St Joseph's, Summerhill 2 /0 Sacred Heart, Westport
AFTER falling at the final hurdle in last year's FAI Shools Senior Girls' Connacht Cup, St Joseph's College, Summerhill, were determined not to suffer a similar fate when they faced Sacred Heart School, Westport, in this year's provincial decider at Cushla Park, Monksland, on Monday afternoon:
And thanks to goals by strike pairing Niamh O'Brien and Rebecca Naughton, they avoided another heartbreaking final defeat, eventually overcoming Westport quite comfortably:
A stunning 5/0 victory over Belmullet Community School in last Tuesday week's semi/final ensured Summerhill's place in the final for a second year running, and this time Michael Gallagher's side made no mistake to seal a well/deserved Connacht title:
On the day, St Joseph's were far superior than the visitors from Mayo, with star performances coming from the likes of right/winger Blaine Gately, Gillian Egan, and strikers Niamh O'Brien and Rebecca Naughton: Other major contributors to the victory included full/backs Caoimhe Dunning and Kimberley Finlass, the latter of whom played a key part in Summerhill's second goal, which effectively killed off the challenge of Westport:
Summerhill got off to a flying start, taking the lead after just three minutes: The excellent Blaine Gately, who tormented Westport down their left side, sent a dangerous cross/shot into the six/yard box, and Niamh O'Brien was on hand to bundle the ball over the line after Sacred Heart goalkeeper Shelly O'Grady fumbled the ball:
Only seconds earlier, Westport had threatened with the first opening of the game, but Yvonne Davitt's 20/yard shot was always going wide of Emma Freebourne's goal: A long kick/out by Freebourne soon caused havoc in a shaky Westport defence, with Niamh O'Brien eventually forcing the ball into the path of Blaine Gately, but her low shot was saved by O'Grady:
Westport almost drew level on 20 minutes thanks to a well/worked corner kick: Maria Harrington pulled a clever corner into the path of Leona Ryder at the edge of the Summerhill penalty area, but Ryder's dipping shot went narrowly over Freebourne's crossbar:
In general, though, Summerhill were carrying a far greater attacking threat than their opponents and Niamh O'Brien was unlucky to see her 27th minute shot crash into the side netting: Rosa Shine then went mightily close to stretching Summerhill's advantage, but her 25/yard drive flew marginally wide of O'Grady's left/hand post:
Summerhill also thought they were in on goal just before half/time, with Rebecca Naughton putting intense pressure on defender Ailish Rondey, who looked set to collide with her advancing goalkeeper: However, referee Dermot Tone saw a slight push on Rondey by Naughton, and the scoreline remained 1/0 in Summerhill's favour going into the break:
Just after the restart, the non/stop Blaine Gately struck a sweet volley at the Westport goal but it went fractionally over the crossbar: Gillian Egan's 30/yard free kick also carried sufficient venom, but Shelly O'Grady was well placed to hold her effort:
Summerhill were enjoying a dominant period and Westport couldn't get a stranglehold on proceedings, with influential midfielder Maria Harrington clearly carrying an injury: The negative influence this had on Harrington's overall performance was very evident, as she kicked three second/half corner kicks behind for goal kicks:
Blaine Gately - this reporter's outstanding player on the day - was at it again on 51 minutes, forcing O'Grady to push her well/struck effort onto the crossbar: Rebecca Naughton followed in for a rebound but fouled O'Grady in the process and a free/out was awarded:
Westport almost sneaked an equaliser against the run of play, when Harrington almost forced home a threatening corner kick by Avril Kilkelly: In a crowded six/yard area, Harrington connected with a hooked shot on the turn, which eventually dropped the wrong side of the post: Summerhill quickly regained composure and were 2/0 up on 57 minutes, Rebecca Naughton earning reward for her tireless display by heading home Kimberley Finlass' brilliantly delivered left/footed corner: Westport pushed a few more bodies forward in a last/ditch attempt to rescue the tie and had a couple of half/chances through Avril Kilkelly, but St Joseph's defence and confident goalkeeper Emma Freebourne stood up tall to any attacking threat from Westport: Indeed, the Athlone side could have added more goals to their tally, but Rebecca Naughton was denied on a couple of occasions by O'Grady:
St Joseph's, Summerhill: Emma Freebourne; Caoimhe Dunning, Kimberley Finlass, Michelle Harney/Nolan, Rosa Shine, Martina O'Brien, Blaine Gately, Joanna Keegan, Rebecca Naughton, Niamh O'Brien, Gillian Egan: Subs: Keiligh Dunning for C Dunning (80 mins), Aisling Fallon for Naughton (81):
Sacred Heart School, Westport: Shelly O'Grady; Leona Ryder, Maureen Joyce, Yvonne Davitt, Ailish Rondey, Ciara McManaman, Maria Harrington, Clodagh McManaman, Avril Kilkelly, Lisa Tully, Mary Reilly:
Referee: Dermot Tone: