Sweet victory for St Dominic’s ladies as Brigid’s crash out

Roscommon LGFA roundup

The crashing noise that reverberated across the county at lunchtime on Sunday was the sound of champions St Brigid’s crashing out of the John Keane Kia Roscommon LGFA Senior Championship, following their seismic 4-10 to 2-10 quarter-final defeat to St Dominic’s in Kiltoom.

St Dominic’s Division One league success faded into memory over the course of the championship where they fell to three comprehensive defeats in succession, but two goals in the first five minutes from Kaitlyn Egan was like an injection of adrenaline and self-belief to their cause, and they were a transformed side for the remainder of the game.

St Brigid’s rallied brilliantly to lead by 1-4 to 2-0 at the midway point in the half, with Kara Gallagher hitting 1-1 while Claire Grehan and Alison Nugent took control of the game from the half-forward line, kicking the other 0-3 between them.

The underdogs always seemed to have an edge when it came to the physical contests for possession and two points from Aoife Gavin helped to turn the tide, before sheer force of will from Lilly Murray helped to earn a penalty that Aimee O’Connor converted.

With the first attack of the second half, Kaitlyn Egan completed her hat-trick with a stunning top corner finish, assisted by Niamh Watson and Áine O’Meara, to make it 4-4 to 1-6.

Kate Nolan and Alison Nugent worked tirelessly in their bid to grind St Brigid’s back into the game but several of their colleagues fell short of their usual high standards, and it took a stroke of luck in the form of a 30-metre free from Nolan that deflected past Rachel Corcoran at the last second to give them a late lifeline.

But a yellow card for Ria Lennon cut their hopes off at the knees, and points from Michaela Lohan, O’Connor and Gavin saw St Dominic’s through to a semi-final clash with Clann na nGael on Sunday week.

St Ciarán’s showed no lack of heart or fire at Abbey Park when they attempted to perform a similar giant-killing act against Boyle, but they just couldn’t find the penetration up front and score just one Shauna Fitzmaurice point from play in a 1-13 to 0-6 defeat to a resolute home side.

Stellar defensive work from Ger Dowd’s visitors helped to curb the threat posed by county star Aisling Feely, but Michaela Ward (0-4) and Caoimhe Cregg (0-2) stepped up to the mark for Boyle, while Megan McKeon oversaw an equally watertight defensive effort.

Katie Conroy (16) has delivered some crucial scores this year and her palmed goal in the 45th minute turned a tie that looked like it might go down to the wire, with just two points between the teams at that stage.

Instead Boyle finished with five points on the trot to march with confidence into their semi-final clash with Éire Óg on the weekend after next.

Intermediate Championship semi-finals confirmed

The semi-final lineup in the Hannon’s Hotel Intermediate Championship has also been confirmed with Pádraig Pearses playing host to Michael Glaveys this Friday night (September 18) while Kilbride will travel to Northern Harps on Sunday, September 27.

In an incredibly tight three-way battle for third and fourth place and the semi-final berths that came with them, it all came down to two close-range frees in Kilbride’s home tie against St Croan’s.

Kilbride’s doggedness kept them in the game, trailing by two (0-11 to 1-6) going into the last couple of minutes. Aisling Hanly delivered a moment of magic when she fired a 13-metre free over the heads of half a dozen St Croan’s defenders and into the roof of the net to nudge her side into the lead and while Ella Thompson had the chance to reply in kind, her effort fizzed over the crossbar to give Croan’s a draw on the day, but a result that was ultimately of no use.

Michael Glaveys knew their fate was in their own hands and they duly took care of business against Western Gaels, prevailing by 7-8 to 2-7 at Ballinlough.

Pearses will go into their semi-final on the back of a fifth win in a row, though the 2-12 to 0-10 scoreline in their table-topping clash with Northern Harps was slightly flattering. Lauren Shanagher was the leading light for the home side at Elphin with 0-6 and she opened the scoring, only to see Pearses hit back with a Blathnaid Kelly goal and two Sarah-Kate Goode points.

Trailing by 1-5 to 0-5 at half-time, Northern Harps were the stronger team in the third quarter but they struggled to make it count on the scoreboard to a sufficient degree, briefly getting to one behind (1-6 to 0-8) before Laura Glennon came off the bench to see Pearses over the line with a quickfire 1-3, including a late free that dipped under the crossbar.

One round of group games remains to be played in the Castlerea Vehicle Recycling Junior championship this weekend and it’s the meeting of Four Roads and Kilglass/Kilmore than looks like it will be the fixture that has the most significance.

The North Roscommon amalgamation will need to shake off a poor showing on Sunday in Kilglass where Louise Brady scored three goals in St Mary’s 7-11 to 0-5 win over an injury-hit home team.

Castlerea are out of contention after a toothless first half performance in which they scored just a single point left them too much to do against St Faithleach’s. It finished 1-7 to 0-5 in favour of the Ballyleague club, who have their fate in their own hands when they go up to play St Michael’s/St Ronan’s.

The Junior ‘B’ championship is also taking shape and it’s the two ‘first’ teams, Roscommon Gaels and Strokestown, who secured home advantage for the semi-finals by rounding off perfect group records with wins.

Roscommon Gaels racked up a 4-13 to 0-3 win over Clann na nGael to set up their meeting with St Brigid’s, but it was much tighter in Kiltoom on Friday night where Máire Mullooly made some vital saves in the Strokestown goal, while Nicole McGinley’s four points were the difference in a 1-13 to 0-12 win for the black and amber.

Strokestown will now play Boyle on Saturday week (September 26) with the second teams of Clann na nGael, Pádraig Pearses, Michael Glaveys, Shannon Gaels and St Dominic’s set to fight it out for the Junior ‘C’ crown.

*Roscommon LGFA thanks John Keane Kia, Hannon’s Hotel and Castlerea Vehicle Recycling for their sponsorship of the adult club championships in the county.