Championship victory for Donaghmore Ashbourne Ladies Minor team at Oldcastle
Final Score Oldcastle 1-09: Donaghmore Ashbourne 2 – 12
It is not too often that any ladies team can come away from Oldcastle with a Championship victory – but that is exactly what the Donaghmore Ashbourne ladies minor team achieved on Saturday 17th.
This was a hard fought success. Oldcastle had beaten St.Michael’s in the previous round, and were favourites to win this game. However, Donaghmore Ashbourne had other ideas and started very positively. After a period of early dominance, they were rewarded with the opening score, a great point from Tara Baitson , and should have been further ahead but for some missed opportunities. After ten minutes, Oldcastle settled as expected and began to exert control, with Florence Smith dictating from the centre forward position. Oldcastle built a five point lead mid way through the first half. Donaghmore Ashbourne responded magnificently, with two important goals from full forward Sinead Power, and a fantastic individual point from Emma McCarney, they went into the interval with a 2-4 to 0-6 lead.
The initial exchanges of the second half were very tight. Points were exchanged and Oldcastle scored an opportunistic goal, but Donaghmore Ashbourne again responded well and slowly began to dominate in every area. They added 8 second half points to secure the 2-12 to 1-09 victory.
Every player contributed to this success. Goalkeeper Lauren McLean’s kick outs launched many of the Donaghmore Ashbourne attacks, while the full back line of Sarah O’Hara, Sarah O’Connor and Lauren Watters gave her great cover. Wing backs Niamh Byrne and Emily O’Connor were very vigilant. Claire Mullen and Aoibhin Cleary (0-3) at midfield produced another display of high work rate , commitment and great skill, as did Becky Deery, Rachel Gibney, Abbie Timmons (0-4), and Lucy Butler(0-1) in the forwards. The Donaghmore Ashbourne replacements of Aoisle Lawlor, Ruth Redmond and Lauren Cox contributed hugely to the victory.
This team has now won 3 from their 4 Championship games so far, and this result leaves them in a strong position to qualify for a semi-final position. With performances like this, they have a lot to look forward to.