Sligo seal their place in the Suzuki Quarter Finals

Suzuki Ladies National Football League Division 2A Round 3

Yeats Ladies qualify for League Quarter Finals Sligo 2 – 11 Limerick
0 – 7

Sligo! Reigning TG4 All Ireland Junior Champions qualified for
the Quarter Finals of this year’s Suzuki National Football League
thanks to this 10 point victory over Limerick on Sunday at Mungret,
Co Limerick in wet and near gale force wind conditions. Ahead
at half time 2 – 7 to 0 – 5, a place in the knock out stages safe
for another season it gave the management a chance to experiment
for the second period when introducing new players to the scene.

The winners got off to a perfect start with Louise Smith flicking
a Karen Maloney center to the net after only 2 minutes. In fact
the Smith strike could have so easily have been an equalizing
score, as after only 50 seconds on the clock a Marie Keating miss
kicked free almost crept in at the far upright only for the alertness
of All Star Goalkeeper Katrina Connolly. If the first score went
the way of Sligo the next two would go Limerick’s way as Marie
Keating and Siobhan Stenson – a name that would be familiar with
the black and white from a few years back – left the bare minimum
between the sides after 10 minutes. A goal and a point from Marion
O’Donnell in a sixty second period all but changed the outlook
and outcome of the destination of the points. Another quickly
followed score from Noelle Gormley had the winners 6 to the good
by the half way point of the opening half.

Over the next quarter of an hour the Black and White would outscore
their Green and White counterparts by six points to two to go
in at halftime ahead by 2 – 8 to 0 – 4, The remaining scores of
the half coming via Noelle Gormley who checked in 3, while Marion
O’Donnell, Louise Smith and one Therese Marren each added a point.
For the home side Catherine Murphy and Siobhan Stenson did the
honors.

Into the second half and perhaps a rare moment but a note worthy
one as Sligo Keeper Katrina Connolly prevented a Siobhan Stenson
effort for a point from going over the crossbar. Of coarse neither
All Star keeper Connolly or as the ex Curry woman Stenson would
be strangers to one another and the would have played together
for the Black and White back in 1999 as Sligo went under in a
National Football League Quarter Final game.

The opening score of the half arrived in the seventh minute as
Geevagh wizard Stephanie O’Reilly sailed through from Centre Back
unchallenged and sent over from some 30 meters out. The next couple
of scores a were scarce in coming – in fact 10 minutes separated
the next two scores both to the losers and both from the boot
of the afore mentioned Siobhan Stenson, to put it mildly two thirds
of the losers tally were to come via Stenson. The closing 4 points
were to go the way of the winners as Noelle Gormley would add
three to her tally with Curry’s Ann-Marie Colleran adding a real
beauty as the fourth to leave Sligo running out comfortable winners
in the end.

Sligo have recorded their third win in this campaign and can look
forward to a place in the Quarter Finals of the National Football
League with one game still to play. That game will take place
on Sunday 18th March against the Banner ladies of Clare – who
had a handsome win over Leitrim on Sunday last – with Tourlestrane
as the most likely venue. This game will give fans a chance to
see Sligo in action on home turf for the first time since they
were crowned TG4 All Ireland Junior Champions back in October.
Going on Sunday’s performance there is a lot of room for improvement
before the visit of Clare in what will be a rematch of the All
Ireland Junior Championship semi final from September. For the
record Sligo started with only 8 of the players that started last
October’s All Ireland Final while the 5 subs who were introduced
on that famous afternoon all started last Sunday.

Scorers Sligo: Noelle Gormley 0 – 7, Marion O’Donnell 1 – 2, Louise
Smith 1 – 1, Therese Marren 0 – 1, Stephanie O’Reilly 0 – 1 and
Ann-Marie Colleran 0 – 1. Scorers Limerick: Siobhan Stenson 0
– 4, Marie Keating 0 – 1 and Catherine Murphy 0 – 1.

Sligo: Katrina Connolly (St Nathy’s), Fiona Maye (St Mary’s),
Angela Doohan (St Nathy’s), Amanda Mostyn (Geevagh), Sinead Mc
Tiernan (Geevagh), Stephanie O’Reilly (Geevagh), Ruth Goodwin
(Coolera), Bernice Byrne (Geevagh), Louise Smith (Geevagh), Karen
Maloney (Coolera), Marion O’Donnell (Tourlestrane), Imelda McNulty
(St Farnan’s), Louise Brett (Cloonacool), Noelle Gormley (St Nathy’s),
Therese Marren (Curry). Subs used were Sarah Mullin (Ballymote),
Niamh Gallagher (Curry), Niamh Jacob (Castleconnor), Caroline
Benson (Shamrock Gaels), Louise Lindsay (Enniscrone), Tracy O’Hara
(Tourlestrane), Jackie Mulligan (Castleconnor), Ann-Marie Colleran
(Curry) & Elaine O’Reilly (Geevagh). Subs not used: Andrea Corscadden
(Cloonacool), Colley Casey (Enniscrone) & Aoife McTiernan (Cloonacool).

Limerick: Martina Giltenane, Rosie Giltenane, Yvette Moynihan,
Alva Neary, Teresa Mulcaire, Olivia Giltenane, Teresa Carrig,
Mary Ita Casey, Emer Enright, Lisa Molyneaux, Elizabeth Doran,
Catherine Murphy, Siobhan Stenson, Marie Keating, Linda Lodge.