sligo scored
their fourth point and for the next five minutes piled on
the pressure on Galway. They were twice denied goals by
the post and then Galway broke down the field and Melinda
Kelly scored Galway’s first goal . The teams went into the
half time break on a score line of Galway 1 – 10 to Sligo
0 – 4.

After the break Galway came out and turned up the pressure
and this was rewarded five minutes into the half with a
goal from Niamh Duggan followed in quick succession with
another for Melinda Kelly. Marie Morris got her third point
and Niamh Duggan added two more before Sligo came back for
another point. Fourteen minutes in Michelle Delaney got
her fourth point before being replaced by Brid Connolly.
Una Carroll and Marie Morris got another goal a piece within
a minute. The game was well over as a contest at this point.
Galway substituted Ann Marie Miskell for Aoife Wynne, Nora
Ward for Grainne Egan, Helen Mc Hugh for Melinda Kelly and
Mairead Murphy for Marita Fahy. Galway finished their scoring
with points from Brid Connolly, Helen Mc Hugh and Niamh
Duggan (from a free) before Sligo closed the game with their
sixth point.

Galway team: Tina Hughes (Corofin),Clare Heneghan
(Corofin), Sheila Heneghan (Corofin), Marita Fahy (St Brendan’s),
Ann Heneghan (Corofin), Aoife Wynne (Annaghadown) Capt.,
Grainne Egan (St Brendan’s), Diane Murphy (Corofin), Helen
Carroll (Corofin), Marie Brehony (Dunmore), Michelle Delaney
(St Brendan’s), Marie Morris (Corofin), Melinda Kelly (St
Brendan’s), Una Carroll (Corofin) and Niamh Duggan (Annaghadown).