New York Ladies Football Notes

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Na Fianna 3-18 v Fermanagh 2-05

Na Fianna had far too much fire power for a game but overmatched Fermanagh side on Saturday evening. With three new additions to the forward line the side is on cruise control as they followed their win in the Anne Kearney Cup final with a comprehensive victory.

Na Fianna was behind just once in the game when Ashlinn O’Sullivan had the first score of the contest, a Fermanagh point after two minutes. Na Fianna immediately had a brace to cancel it out with Deirdre Doheny showing her skills with the first. Fermanagh did tie it up with a Michaela Newell score but that was to be the last time there was parity in the game. A flurry of Na Fianna wides kept the game close while Fermanagh were able to move the ball effectively to their half forwards but the final inside pass was not succeeding. Partly due to good defensive play by Imelda Mullarkey and Devon Nugent. Orlaigh Egan had a cracker of a goal after twelve minutes to open the flood gates for the winners and the side followed a point by Kelly McCormack with a second net shaker. This time Selena Moylan started a move in the middle then followed forward to reach a long delivery from Doheney with the fist for a 2-04 to 0-02 lead. Moylan and Molly O’Rourke followed with points before Fermanagh got a lifeline. The Na Fianna defense was clearing their lines but was robbed by a timely Michaela Newell interception. She flicked inside to Ann Marie Kelly who dispatched the ball to the back of the net. The closeout of the first half was all Na Fianna however. They reacted to the goal with a 1-03 scoring salvo, the goal was the second for Selena Moylan and it put the side into a 3-09 to 1-02 halftime lead.

The opening ten minutes of the second half completely killed off the Fermanagh challenge. Seven consecutive points for Na Fianna from five different scorers put paid to the challenge. They came from a variety of angles, and distances with little the defense could do to weather the storm. Finally with eleven on the clock, Fermanagh were able to grab a point. This preceded their best period of the game when they added a further 1-02 to their total. Aislinn Gormley had the goal while Caroline Murphy fired over the brace of points. They could have pulled further back into the game when Caitlin Harper was fouled for a penalty but Loretta Cunningham blasted the resulting kick high and wide of the target.

Na Fianna will be very happy with the scoring explosion. They brought on a host of subs in the second half which made sense based on the scoreline but slowed down the total in front of goal. At that point there was no doubt on the winner. Devon Nugent and Imelda Mullarkey were very confident in the full backline, Michelle Brennan and Aine Dwyer started very brightly, they were moved around thereafter but are the best pairing in town. Moylan, Doheny and Egan are all excellent forwards, Egan is explosive, Molly O’Rourke had a cameo role in this one while Jesse Garcia and Mary O’Rourke impressed off the bench. Fermanagh battled hard throughout. Joanna Levine did nothing wrong and had a very good save in the first half. This after playing in the county under 14 final immediately before this contest. Tracey Ann McCullough was excellent against a barrage; Saoirse Finnigan did a lot of positive things going forward. Michaela Newell, Caroline Murphy and Loretta Cunningham were others who stood out. Granted Cunningham was forced to roam far from goal to pick up the ball.

Na Fianna 1 Alison Leydon 2 Imelda Mullarkey 3 Catriona Lynch 4 Devon Nugent 5 Stephanie Tierney 6 Joanne Monaghan 7 Shannon Spillane 8 Michelle Brennan (0-01)9 Aine Dwyer 10 Selena Moylan (2-01)11 Deirdre Doheny (0-05)12 Aine Gormley 13 Kelly McCormack (0-01)14 Molly O’Rourke (0-05) 15 Orlagh Egan (1-04) Subs Joanne McKenna Jeanne Rynne Beth Higgins Mary O’Rourke (0-01) Bridget Jordon Michelle Cullinane Jesse Garcia

Fermanagh 1 Joanne Levine 2 Molly Boyle 3 Tracey Ann McCullough 4 Caroline McArdle 5 Saoirse Finnigan 6 Rosie Toner 7 Caitlin Slattery 8 Michaela Newell (0-01)9 Clare McElroy 10 Aislinn Gormley (1-01)11 Caroline Murphy (0-02)12 Marie Dunleavy 13 Ashley O’Sullivan (0-01)14 Ann Marie Kelly (1-00)15 Loretta Cunningham Subs Ann Dunleavy Sharon Redican Caitlin McGaughan Eimer Tally.

