27 July 2005 Wicklow Championship Match Reports Share this Article 0 0 0 Shares! 0 Shares! Wicklow Club Championship Match Reports Senior Ladies championship Semi-finals. Blessington 2.11 v Bray Emmets 0-4 Blessington blitzed their old enemy Bray Emmets in what was a very one sided affair in Dunlavin on Sunday last, the Bray ladies had no answer to Blessingtons determination to win ball throughout the game, down 1-7 to a single point at the break, there would be no way back for the Bray side in the second half. Blessingtons winning margin of 13 points could have been greater only for a number of point blank saves in the first and second halves of the game by Brays keeper Christine Murphy. After an absence of a number of months, the experienced Elaine Murphy was recalled in to the Blessington side, and it was a move that payed off, Murphy dominated the midfield area , supplying quality ball to Jessica Carroll, Jenny Foster, Maura Reid and Grainne Ryan in the forward line. Blessingtons back line of Marie Kavanagh, Brenda Kavanagh and Breda Reid also played a big part in securing the win for the west Wicklow side, in particular their center back Mary Whelan who ensured that her defensive wall was not going to be breeched by Brays young forwards on the day. Blessington will meet the winners of the second semi-final between Arklow Geraldines/Ballymoney and Valleymount in the final on the 7th of August in the county grounds, Aughrim. Blessington scorers: Jessica Carroll 0-4. Jenny Foster 0-3. Elaine Murphy 1-1. Breda McEvoy 0-1. Marie Kavanagh 0-1. Niamh Ryan 0-1. Grainne Ryan 1-0. Bray Emmets scorers: Mikaela Shelly 0-2. Aoife Heffernan 0-1. Niamh Coleman 0-1. Referee. Eddie Craul Focus Match Arklow Geraldines/Ballymoney 3-8. Valleymount 2-5. In their first year at senior level Arklow Geraldine Ballymoney have booked their place in the Senior championship final against championship favourites Blessington. In front of a large crowd in Dunlavin, both sides put on a brilliant display of football, but it was the Arklow girls who ran out eventual winners by a margin of six points. Valleymounts top scorer Lizzie Brophy was first off the mark, notching up a brace of points with in two minutes of the throw in,Arklow quickly reacted to the threat from Brophy and assigned wing back Nora OConnell the task of shadowing the Valleymount number 13, OConnells hard work ensured that Brophy only managed one point for the remainder of the half. Having come through a tough first round match against Carnew, the Arklow side were up for this game, Ann Higgins pulled a point back in the fourth minute and then arklow went in to the lead when Liz Fahy latch on to a well weighed pass from Mary Forde to drive the ball past Mary Miley in the Valleymount goals. For the next nine minutes both side cancelled each other out, both sides defences working extremely hard during this phase of the game, Mary Miley made two point blank saves in succession to deny Arklows midfielder Cathy Forde two goals in the tenth minute of the first period, The stale mate was broken in the seventeenth minute,Valleymounts Janet Miley and Aisling hubbard worked the ball out of their defence to Lizzie Brophy who notched up her third point of the half to put three points between the sides,Arklows response came a minute later from wing forward Sarah Forde, the Arklow girl run on to a quality pass from Aisling Byrne to slot the ball over to put four points between the sides. Arklow continued to press in the second quarter of the half, and they were rewarded with three excellent scores with out reply, Ann Higgins latched on to a Brenda Halligan pass and jinked past a couple of defenders to slot the ball to the back of the net, Higgins finished the half with a point two minute in to injury time to give her side an eight point margin at the break. Arklow were slow to come back on to the field for the restart, but they were first on the score sheet, Liz Fahy popping a point over from an impossible angle in the second minute of the half. Valleymount fought back with a brace of points from Lizzie Brophy and Debbie Green to pare Arklows lead back to six points. However as hard as the west Wicklow side tried, they were unable to break down Arklows defensive unit of Helen Hurley, Mary Furlong, Christine Byrne, supported by Nora OConnell, Naomi Ryder and center back Brenda Halligan, who gave their all through out the game. The final quarter of the game was probably the most tense time for both sides, while Arklow were in control, the Valleymount side dug deep and were rewarded with a goal in the twenty sixth minute after the Arklow keeper fail to hold on to a well struck shot, and the final twist came three minutes in to injury time when referee John Doran awarded Valleymount a penalty for a foot block on Sheena Hubbard, the spot kick was dispatched to the back of Tina Byrnes net to finish the game. Arklow 3-8 Valleymount 2-5. Arklow Gers/Ballymoney scorers: Liz Fahy 2-3. Ann Higgins 1-2. Mary Forde 0-1. Cathy Forde 0-1. Sarah Forde 0-1. Valleymount scorers: Lizzie brophy 1-4. Debbie Green 0-1. Aishling Hubbard 1-0. Referee. John Doran. Junior championship finalists Donard the Glen 3-1 Kilcoole 1-4 Donard the Glen had a three point victory over Kilcoole in Roundwood to book their place in the junior championship final against Clara, conditions on the day were far from ideal but the west Wicklow side worked extremely hard for the win.Kilcoole will now go forward to play in the B championship Donard scorers: Vanessa Harney 3-0. Roisin Toomey 0-1. Kilcoole scorers: Eithne Byrne 1-2. Pamela Maher 0-2. Michael Forde. 10 Lamberton Heights Arklow. Co Wicklow. PRO Wicklow ladies football. Share this Article 0 0