Delaney to the fore as Laois Ladies U-16s crowned Leinster 'B' champions

Laois are Leinster Ladies U-16 ‘B’ champions after producing a powerful second-half display to overcome Dublin in Saturday’s final at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar.

Park-Ratheniska’s Mia Delaney was the standout performer and deservedly collected the Player of the Match award after a superb individual tally of 10 points. Kate Dowling also made a crucial contribution, raising the only green flag for Laois in the closing stages to help seal the victory.

The contest was finely balanced entering the final quarter, with Dublin drawing level after 42 minutes. However, Laois responded emphatically, reeling off 1-7 without reply to pull clear and secure the provincial title in impressive fashion.

Laois had set the tone early on with a dominant opening spell. They raced into a five-point lead inside 13 minutes, with Hanna Luttrell opening the scoring before Delaney got up and running from a placed ball. Further efforts from Dowling, Laura Malone and another Delaney point left Dublin struggling to gain a foothold, as Laois controlled possession and territory.

It took until the 14th minute for Dublin to register their first attempt, underlining Laois’ early superiority. At the back, Lucy Whelan and Saffron Adams were particularly effective, cutting out danger and preventing any clear goal chances for the opposition.

By the 20-minute mark, Laois had stretched their advantage to six points, with Delaney continuing her accurate free-taking. But despite their dominance, they were pegged back before the interval. Darcy Hall finally opened Dublin’s account, and a well-taken goal from Aoibhin Costello shifted the momentum, leaving just two points between the sides at the break, 0-6 to 1-1.

Dublin carried that momentum into the early stages of the second half, enjoying plenty of possession, though they struggled to convert it into scores. Delaney steadied Laois with a point six minutes after the restart, but Dublin stayed in touch. Scores were traded between Sarah McGill and Malone before McGill struck for a goal, firing past Aoife Mullins to bring the sides level with 42 minutes played.

That setback seemed to spark Laois back into life. They quickly regained control, with Delaney leading the charge by adding three more points. The decisive moment arrived when Chelsey Dooley’s delivery found Dowling all alone in the Dublin square, and Dowling reacted quickest to palm the ball to the net, pushing Laois into a 1-11 to 2-2 lead with 10 minutes remaining.

From there, Laois never looked back. Delaney continued to add to her tally, while Malone chipped in with her third point as the gap widened. Laois nearly grabbed a second goal late on, only for Kara Whelan’s effort to crash off the crossbar.

In the end, it was a composed and clinical finish that saw Laois crowned deserving champions.

FINAL SCORE

Laois 1-15

Dublin 2-2

SCORERS- Laois: Mia Delaney 0-10 (0-6 frees), Kate Dowling 1-1, Laura Malone 0-3 (0-1 free), Hanna Luttrell 0-1. Dublin: Sarah McGill 1-1, Aoibhin Costello 1-0, Darcy Hall 0-1.

LAOIS: Aoife Mullins (Killeshin); Lily Brophy (St Joseph's), Lucy Whelan (St Brigid's), Sarah Burke (Sarsfields); Kara Powders (Portlaoise), Saffron Adams (Park-Ratheniska), Aine Conroy (Clonaslee St Manman's); Kara Phelan (Portlaoise), Jessica Horan (Ballyfin); Hanna Luttrell (St Conleth's), Mia Delaney (Park Ratheniska), Chelsey Dooley (Killeshin); Kate Dowling (St Paul's), Orlaith McEvoy (Sarsfields), Laura Malone (Killeshin). Subs: Samanta Stalbe (Portlaoise) for Burke (35 mins), Molly O'Reilly (St Brigid's) for McEvoy (52 mins), Sarah Cunningham (Park-Ratheniska) for Luttrell (56 mins), Molly Fitzpatrick (Park-Ratheniska) for Conroy (59 mins), Kate Conroy (Park-Ratheniska) for Malone (62 mins)

DUBLIN: Laura Walsh; Elsa O’Donoghue, Ella Hempton, Maeve Conlon; Lucy Hanly, Maggie Foley, Sophie Buckley; Saoirse Malone, Eva Healy Dillon; Julie Chauvire, Darcy Hall, Annabel Wyse; Aoibhín Costello, Sarah McGill, Anna Kellegher. Subs: Caoimhe O'Donoghue for Hanly and Kate Commins for Chauvire (Both HT), Ellen Stafford for Hall (40 mins), Lizi Doyle for Wyse (51 mins), Lulu Ormsby for Costello (58 mins)

Referee: Brian Foley (Wicklow)