St.Mochtas 4-06 Cooley 3-07
Cooley hopes of a third consective appearance in the SFC final final is in the balance after this latest loss at the hands of a hard working St.Mochtas at Fr. McEvoy Park on Sunday morning.
After a tentative start Niamh Rice Rice opened the scoring from a free after four minutes, with the same player hammering home from the penalty spot three minutes later after Eibhlin Rice was hauled down. From the kick out Mocs worked the ball neatly down field and a good pass by Emer Byrne put Katie Rafferty through on goal but the ex-Cooley star fired over a good goal scoring opportunity.
After Boyle and Emma Quinn exchanged points the Mochtas were ahead for the first time when a high delivery by Emma Quinn took a deflection off a home defender completley wrong footing keeper Coirin Rice midway through the half.
Cooley were back in front soon after when Eibhlin Rice got on the end of a good Kickhams attacking move by fisting a Niamh Rice pass beyond Kirk for their second goal.
The home side finished the half strongly but could only add one further point from Boyle although Kirk was forced to make a superb save as she diverted a Niamh Rice low shot out for a 45 as Cooley led 2-3 to 1-3 at the break.
Mocs created another goal chance three minutes after the restart when Rafferty shot wide , but they had their second goal four minutes later when Emma Quinn drilled a brilliant shot beyond Coirin Rice from some 20 yards (2-3 to 2-3)
Altough Niamh Rice restored Cooley’s lead with a point, the visitors came back with their second goal in the space of three minutes as Rafferty hit a brilliant shot into the Cooley net giving Rice no chance.
County stars Lauren Boyle and Emer Byrne then swapped points before the Louth Village side hit their fourth goal as following good approach play by Laura Kieran, Nadine Muckian was on hand to flick her pass to the net 4-4 to 2-5
Kirk again was called upon to deny Niamh Rice, as Cooley piled on the pressure but it was Rafferty playing against her former team mates who had the next score to keep Cooley at arms lenght. They did manage a goal deep in injury time from Meg Ferguson but it proved to be a mere consolation score
Mochtas owe this vital win to a strong mid field display by the Byrne sisters and and a strong defence brilliantly marshalled by the outstanding Deirbhle O’Connor while keeper Niamh Kirk when called upon produced a number of fine saves while Katie Rafferty playing against her home side along with Emma Quinn and Laura Kieran were a constant threat up front.
After losing against Newtown Blues on day 1, Deirbhle O’Connor believes this victory will give the whole club a major lift;
“This win was great for us as a club and team. After a rocky opening to the Championship we showed to-day we wont be bowing down to lightly this year. I definetley think for every game you need a bit of luck on your side so with that and our absolute hunger we have got over the line. We never give up. and it stood to us today. Even when were in dire straits of a score to keep us ahead, we all dug deep from 1 to 15 and when that happens you rarely get defeated
Yes, for sure we have a big game (v Geraldines) next Sunday, but like everything else we will take it in our stride and by the looks of recent results it’s anyone’s game this year.”
St. Mochtas; Niamh Kirk, Kaitlin Curley, Deirbhle O’Connor, Kayly Hoey, Laura McDonnell, Sara Enghlishby, Lauren Kieran, Aoife Byrne, Eimear Byrne,0-01, Vera Callan, Laura Kieran, Emma Quinn, 2-03, Christina Carolan, Katie Rafferty, 2-02, Nadine Muckian 1-00. Subs used; Lea Ferrell
Cooley Kickhams; Coirin Rice, Shauna Murphy, Deborah Malone, Hazel Malone, Kelly Carolan, Clare Donnelly, Laoise McElroy, Niamh Quigley, Aoife McDaid, 0-1, Lauren Boyle, 0-02, Eibhlin Rice, 2-00 Niamh Rice, 1-03, Alice Ferguson, Meg Ferguson, 0-01,Renee McGlynn. Subs used; Katelyn Quinn, Sara Jane O’Reilly, Aoife and Laura Traynor, Sinead Rice
Referee; Paul Drumm (Clan Na Gael)
Meanwhile St.Fechins had an impressive 10 point win over Newtown Blues in Newfoundwell. The first half was very competitive with the Hoops 0-5 to 0-3 in front at the break. The second half was dominated by the Termonfeckin side who ran out winners on a 2-12 to 0-08 scoreline over a disappointing Blues.
