26 September 2012

Clooney Quin 3-11        4-2 Fergus Rovers 

Clooney Quin have taken the U14 Division 3 Championship with a great second half performance. With the first twenty five minutes all end to end football, Fergus Rovers were leading by four points 2-1 to 0-3 but had to yield to the dominant performances of Ciara Grogan, Aoibheann Duggan and Emma Deegan.

Fergus Rovers opened courtesy of a Sarah Mullins goal in the first Rovers attack. Clooney-Quin counter-attacked and despite a fruitless penalty attempt, Emma Deegan and Aoibheann Duggan both pointed in succession. Aine Slattery scored an impressive point for Fergus Rovers but Emma Deegan did likewise for Clooney-Quin a minute later. In a great spell for the Blues, captain Lauren Hill, Ava O’Malley and Aine McSweeney played very well and it looked like Rovers had weathered the worst of it when Eimear Stephens goaled to put four points between the sides at 2-1 to 0-3 and more pressure from the Blues yielded the second missed penalty of the game with seven minutes to go in the first half. However, now Clooney-Quin turned on the style and had an additional 2-1 scored before referee Sarah Bohannon blew for the break, courtesy of goals from Sarah Costello and Ciara Grogan and a point from Emma Deegan.. 

The Clooney-Quin girls were now playing with confidence and the impressive Ciara Grogan hit the woodwork twice in the first three minutes, eventually, eluding Ciara Sheehan to goal and point on four minutes.  Emma Hill goaled for the Rovers but Grogan was back with two points for Clooney-Quin to put them 3-7 to 3-1 with 12 minutes gone. A great point from Aine McSweeney failed to spark the Blues and Aoibheann Duggan took over from Grogan to point twice for Clooney-Quin as did Amy Moloney. Duggan, Deegan and Grogan were unstoppable in their attacking prowess. Grogan came off the woodwork three times more before she scored the victor’s last point and Rover’s Yvonne Collins goaled in the dying minutes of the game to end 3-11 to 4-2.   

Captain Ava O’Malley, Aine McSweeney and Sarah Mullins played best for Fergus Rovers and a good overall team performance had them in the game at half time. However, Clooney-Quin’s good defensive form by Captain Aine Nash, Alice O’Donnell, Eimear McGrath and Jennifer O’Neill was complimented by Aoibheann Duggan and Alannah Ryan in midfield and Ciara Grogan and Emma Deegan in attack to dominate the second half and a historic win for Clooney-Quin.

Clooney-Quin: Ciara O’Reilly, Michelle Meere, Jennifer O’Neill, Aine Nash (Capt), Kate Taylor, Alice O’Donnell, Eimear McGrath, Aoibheann Duggan (0-3), Alannah Ryan, Amy Moloney (0-1), Ciara Grogan (2-4), Sarah Costello (1-0), Orlaith Nash, Emma Deegan (0-3), Clara de Sousa, Siobhan Frain, Lauren McConway, Aisling McGrath, Eilish Whitney, Rachel Begg, Mary Conneally. 

Fergus Rovers: Ciara Sheehan, Lauren Hill, Ava O’Malley (Capt), Cathy Casey, Brid Garry, Lorraine Kelly, Aine McSweeney (0-1), Bernadette Kelly, Gillian Griffin, Alannah Hanrahan, Sarah Mullins (1-0), Rebecca Cahill, Emma Hill (1-0), Eimear Stephens (1-0), Aine Slattery (0-1), Yvonne Collins (1-0) , Michelle Collins, Katie Fitzgerald.