Goals prove decisive as Warburton hat trick inspires Moate to win over Athlone

A common statement in post-match analysis is that the score didn"t reflect the game, and this can certainly be said of this U14 "A" County Final. On the scoreboard, Athlone appeared to have suffered a large defeat, but in the end they were unfortunate not to have been closer to their rivals at the final whistle. Athlone fought hard throughout but were simply not as clinical in front of the posts as their rivals Moate, who were ruthless in the forward line. From the opening exchanges it was clear the contest would be a close one but as the game developed the strong spine of the Moate team began to show, as slowly but surely they gained control of the game. With the help of an excellent goalkeeper, Una Costello, defender, Emer McManus and forward Christine Warburton, Moate made the most of their County Final opportunity. These three players were dominant in their particular areas and, combined with Lorna Henson winning ball in the middle of the pitch, Moate looked unstoppable during certain parts of this final. Moate began the brightest. They even had the first goal chance of the game, before any scores had been put to the board. Christine Warburton at centre-half forward combined well with Clodagh Flanagan who raced towards the Athlone goal, but the full-forward fired her shot just wide. Athlone, however, were the first to score as Emma Johnson was fouled just in front of the posts. Free-taker Leena Mulvihill made no mistake with her first score of the game. Moate replied immediately with their first point of the tie. Amy Fagan made a great run into the Athlone backline and found Lorraine Duffy, who grabbed her score with ease. Athlone then made the Moate goalkeeper Una Costello work hard for her clean sheet as they pressed for a goal, but Costello was alert enough to stop oncoming danger on two consecutive occasions, racing out of her goal. The wet conditions made it very hard for the players to take scores but Moate"s Christine Warburton and Athlone"s Leena Mulvihill swapped scores as the half progressed and the sides remained deadlocked. Athlone went into the lead in the 23rd minute for the last time in the game as Cassie Fogarty took an impressive point, but the decisive score came just on the stroke of half-time as Moate hit the front with a goal. It was Christine Warburton, who was now really finding her stride, who took on a great pass from Emma Dowling and buried the ball in the bottom corner of the net. It took Warburton less than a minute into the second half to grab her second goal and put Moate in a strong position. This time the forward slid onto a loose ball, to place it past Laura Dowling in the Athlone goal from close range. Athlone kept in touch as Leena Mulvihill notched her third free of the game over the bar minutes later. Athlone were in need of a goal, however. Moate were in a commanding position as Christine Warburton continued to add scores from frees. Athlone were given a lifeline in the 41st minute when they were awarded a penalty for a foot-block. Leena Mulvihill took the spot-kick and hit it well, however Una Costello dived well towards the corner to block and smother Mulvihill"s effort. This was perhaps the last straw for Athlone, who now looked as if they were out of options. The team in white continued to press as the conditions on the pitch worsened. Another goal was the result of some heavy pressure, this time Christine Warburton turned provider as she lobbed a ball into substitute Aine Smyth. Smyth picked the ball out of the air and buried it into the near corner from close range. Moate were on their way to a comprehensive championship final victory. Christine Warburton capped off an immaculate performance as she grabbed a hat-trick late in the game, after some excellent work by Clodagh Flanagan. Athlone will feel hard done by with the final score as they were definitely much better competitors than the scoreboard indicates. However, it was Moate who took their chances to complete an impressive victory. Athlone: 1. Laura Dowling, 2. Deirdre Egan, 3. Alice Munnelly, 4. Maeve Fahey, 5. Emma Fagan, 6. Claire Bolton, 7. Emma O"Neill, 8. Cassie Fogarty (0-1), 9. Emma Dowling, 10. Emily Henshaw, 11. Leena Mulvihill (0-4, 4f), 12. Leah Beirne (0-1), 13. Genevieve Hamilton, 14. Emma Johnson, 15. Nicola Collison. Subs: Aoife Gill for G Hamilton (24 mins). Moate: 1. Una Costello, 2. Sorcha Egan, 3. Kate Carberry, 4. Emer McManus, 5. Brenda O"Brien, 6. Aisling O"Neill, 7. Sarah Claffey, 8. Kalene McCormack, 9. Lorna Henson, 10. Deirdre Farrell, 11. Clodagh Flanagan, 12. Isobel O"Neill, 13. Amy Fagan), 14. Christine Warburton (3-4, 0-3f), 15. Lorraine Duffy (0-1). Subs: Aine Smyth (1-0) for A Fagan (30 mins), Aoife Costello for L Duffy (30).