Kilmurrays rout champs as Loman's reach semis

St Loman's, Mullingar 5-13, Milltown 3-6

By Paul Hughes

St Loman’s, Mullingar are straight into the semi-finals of this year’s ladies’ SFC with a game to spare, after comfortably dismantling holders Milltown at Dovida Lakepoint Park, Mullingar last Thursday evening.

Some 4-8 of the hosts’ final tally of 5-13 from play came from three of the five Kilmurrays on the St Loman’s panel – Katie, Evie and Caoimhe – as the Blues again underlined their status as hot favourites to capture the Jack Lyster Cup.

After a slow start from both sides, St Loman’s found their groove and led by 3-8 to no score at the break, with each of the aforementioned Kilmurrays finding the net and Milltown failing to break down a disciplined home rearguard.

Milltown finishing a first half scoreless is uncharted territory, and to their credit, the girls in green never dropped the heads and improved with a second-half tally of 3-6, including a hat-trick of green flags from Sinéad Slevin. However, 1-4 of that came in the final eight minutes when the Saints had well and truly taken their collective foot off the gas.

After soaking up some early Milltown pressure, St Loman’s had ample opportunity to open the scoring but Lucy McCartan hit the crossbar, while Katie Kilmurray’s left-footed shot drew a fine save out of Milltown netminder Sinéad Byrne. With nine minutes gone, Kilmurray found the target with a curled effort.

Lucy McCartan doubled their lead before Caoimhe Kilmurray wowed the large attendance with a tremendous score off her left after 17 minutes. Kilmurray was just outside the arc and was unlucky not to notch a two-pointer.

This score gave Ciaran Kilmurray’s troops a confidence boost and the floodgates opened, as they added 3-5 without reply before the short whistle. Katie Kilmurray added another point before Shannon Breslin shot over after turning her marker to make it 0-5 to nil.

Milltown continued to draw blanks at the other end – Laura Kiernan had their best chance of the half, driving a low shot just wide – before St Loman’s added two more scores courtesy of Evie Kilmurray (after cutting in from the left) and Lucy McCartan.

On 24 minutes, Evie then turned provider for Katie, working hard to dig the ball out before finding her cousin free of an all-at-sea Milltown defence. Katie took her goal with trademark power.

The visitors’ defence was marked absent again with 28 minutes gone, and this time Caoimhe Kilmurray was allowed to saunter through and slam to the net with her left foot.

The Blues weren’t finished there; Katie Kilmurray beat three Milltown defenders with a powerful run and opted for a point instead of a possible goal, before Evie Kilmurray swatted the ball to the net in stoppage time after a pass from Lucy McCartan.

Normal service resumed after the restart with Katie finding her range before teeing up McCartan to make it 3-10 to nil.

With 34 minutes gone, Milltown finally opened their account courtesy of Sarah Dillon but back came St Loman’s with a point from Katie Kilmurray, before McCartan got clear and picked out Evie Kilmurray for their fourth goal, finished from close range.

Sarah Dillon, who uncharacteristically missed a couple of routine frees for the visitors, converted their second point with a dead ball effort on 42 minutes and within 90 seconds, Milltown’s first goal arrived.

It came after a swift move involving Rachel and Sarah Dillon, with the former putting in the hard yards before the latter shipped to the inrushing Sinéad Slevin, who bundled the ball over the line.

Katie Kilmurray set Jayne Charles up for a well-taken point at the other end before Milltown replied with their second goal on 47 minutes. Again, the final ball came from Sarah Dillon, and Slevin finished well from close range.

Two minutes later, after taking the dirty look off the scoreline, Milltown suffered another setback in the form of a fifth St Loman’s goal. Katie Kilmurray had a shot stopped by Sinéad Byrne’s boot but the ball eventually worked its way out to Shannon Breslin, who lobbed Byrne with a dipping shot.

St Loman’s, 20 points clear (5-13 to 2-2), had their work done and eased off the accelerator, with Milltown chipping away at that deficit in the last ten minutes. Points from Sarah (two, one from play) and Clodagh Dillon followed before Sinéad Slevin sealed her hat-trick with a low soccer-style finish.

Sarah Dillon then tacked on her fifth point, a fisted effort, and in stoppage time the visitors could have easily had two more goals, but Rachel Dillon blasted wide and Slevin had what looked like a certain fourth goal blocked by St Loman’s ‘keeper Jane McKenna.

The knockouts will surely be a different story but St Loman’s, who have hit 15-36 in three games, will take some stopping in the final four.

Scorers - St Loman’s: K Kilmurray 1-5, E Kilmurray 2-1, C Kilmurray 1-2, S Breslin 1-1, L McCartan 0-3, J Charles 0-1. Milltown: S Slevin 3-0, S Dillon 0-5 (2f), C Dillon 0-1.

St Loman’s, Mullingar: Jane McKenna; Lara McCartan, Muireann Scally, Aoibhe Hogan; Ellen Kilmurray, Katie Dunne, Holly Dowdall; Caoimhe Kilmurray, Megan Dowdall; Eleanor Corcoran, Lucy McCartan, Jayne Charles; Evie Kilmurray, Shannon Breslin, Katie Kilmurray. Sub used: Shauna Traynor for Corcoran (48).

Milltown: Sinéad Byrne; Gemma Keena, Aoife Kenny, Jillian Ballesty; Henrietta Kiernan, Louise Kiernan, Rachel Dillon; Grainne Byrne, Tracey Dillon; Kate Whyte, Laura Kiernan, Abbie Sheerin; Clodagh Dillon, Sinéad Slevin, Sarah Dillon. Subs used: Emma Ballesty for G Byrne (42), Isabel Finn for Keena (55).

Referee: Vinny Cox (Cill Óige).