Ballinamere/Durrow dethrone champions to claim ladies senior title for first time

Senior Ladies Club Football Championship Final

BALLINAMERE/DURROW 3-8

NAOMH CIARAN 1-8

BALLINAMERE/DURROW captured the Offaly senior ladies football title for the first time when they overcame reigning champions Naomh Ciaran in impressive fashion with a two goal victory in the final played at The Faithful Fields on Saturday.

In their very first senior final last year, Ballinamere/Durrow had to give best to Naomh Ciaran, who completed a three in a row on that occasion, but this year there was no doubting that Ballinamere/Durrow were the better team and deserved their success.

Naomh Ciaran have been the standard bearers for Offaly ladies football for many years and won nine of the last 10 titles prior to this but they can have no complaints about this defeat as over the hour Ballinamere/Durrow played the better football.

Playing with the wind in the first half, Ballinamere/Durrow were quickly off the mark inside the first minute but then suffered a setback when they conceded a goal to a penalty. They bounced back well with a goal of their own to regain the lead and they never lost it after that. After a long scoreless spell they finished the half well and three points late in the half helped them to a 1-6 to 1-3 half time lead.

Naomh Ciaran began the second half well with the wind in their backs and cut the lead to a single point after eight minutes. But Ballinamere/Durrow struck for two goals in three minutes just before the midway point of the half and the result was never really in doubt after that. Naomh Ciaran needed goals but despite a lot of late pressure were unable to breach the Ballinamere/Durrow rearguard and had to relinquish their crown.

Conditions were difficult for both sides. There was a heavy downpour just before the start and again at half time and that made the ball and pitch slippy but to their credit both sides handled it well.

Over the 60 minutes Ballinamere/Durrow played the better football. They started well and scored 1-2 in the first six minutes but then only managed a single point in the next 17 minutes. But they were doing a good job in keeping Naomh Ciaran out at the other end.

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Facing into the wind with only a three point lead looked a little precarious and when that was cut to a single point they were under pressure against the long time champions. However once they banged home their second goal 11 minutes into the second half they took control of the game again. Despite facing the elements they kept Naomh Ciaran pegged back and opened up a nine point lead at one stage. Naomh Ciaran pressed again late on but the Ballinamere/Durrow defence was excellent and kept Naomh Ciaran at a safe distance and they were unable to come up with the goal that might have ignited a comeback.

Naomh Ciaran didn't give up their title without a fight but on the day they simply had to give best to Ballinamere/Durrow. They worked hard until the very end but they found it hard to come up with scores, particularly in the second half when they had the wind. They did get the lead down to a point but missed a couple of other opportunities and when Ballinamere/Durrow got their second goal it seemed to knock the stuffing out of them for a while and they went 17 minutes without a score.

Meadhbh Mealiff made a vital save early in the second half when Naomh Ciaran could have retaken the lead. Shauna Slattery, Brooke McDermott and Emma Buggy had good games in the Ballinamere/Durrow defence. Faith McDermott was given a marking job on Ellie McEvoy and did well to keep her scoreless. Niamh Lydon and Roisin Mealiff worked hard in midfield while in attack Saorah Doyle did the bulk of the scoring while Trasa Bracken and Emma Hand also played well.

Anna Grehan, Nicole Buckley and Aoibhe Kelly put in a big effort in the Naomh Ciaran defence. Emma Maher did a lot of work work around the middle while Lucy Flynn was the main scoring threat with Ellie McEvoy and Lauren Kelly also working hard.

A minute's silence was observed before the throw in in memory of Peter Waters, grandfather of Ballinamere/Durrow's Grace Waters.

Ballinamere/Durrow made a sharp start and were ahead after just 43 seconds when Saorah Doyle pointed. Naomh Ciaran hit back and after a long run by Ellie McEvoy, she played the ball across the square to Sarah Fitzgerald but she was fouled and a penalty awarded, which Lucy Flynn duly converted.

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Ballinamere/Durrow pulled a point back when they retained possession well and at the end Saorah Doyle picked a point. They won the ball back from the kick out and Una O'Brien picked out Saorah Doyle and she slipped the ball under the goalkeeper for a goal. Lucy Flynn replied with a point for Naomh Ciaran after eight minutes but scores dried up after that and there was just one score in the next 15 minutes.

The only score in that period was a Trasa Bracken point for Ballinamere/Durrow after a good run but they also came close to a goal after that when Una O'Brien crashed a shot off the crossbar and the follow up was also kept out. Naomh Ciaran also hit the woodwork when a high ball from Emma Maher came down off a post.

