Laois girls Captain and score for Ireland in under 19 win over Russia

Two Laois teenagers played a big part in Ireland making it back to back wins over Russia as the Ireland U19 women's team left Turkey with two wins from two over the weekend.

Portarlington's Della Doherty Captained her County during both games with Russia while Clonaslee's Emily Corbet notched their third goal as they defeated Russia in the second game on Monday morning.

Doherty, who plays her club football with Wexford Youths and Athlone Town's Corbet both played big parts over the weekend and will now be hoping to feature in the UEFA WU19 European Championship Round 2 games in April.

In the first meeting between the two teams, Ireland were 1-0 victors and they once again came out on top in this game courtesy of some early goals.

It was Russia who kicked off the morning game but they were soon met with some shrewd tactical play from Connell’s side.

Captain Della Doherty was quick to prove her skill as a defender, pushing up on the Russian side from the get go. Doherty maintained a strong Irish presence in the backline, matched on the wing by Galway’s Kate Slevin.

In the 12th minute, Kerryanne Brown fed a ball into Aoibheann Clancy who unloaded a shot at goal but it was collected by the Russian keeper. Slevin showed her power in breaking forward on the right and also on the defensive side when clearing a Russian chance at goal of the first quarter.

Chants from the Russian Under-17s, who were in attendance, couldn’t break the Girls in Green’s spirit and in the 25th minute Erin McLaughlin sent in a perfect ball to be planted in the back of the net by Shelbourne ace Jessie Stapleton.

Laois Ladies footballers make it two wins from two following victory over Tipperary

LIDL NATIONAL LADIES FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 2

A corner kick from Shauna Brennan met the boot of Jenna Slattery soon after but it was not enough to secure a goal. Doherty continued her encouragement of the team with guidance throughout and soon set up Brown to secure the second goal in the 29th minute. The Girls in Green maintained dominance to finish out the first half. 

The second half commenced with Offaly's Ciara Glackin replacing Auskalnyte in the net. Ireland retained a steady dominance with controlled passing and hard work off the ball.

Aoife Horgan let her presence be known, controlling the middle of the pitch, Maria Reynolds held her own against the frustrated opposition and McLaughlin controlled the ball to bring others into play.

In the 67th minute, Emily Corbet planted a third goal for Ireland. Russia quickly hit back with a goal in the 70th minute, but there were few signs of Connell's team allowing this game to slip away. In fact, they grew stronger and Glackin was on high alert between the posts.

With a 3-1 final score, Ireland left Turkey with two wins out of two against the Russian side. They will continue to work towards their UEFA European Championship Phase 2 Qualifiers in the Czech Republic this April.

Republic of Ireland: Rugile Auskalnyte (Ciara Glackin 46) Kate Slevin (Melissa O’Kane 75) Della Doherty (Abby Tuthill 75), Therese Kinnevey (Olivia Milner 75), Shauna Brennan, Aoibheann Clancy (Emily Corbet 46) Jessie Stapleton (Nicole McNamara 67), Jenna Slattery (Maria Reynolds 46), Erin McLoughlin (Eva Mangan 75), Kerryanne Brown (Aoife Horgan 46), Emma Doherty (Michelle Doonan 67).