Saint Anne’s Beat Stradbally In Exciting Local Derby County Final

 

Saint Anne’s are County Junior ‘B’ Ladies Football Champions for 2020 after they got the better of Stradbally at the Dungarvan Club Grounds on Sunday morning last.

Saint Anne’s did much of the spade work for this win in the opening half of what was a good game of football throughout the hour.

Stradbally will know that had they their shooting boots with them in the opening half of this game the final outcome could well be much different. They turned around trailing 4-5 to 0-3 but they came out a much different side in the second half.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not saying anything bad against Stradbally, far from it indeed. They created numerous chances in those opening thirty plus minutes but much of these chances failed to go between the uprights, where-as at the other end of the field, everything that Saint Anne’s did turned to gold. This coupled with Stradbally’s shooting seemed to sap the energy out of the side in white and red. But whatever was said at the break worked and should be clearly bottled and sold and they well outscored their opponents in the second half.

For Saint Anne’s they had faultless performances from Becky Kavanagh and Sinead Cummins two players which lined out for the side in green and red in the recent senior county Camogie final and who again impressed in that game, where they lost out to two very late Gailltir scores. They also had big performances from the likes of Ciara Sheahan, Bevan Bowdren, Melanie Buck and Abby Murphy.

Stradbally also had some very big performances. Eileen O’Brien was their scorer in-chief while the likes of Meadhbh and Róisín Curran, Mide Delaney and Amy Whelan also impressed.

Stradbally were first to score when Eileen O’Brien put over in the first minute, but on five minutes a free to Stradbally was won in the centre of the field by Saint Anne’s. When Sinead Cummins had the ball in her hands she ran at the Stradbally defence, but between the 45 and 21 metre line she lost control of the ball. However she showed how talented she is as she soccer style played the ball along the ground rather than lose time picking it up and maybe have a tattle put in by the Stradbally defence, and beat Grainne Costello as well as Tracey Fennell and Grace Heffernan who were trying hard to close her down.

Róisín Curran responded for Stradbally with a point almost straight away, but on ten minutes the very impressive Becky Kavanagh cancelled that score out with her side’s first point of the game when she put over a free.

Seconds later Saint Anne’s increased their lead. From the resulting restart after Becky Kavanagh pointed Jane Kirwan won the ball and ran at the Stradbally defence. She spotted Becky Kavanagh in a good position running inside her, laid the ball off to her team-mate who blasted across Grainne Costello and into the far corner of the net.

Becky Kavanagh put over another free three minutes later and Eileen O’Brien pointed for Stradbally to give Saint Anne’s a 2-2 to 0-3 lead at the first half water break.

The break broke the flow of the game and the sizeable support inside the Dungarvan Club Grounds despite the very early start had to wait till the 25 minute for the games next score, another telling one for Saint Anne’s. Sinead Cummins intercepted a Stradbally free in their own full back line and played the ball off to Becky Kavanagh who saw her initial effort blocked bravely by Grainne Costello but when the rebound came back to Becky Kavanagh she shot into an empty net.

Becky Kavanagh pointed from a free on the half hour mark and in stoppage time Abby Murphy passed to Sinead Cummins who hit her second and Saint Anne’s fourth goal of the game.

Ciara Sheahan hit a point four minutes into stoppage time and when Becky Kavanagh got in on goal seconds afterwards it looked as if she would complete her hat-trick, but her effort came crashing off the underside of the crossbar.

Stradbally as stated already came out a much different side in the second half. Within seconds of the restart, Jade Queally, Róisín Curran and Eileen O’Brien all combined for the latter to fire over a point. From the restart Mide Delaney won the kick out. After a quick inter change of passes the ball came back to the duel player who shot over the crossbar.

On 34 minutes Mide Delaney, Clare Murphy, Róisín Curran and Jade Queally combined and went the latter sent in a testing shot it dipped in under the crossbar. Stradbally were back in contention here even if they trailed 4-5 to 1-5.

Points from Meadhbh Curran and Eileen O’Brien followed for Stradbally as Saint Anne’s struggled to get into the Stradbally half of the field. They had to wait till the 46 minute and after the water break for their first score of the second half despite scoring so freely in the opening half. That score came from Jane Kirwan and followed it up with another point from a Becky Kavanagh free five minutes later keeping them nine points in front.

Another Becky Kavanagh point, this time from play opened up a ten point margin, but it would prove to be her sides last of the game.

On the hour mark Amy Whelan hit a free from the middle of the field which went its way to Meadhbh Curran. She picked out Angela Fynn who in turn picked out Róisín Curran who fired to the Saint Anne’s net. Points from Eileen O’Brien from a free and Meadhbh Curran quickly followed for Stradbally, but time ran out. Saint Anne’s had done enough to move up a grade next year.

ST. ANNES: Louise Murphy; Caoimhe Kiely, Labhaoise Dunbar, Ashling Allen; Martha Cleary, Melanie Buck, Leah McGrath; Rachael Walsh, Jane Kirwan; Abby Murphy, Sinead Cummins, Bevan Bowdren; Ciara Sheahan, Becky Kavanagh, Chloe McGrath.

Subs: Eimear Power for Jane Kirwan, Kate McMahon for Martha Cleary, Zoe Spinks for Melanie Buck.

Scorers: Becky Kavanagh 2-5 (0-4f), Sinead Cummins 2-1, Ciara Sheahan, Jane Kirwan 0-1 each.

STRADBALLY: Grainne Costelloe; Claire Crowley, Tracey Fennell, Lily Gough; Grace Heffernan, Amy Whelan, Mide Delaney; Jade Queally, Clare Murphy; Valerie Heffernan, Meadhbh Curran, Eileen O’Brien; Aoife Flynn, Roisin Curran, Elaine D’Arcy.

Subs:  16 Miriam Queally for Aoife Flynn, Angela Fynn for Valerie Heffernan Sophie Troy for Elaine D’Arcy,  

Scorers: Eileen O’Brien 0-5, Róisín Curran 1-1, Jade Queally 1-0, Meadhbh Curran 0-2 Mide Delaney 0-1.

Referee: Larry Power (Ballygunner)