Donaghmoyne (Monaghan) 1-11
Termon (Donegal) 1-9
Alan Gunn reports from Killyclogher
Donaghmoyne clinched their 12th Ulster senior club title in dramatic fashion at Killyclogher this afternoon.
Late points from 17-year-old Lauren Garland and 18-year-old Louise Kerley eventually saw the defending champions shake off the resilient challenge of Termon for a two-point victory.
Termon trailed by four points early in the second-half but looked on course for a third provincial crown themselves when they turned it around to lead by one point with seven minutes. Geraldine McLaughlin, who scored all of her side’s nine points, nudged them in front at that stage and the Donegal side looked likeliest winners.
Termon had battled back thanks to a 42nd minute Lucy O’Flynn goal, but the loss of corner forward Shannon McLaughlin to the sin bin in the 59th minute proved crucial. With ten minutes of added time played, Kerley levelled the game from a free before those two late, late points guaranteed victory for the Monaghan champions.
Donaghmoyne raced into a four-point lead after seven minutes with points from Eimear Traynor, Cathriona McConnell (free), Louise Kerley and Lauren Garland.
Termon kept plenty of players in their defence with the aim of hitting Geraldine McLaughlin with their out-ball, and with her sister Nicole winning vital ball in defence, it was working as she grabbed the game’s next five points. Three of those scores came from frees to move the Donegal champions in the lead for the first time in the 22nd minute.
Kerley levelled the game for the second time in the 26th minute before All Star nominee Geraldine McLaughlin, winning a ball she had no right to against Sharon Courtney, played a one-two with Bridget Gallagher, before she kicked a sweet point to put Termon in the lead again.
The impressive Kerley matched McLaughlin’s effort with a fine score to tie the score at 0-6 apiece before Donaghmoyne grabbed the game’s opening goal three minutes into first-half injury time. Cora Courtney flicked a high dropping ball from captain Hazel Kingham over the end of Termon goalkeeper Maureen O’Donnell to send them in at the break 1-6 to 0-6 ahead.
McConnell moved Donaghmoyne four in front three minutes after the resumption but McLaughlin responded with a free. Termon continued to battle hard and after Kerley saw her shot come back off the post, O’Flynn scrambled the ball home at the other end after McLaughlin’s effort was initially saved.
But it proved a false dawn for Termon and Garland as Kerley kicked the winning scores for Donaghmoyne, as they claimed a fourth provincial win in the last five attempts.
Scorers for Donaghmoyne: L Kerley 0-5 (2f) C Courtney 1-0, C McConnell 0-3 (2f), L Garland 0-2, E Traynor 0-1, Termon: G McLaughlin 0-9 (5f), L O’Flynn 1-0)
DONAGHMOYNE: L Martin; J Geoghegan, F Courtney, H Kingham (ct); J Courtney, S Courtney, E Traynor; A Casey-Finnegan, C Courtney; L Garland, R Courtney, L Kerley; A McElroy, C McConnell, N Callan.
Subs: R Finnegan for McElroy (52)
TERMON: M O’Donnell; C Gorman, N McLaughlin, O McCafferty; M McDaid, E Gallagher (c), N Friel; E McGinley, M Alcorn; L O’Flynn, B Gallagher, J L Murray; E Alcorn, G McLaughlin, S McLaughlin.
Subs: J McFadden for Murray (46).
Referee: B Rice (Down)
Foxrock/Cabinteely (Dublin) 4-6
Sarsfields (Laois) 1-7
Daire Walsh reports from Coralstown/Kinnegad
Dublin’s Foxrock/Cabinteely secured a fifth Leinster Senior Ladies Football Championship title in succession with an emphatic triumph over Sarsfields of Laois at Coralstown/Kinnegad.
Thanks in no small part to goals from Jodi Egan, Katie McNally, Hannah O’Neill and Aisling Murphy, the 2018 All-Ireland finalists emerged as worthy winners and will now face Connacht champions Kilkerrin/Clonberne in the last-four of the national grade.
Despite having to field without county stars Niamh Collins and Sinead Goldrick, Foxrock enjoyed a blistering start to the contest. Inside the opening three minutes, Egan and McNally rattled the Sarsfields net to give them a commanding platform.
Aisling Murphy and captain Amy Connolly subsequently added points either side of O’Neill’s superb goal for a rampant Foxrock.
Meaghan Dunne eventually opened the Sarsfields account with a fine score and while Aisling Murphy responded at the opposite end, the Mountellick side soon grabbed a goal of their own through Leah Tarpey.
Alison McEvoy and Dunne points offered them fresh hope, only for a fourth major courtesy of Aisling Murphy to hand Foxrock a 4-4 to 1-3 interval lead.
Sarsfields had certainly shown plenty of fight following a difficult start and persisted with their challenge on the resumption.
Lorna O’Sullivan cancelled out an Amy Ring free, and the Laois champions were agonisingly close to bagging their second goal of the proceedings. Dunne had a powerful strike superbly turned away by Mayo netminder Tarpey and the ensuing rebound hit the side-netting – much to the relief of the Foxrock supporters in the Westmeath venue.
Sarsfields had lost midfielder Joyce Dunne to the sin-bin just before the break and Foxrock took advantage of their numerical supremacy with an Andrea Murphy point on 40 minutes. This proved to be the final score of the action for the Metropolitans as their plucky opponents stuck admirably to their task.
Lauramarie Maher (free), Leah Tarpey and O’Sullivan all found the target, reducing the gap to eight points in the process. However, with Connolly, Sarah Quinn and Fiona Claffey leading the way, Fox/Cab convincingly added another piece of silverware to their ever-expanding trophy cabinet.
Scorers for Foxrock/Cabinteely: Aisling Murphy 1-2, J Egan 1-1, H O’Neill 1-0, K McNally 1-0, A Connolly 0-1 (1f), A Ring 0-1 (1f), Andrea Murphy 0-1.
Scorers for Sarsfields: L Tarpey 1-1, M Dunne 0-2, L O’Sullivan 0-2 each, L Maher 0-1 (1f), A McEvoy 0-1.
FOXROCK/CABINTEELY: A Tarpey; C O’Riordan, S Quinn, A Murray; E McDonagh, F Claffey, L Fusciardi; L Nerney, H ONeill; Aisling Murphy, J Egan, A Connolly; T O’Sullivan, K McNally, A Ring.
Subs: Andrea Murphy for Aisling Murphy (36), S Delahunty for Murray (41), N Ryan for McNally (46), R McGovern for O’Neill (52), C Murphy for Nerney (59).
SARSFIELDS: L Peake; C Conroy, J McEvoy, A Grehan; R Williams, A McEvoy, A Loughman; J Dunne, R Bermingham; L Tarpey, M McEvoy, L Maher; M Dunne, L O’Sullivan, A O’Loughlin.
Subs: A Lawlor for Grehan (h-t), C Hughes for Loughman h-t).
Referee: C Forde (Wicklow)