Referee John Fitzpatrick

Player of the Game Orlagh Egan (Na Fianna)

Close contest goes to Cavan

Cavan 2-15 v Kerry/Donegal 1-12

The second Ladies game on Saturdays schedule was a far closer affair. It wind had picked up at this point which made it a real game of two half’s. Cavan used the elements and good forward play to jump into a 2-09 to 1-02 half time lead but Kerry/Donegal fought their way back to get within two kicks of the ball before time ran out on their comeback attempt.

Cavan had a wonderful start to the encounter with a scoring flurry of 2-03 in the first eight minutes. Emma Clarke had the first goal while Theresa Marron worked with Karen Feeney to annex the second. Kerry/Donegal came in to the contest and against the wind but had four wides between the 9th and 12th minutes that really hurt their chances. They finally got on the mark when Cathriona Brady hit the post on fifteen minutes and Niamh Cunningham was first to react to the ball for a point. Following a three point tally from Marron Rosie O’Reilly/Broderick and Alisha Jordon Kerry’\/Donegal had their second score. This one was again from the same player but far more valuable. A through ball to Niamh Cunningham from Kelly Roche left her with a lot of work to do on the left wing. She got around her defender and headed for goal. Cunningham did not stop until she had deposited the ball in the back of the net. Cavan did react in a positive manner to the wake up call. They were again able to put a three point salvo on the board. Theresa Marron had the two book ends while Karen Feeney had the third after a short solo run. Cunningham concluded the scoring in the first thirty minutes with a point but it left her side with a lot of work to do behind by ten points.

Cavan added to their total with the first three points of the second half and also had a tremendous goal chance when Theresa Marron crashed a wicked drive of the crossbar. Kerry/Donegal slowly started to comeback into the game. They had five of the next seven points with Elish Ward showing her free taking skills by punishing any indiscretions in the back line. Karen Feeney did have a Cavan score with seventeen minutes gone to leave the difference 2-15 to 1-07 but it was to be their last score of the hour. Intensive pressure by Kerry/Donegal created a host of chances. They had two points from Denise Dunnion and Ward in the 18th and 19th minutes but were denied further opportunity’s by brilliant play at the back by Caroline McBrian and Aoife Toner. Theresa Marron was also coming deep to win kick outs which helped to quell the tide. Elish Ward with a further two points, the first a free the second from play narrowed the gap further and when Denise Dunnion fired a free over with two minutes on the clock, it made for a very interesting finish. The goal that they so badly needed never arrived however and Cavan were able to hold on for a crucial league win.

Cavan have a balanced side with Nora Kilkenny doing very well in goal, Caroline McBrian, Aoife Toner and Nicola O’Reilly doing a lot of quality work at the back. Alisha Jordon was excellent in the middle while Karen Feeney had four very important points. Theresa Marron and Emma Clarke are a very strong middle line with a contribution of 2-07 between them. Marron also did a lot of quality foraging in the second half to help her back line out. KD would love to have had a few extra minutes, it would have been exciting. Dee Maher is a very good keeper, Niamh Britton and Deirdre Foley were strong in the full back line, Foley did well on Clarke. Una Burke, Cathriona Brady who covered a lot of ground, Niamh Cunningham and the brilliant Elish Ward were others who shone.

Cavan 1 Nora Kilkenny 2 Bridget Mulligan 3 Ashley Callery 4 Caroline McBrian 5 Paula Lally 6 Aoife Toner 7 Nicola O’Reilly 8 Linda McKeon (0-01) 9 Alisha Jordon (0-01) 10 Rosie O’Reilly/Broderick (0-01) 11 Theresa Marron (1-03) 12 Karen Feeney (0-04) 13 Nicola King (0-01) 14 Emma Clarke (1-04) 15 Catherina Rafferty Subs Aimee Gomez, Justine Clifford, Katie Kilkenny, Shauna Coyne

Kerry/Donegal 1 Deirdre Maher 2 Niamh Britton 3 Deirdre Foley 4 Aoife Gibson 5 Una Burke 6 Louis Lilly 7 Amanda McGovern 8 Michelle McVann 9 Cathriona Brady 10 Ashley Brophy 11 Kelly Roche (0-01) 12 Anita McKenna 13 Denise Dunnion (0-02) 14 Niamh Cunningham (1-02) 15 Elish Ward (0-07) Subs Cathleen Enright, Sarah Gleason, Ashley Collins, Cathriona Doherty

Player of the Game Caroline McBrian (Cavan)

Referee Dean O’Connor