Saorah Doyle notched another point after good work by Emma Hand but Emma Cahill replied for Naomh Ciaran. Saorah Doyle and Roisin Mealiff kicked points to push Ballinamere/Durrow four points clear but Lucy Flynn had a late point to leave three points between them at half time, 1-6 to 1-3.

Naomh Ciaran had an early second half wide before Lucy Flynn pointed a free. They had a great goal chance after seven minutes when they broke quickly from defence and Lorraine Keena, Lucy Flynn, Lauren Kelly and Emma Cahill were involved in setting up a chance for Sarah Fitzgerald but Meadhbh Mealiff was quickly out to block her effort at the expense of a '45'. From that '45' Naomh Ciaran worked the ball to Lauren Kelly and she kicked a point to leave just one in it.

Ballinamere/Durrow were under pressure but they got just the break they needed when Ella Ravenhill, Niamh Lydon and Emma Hand set up the chance for Jane Maher and she crashed a great shot to the far corner of the net,

Three minutes later a shot from Niamh Lydon came back down off a post and Trasa Bracken was quickest to react and gathered the ball and steered her shot low to the net. Saorah Doyle added a point and they were eight points up midway through the second half. They missed a couple of other chances before Una O'Brien kicked their last point with six minutes to go.

Naomh Ciaran applied late pressure and Ellie McEvoy got their first score in 17 minutes from a free. Lucy Flynn and Anna Grehan also added late points to cut the score to two goals but they were unable to come up with a goal and Ballinamere/Durrow claimed a historic victory.

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MATCH ANALYSIS

THE TEAMS

BALLINAMERE/DURROW: Meadhbh Mealiff; Brooke McDermott, Shauna Slattery, Ava Grennan; Niamh Bracken, Faith McDermott, Emma Buggy; Niamh Lydon, Roisin Mealiff; Jane Maher, Emma Hand, Ella Ravenhill; Una O'Brien, Saorah Doyle, Trasa Bracken. Subs. Rachel Cunningham (for Ella Ravenhill, 53 min), Roisin O'Brien (for Niamh Bracken, 61 mins).

NAOMH CIARAN: Emma Bracken; Ellagh Darcy, Nicole Buckley, Anna Grehan; Caoimhe Kelly, Sasha Coleman, Aoibhe Kelly; Emma Maher, Teagan Daly; Emma Cahill, Ellie McEvoy, Emily Darcy; Lauren Kelly, Sarah Fitzgerald, Lucy Flynn. Subs. Lorraine Keena (for Teagan Daly, 34 mins), Roisin Ennis (for Caoimhe Kelly, 45 mins), Isobel Claffey (for Emily Darcy, 56 mins), Fia Grennan (for Sarah Fitzgerald, 63 mins).

REFEREE: Eoghan O'Neill.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

With a total of 1-5 from play Ballinamere/Durrow full forward Saorah Doyle was the clear front runner for the player of the match award. She was particularly sharp in the first half when she helped lay the foundation for Ballinamere/Durrow's victory but she also contributed well after the break in an excellent performance.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Ballinamere/Durrow's second goal 11 minutes into the second half was the pivotal moment of the match. Naomh Ciaran had trimmed the half time lead to a single point and limited Ballinamere/Durrow's opportunities in that opening 11 minutes of the half but once Jane Maher crashed her shot to the net, the whole game changed as Ballinamere/Durrow regained control and went on to win their first title.

REFEREE WATCH

Eoghan O'Neill handled the game well and did a good job overall. Possibly could have given a yellow card for a high challenge late in the game but used the common sense approach at that stage. He got all the main decisions correct.

WHAT’S NEXT

Ballinamere/Durrow will now go on to represent Offaly in the Leinster Club Championship, while it is the end of the year for Naomh Ciaran.

VENUE WATCH

The Faithful Fields was in very good nick for this double header. It stayed fine for the first game but there was a heavy downpour before the start of this game. Despite that and all the rain of the previous couple of days, the pitch was in excellent condition and all other arrangements for this final were perfectly in order.

STATISTICS

Wides; Ballinamere/Durrow 7 (3 in first half) Naomh Ciaran 5 (0 in first half)

Yellow Cards: None

Red Cards: None

THE SCORERS

Ballinamere/Durrow; Saorah Doyle (1-5), Trasa Bracken (1-1), Jane Maher (1-0), Roisin Mealiff, Una O'Brien (0-1 each).

Naomh Ciaran; Lucy Flynn (1-4, 1-0 penalty, 0-1 free), Emma Cahill, Lauren Kelly, Ellie McEvoy (free), Anna Grehan (0-1 each).

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