Meath Ladies Division 1 Minor Championship
Donaghmore Ashbourne 1-13 Seneschalstown 5-8
Seneschalstown defeated Donaghmore Ashbourne in the Minor Div. 1 Round 4 clash played in dry windy conditions on the Main pitch in Ashbourne. After 20 minutes the teams were level but winners got on top on the run in to the break after playing with the wind in the first half.
Meath Ladies Division 1 Minor Championship
Donaghmore Ashbourne 1-13 Seneschalstown 5-8
Seneschalstown defeated Donaghmore Ashbourne in the Minor Div. 1 Round 4 clash played in dry windy conditions on the Main pitch in Ashbourne. After 20 minutes the teams were level but winners got on top on the run in to the break after playing with the wind in the first half.
The early exchanges were very even and a long battle was in the offering which didn’t disappoint as both teams gave it their all in a fine game of football. It was the home team who open the scoring with a goal in the 5th minute but Chrystal Delamere cancelled this out a minute later with the winners first goal. Delamere then put the winners in front in the tenth minute with a point from play but the teams were level two minutes later. The home team then took the lead with a point from play. Roisin Commons, who had switched to Full Forward, was next on the score sheet with a fine goal from play to put the Furze Girls back in front but the see saw nature of the scoring continued as the home team tagged on two points to level things up again on twenty minutes.
A minute later Kelly Smith took on the home defence and after a fine run and beating a number of players, slotted the ball to the corner of the net and kick started the winners best scoring spell of the game. The Geraghty cousins, Kiah and Katie shared the next 3 points inside a two minute spell before Delamere added to her tally following good play from Catherine Smyth. On the twenty sixth minute Kiah Geraghty raised a green flag and added the final score of the half to leave the score at 4-6 to 1-4 to the Seneschalstown girls after a wind assisted first.
Turning around to face a strengthening wind in the second half and with Lauren Kelleher entering the fray and Natasha Mullen switching to full back, the team knew that a lot of hard work was ahead. The Girls in Green and White set about cutting the deficit and opened the second half scoring inside 30 seconds of the restart and had tagged on two further points by the thirty fifth minute. Mullen and her defensive colleagues slowly got to grips with their direct opponents and many attacks were either broken up or extreme pressure was being put on the player with the ball forcing hurried shots.
The midfield were contesting every ball and the forwards were making it difficult for the home team to build any momentum from the back. Ashbourne did add a fourth point in the thirteenth minute but didn’t score again until injury time. On forty-five minutes Kelleher added a point from play to reward the good work by all involved and with ten minutes remaining Roisin Commons pointed a free. Two minutes later came the deciding score arrived as Aoife Lenehan found the net. Ashbourne did tag on three points in injury time but the defence held firm and the non-concession of goals against the wind was vital.
The team deserve credit for the performances which have been improving each game. With this victory, they have put themselves back into contention in the group with one final back match to be played against Royal Gaels.
Seneschalstown: Sinead McLarney, Aoibhe Monaghan, Aoife Lenehan (1-00), Laura Wall, Orla McMahon, Leanne Clarke, Grace Cahalane, Natasha Mullen, Kiah Geraghty (1-02), Katie Geraghty (0-02), Roisin Commons (1-01), Caragh Monaghan, Kelly, Smith (1-00), Chrystal Delamere (1-02), Catherine Smith.
Substitutions: Lauren Kelleher (0-01) for Katie Geraghty, Orla Finnegan for Caragh Monaghan, Ava Jane Ryan for Catherine Smith, Aoife Mulvany for Kelly Smith, Carmen Merinero Lopez for Aoibhe Monaghan.