Fechins had seven different scorers with Shayleen McDonagh hitting 1-3, Hayley McDonnelll 0-3 and Becky Howell 0-3.
St.Fechins defender Orla Brennan is delighted with how the season is going “It was a great win for the team on Sunday. Its always tough against them. We had a rough start to the game, failing to score in the first quarter. During the week the club and community experienced a great loss which was very raw to many of us. I think we turned these nerves and emotions around in the second quarter to leave it all-square going into the second half. As we kicked into the next gear the girls were popping over some great scored with (Rachel) Kinch kicking a 40 yard free off the ground and over the bar, off the post which hugely raised our spirits and brought us into the next gear to finish off the with a comfortable lead.
Throughout the season so far, it’s been great having everyone home for training and I feel we’re moving from strength to strength with girls coming up from under age, making every one work ten times harder to keep their position,its great to see and is a great compliment. As a team, we’ve been taking it one game at a time. We now look forward to our next game at home to Cooley on Sunday next. We’ll focus on our own game and tidy up on our mistakes from the week before. With a panel of 30 odd fantastic and committed young players and friends, our goal is to lift the Cup at the end, conclude the Louth defender”
In the other senior games the Hunterstown/St.Kevins combination had a 6-11 to 1-10 win over Stabannon with Roisin Maguire getting 3-04 of their total with Stephaine Callaghan, Abbie Sheridan and Susan Byrne also getting among the goals.
While a late goal give St.Brides a 2-09 to 1-10 win over Roche Emmetts – Match Report Here.
Intermediate Championship
Kilkerley Emetts 2-13 Gleann Mhairtin 1-05
Kilkerley laid the foundation for this impressive start to their quest for Intermediate Championship honours with a very strong defensive effort from Ella McEnteggart, Eimear Geoghegan and Sinead Kneel in the first half. They kept the scoring threat of Aoife Russell and Rachel Leonard to a minimum playing against a strong breeze in the first half.
Kilkerley led 0-5 to 0-3 at half time and added points soon after the restart with Leah Hoey and Caragh Brady and the impressive substitute Caoibheann Brady all on target.
Although Gleann Mhairtin’s Katie Ryan scored a second half goal, Kilkerley were too strong in attack with further points from Ciara Lennon and two well taken late goals by Ciara Sharkey sealed the victory for the visitors.
Kilkerley defender Eimear Geoghegan felt the opening half performance was crucial to her side’s winning start;
“Our fight and determination got us over the line. The final score did not reflect such a hard fought game. Our first half performance stood out for me with all the blocks and tackles that prevented Martin’s from getting up a score. We limited them to only 3 points which looking back won the game for us. All the girls played as a team and the younger girls were just terrific”
Everyone involved would like to extend their best wishes to Gleann Mhairtin’s defender Megan McGinn who suffered a serious ankle injury in Sunday’s game.
Kilkerley Emetts; Eimear McEnteggart, Sinead Kneel, Blainaid Callan, Eimear Geoghegan, Ella McEnteggart, Anne Marie Kane, Enya Kempes, Jade McKeown, Ciara Sharkey, Leah Hoey, Caragh Brady, Blaithin McFadden Caoimhe Kempes, Claire Clifford,Ciara Lennon. Subs used; Caoibheann Brady and Tara Litchfield.
Gleann Mhairtin: Rachel Goodwin, Emma Johnson, Irene Noone, Katie McGinn, Shauna Johnson, Megan McGinn, Jill Kenny, Louise McKeever, Mary McKeever, Rebecca Tully, Rachel Leonard,0-03 Lauren McHugh, Katie Tiernan, Katie Ryan, 1-00, Aoife Russell 0-02. Subs used; Pia McCann, Marcella Molloy, Katie Whelan.
In the other Intermediate championship games Nh.Fionbarra and Dreadnots played out an exciting draw while Glyde beat O’Raghallaigh/Plunketts and Clan Na Gael beat St.Marys on Thursday night.
In the Junior B Championship there were wins for Cooley over Geraldines and Gleann Mhartin over St.Brides on Friday evening.
Reports from Dermot Woods & Charlie Geoghegan. Photos by Warren Matthews & St Fechins Instagram
