Eire Og 2-12 Coolmeen 3-05
Eire Og
captured the Division 3 League Crown at the second attempt when overcoming a
resilient Coolmeen outfit on Saturday evening. With the drawn game being played
in very poor weather conditions three weeks previous, both teams welcomed the
excellent playing conditions in Ballynacally.
Coolmeen
started the stronger of the two teams and deserved to have 2-02 on the
scoreboard after 15 minutes. Eimear O’Connor at midfield was causing all sorts of
trouble for the Eire Og defence, while Coolmeens tactic of playing an extra
player back was stifling any space that Shauna Keane and Orla Devitt had
exploited in the drawn game. Eire Og were then lucky to stay in touch with two
goals against the run of play from the excellent Fiona Neylon and then from
Louise Kirwan who finished low to the net following a rebounded effort from
Sarah Cullinan. Coolmeen did add another point to lead by two points mid way
through the first half.
At this
stage Eire Og began to get to grips with the Coolmeen midfield with Orla
McMahon and Sophie Hanna particularly dominant. Shauna Keane began to find a
bit more space and contributed with two points before half time, before Rae
Wall and Sarah Cullinan pointed to leave Eire Og with a fortuitous two point
lead at half time.
Coolmeen
again started the half strongly with an early point from Chloe Normoyle.
However their early momentum was halted due to a long delay for an injury to a
Coolmeen defender which resulted in her departure. On resumption Eire Og began
to dominate the play with Orla Devitt getting on a lot of ball at centre
forward, which caused an amount of trouble for the packed Coolmeen defence.
Devitt scored four points in a row, before Keane added another to leave Eire Og
six points ahead with 15 minutes left. At this stage the Townies should have
sealed the win as they had three clear cut goal opportunities, which they
failed to convert, with Clodagh Murphy in the Coolmeen goal pulling off an
excellent save from Fiona Neylon. Having taken heart from these misses,
Coolmeen rallied and scored 1-1 in the next five minutes to leave just two
points between the sides with ten minutes left. As Coolmeen pressed forward
they were once again hampered in their efforts by the loss of another player through
injury. The Eire Og defence was under considerable pressure, but the young full
back line of Sarah Redmond and Laura Brown held strong. As the game entered a
long period of injury time Orla Devitt struck again with a free before Shauna
Keane secured the game with a great solo effort.
After ten
minutes of injury time, Michael Fitzpatrick finally called for the ball and
Eire Og were declared the Division 3 Champions for the first time. County Board
Chairperson Bernie Regan presented the trophy to Eire Og captain Aida Griffey.
For the winners, Laura Brown, Sophie Hanna and Aoife Sheehan excelled in
defence while Fiona Neylon, Orla Devitt, Shauna Keane and Orla McMahon worked
tirelessly throughout the contest. For Coolmeen Clodagh Murphy, Sophie Devaney
and Lisa Farrell contributed well to the defence while Eimear O’Connor, Elaine
Haugh and Chloe Normoyle worked hard in attack.
Scorers:
Orla Devitt 0-06
Shaunagh Keane 0-04
Louise Kirwan 1-00
Fiona Neylon 1-00
Rae Wall 0-01
Sarah Cullinan 0-01
