Mourneabbey too strong for Athgarvan in Junior Final

 

 

AIB
Junior All Ireland Ladies Club Final
Mourneabbey (Cork) 2.11 Athgarvan (Kildare) 2.07

It is said in sport that ‘we are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit’. A young
Mourneabbey team belied their tender years when they deservedly
won a first All Ireland junior club crown. The large attendance
were treated to an enthralling game of end to end football
where two equally committed teams gave their all for club
and county.

Mourneabbey were quickly into their stride and had 2 points
on the scoreboard inside the first 4 minutes courtesy
of player of the match, Sile O’Callaghan. The latter simply
lorded it at midfield and her vision and distribution
were a joy to behold. She was assisted with an equally
impressive display from Ciara O’Sullivan who played the
role of sweeper and who denied the Athgarvan half back
line several opportunities to get their danger woman,
Tracy Noone, into the game. Mourneabbey used their possession
very well over the duration of the game using the short
pass to work the ball out of defence before releasing
their wing forwards, Siobhan Forde & Jenny Luddy, to run
at the opposition. Athgarvan tended to try and walk the
ball through the Mourneabbey defence instead of taking
scoring opportunities that came their way. They were also
over reliant on Tracy Noone at centre forward who was
being well marshalled by Mourneabbey centre back, Trisha
Murphy. The half time score read Mourneabbey 0.08 Athgarvan
0.03

The second half was only a minute old when Tracy Noone
reduced the Mourneabbey lead with a 13m free .However
back came the Clyda girls with a well taken score from
the boot of Jenny Luddy. However the Athgarvan girls worked
the ball out of defence and when it broke in the Mourneabbey
square wing back Abina King was on hand to steer the ball
home. Athgarvan were now within two points of the Cork
girls and beginning to dominate.. Tracy Noone then showed
why she was an All Star nominee in 2004 when she hammered
the ball past a helpless Catherine Twomey to give the
Kildare girl’s the lead. Aisling Thompson kept Mourneabbey
heads up with a well taken point from play after great
work at the back from Kathy Ann Stack & Mairead Rea. The
Clyda girl’s were not about to let their dream of an All
Ireland die and came right back at their opponents.

Athgarvan were reduced to 14 players with the ‘ sin binning’
of corner forward Ber Coffey and this was the signal for
Mourneabbey to take over. Sile O’Callaghan floated in
a 45 where it was fielded quite superbly by Jenny Luddy
who in one movement lashed the ball past Ellen Ryan in
the Athgarvan goal. It was no more than Mourneabbey deserved
because on two occasions they were denied goals by Ryan
who made two superb saves. The referee, who had a good
game up to the last quarter, then ‘sin binned’ Jenny Luddy
& Trisha Murphy for pretty innocuous offences in the 48th
and 49th minute. This double blow would have discouraged
any other team but not the Mourneabbey ladies. Mairead
Rea , who had moved to corner back from her full forward
position, worked a ball out to her colleague , Aisling
Thompson, on the wing. She in turn took it on and found
Laura Harrington who quickly dispatched it to Kathleen
O’Brien. The centre forward took one step forward and
planted the ball low to the corner past the helpless Athgarvan
keeper.

With time running out Mourneabbey kept their shape and
on the final whistle greeted their first club All Ireland
with jubilation.

Mourneabbey: C Twomey E Harrington K A Stack R
Larkin K Coakley T Murphy S Conroy S O’Callaghan (0.03)
R O’Sullivan J Luddy (1.01) K O’Brien (1.02) S Forde (0.01)
E O’Donoghue (0.03 (f) M Rea C O’Sullivan
Subs: L Harrington for R O’Sullivan (inj) 27m A Thompson
(0.01) for E Harrington (inj) 33m
Athgarvan E Ryan N O’Loughlin M Shiels N Kavanagh
A King (1.00) A Lambe C Byrne L Whyte C Beirne A Shiels
T Noone ( 1.06 (0.05f) M Whelehan B Coffey (0.01) F Noone
A Whelehan
Subs: R Higgins C Beirne (39th m)
Referee: G Guinan (Galway)

Terry O’Brien Cork Ladies Football