Roscommon
L.G.F.C. Match Reports
Once
again the top two ladies senior football
But slowly Shamrocks began to wear down the Roscommon defense and with
further probing runs from Smith, her side shot over 5 unanswered points all
from play with Smith hitting 3 points while lively teammates Sinead Walsh and Brid Bolyan chipped in with a
brace to now leave the champions in pole position for the second half with a 4
point lead and Roscommon unable to stop the Shamrock offensive. The manner in
which Shamrocks began to dominate at the closing stages of the half suggested
that they were really starting to find the form that their impressive forward unit
is capable of showing and indeed a big worry for Roscommon to mull over at the
interval. Immediately on the restart, Roscommon midfielder, Nuala
McGarvy got a point to reduce the deficit to 3 but
Shamrocks responded well with points from
In fairness to Roscommon they didn't buckle at this stage but fought on and
with the introduction of Sheila Farrell at wing back, they began to make some
probing runs themselves upfront. Their cause though was not helped with
some wayward shooting from frees with the normally accurate McCallan was not on
form. Farrell began to make some good runs deep into Shamrocks territory and as
a result of one of these runs was brought down and referee John McDonnell
pointed to the penalty spot much to the hue and cry of Shamrocks supporters
thinking the decision a little harsh. Roscommon's full forward, Kathy Conway
stepped up and put the ball in the far left hand corner and the large crowd on
hand cheered this turn of events as now Roscommon were behind by just 3
points and right back in it with 7 minutes left to play. Brid
Boylan for Shamrocks hit the post minutes later, a
big let off for Roscommon, who themselves were pressing but their shooting let
them down as some poor wides were incurred. An
effort was made at a goal from a placed ball when a point might have been a
better option for Roscommon with time still on the positive side. Nuala McGarvey in the dying
minutes shot over to leave just two in it and Roscommon launched tremendous
attacks on the Shamrocks goal but the defense held out well. Shamrocks
themselves were awarded a free from good work in attack and Ashling
Fahy did well when shooting over under pressure. This
brought the scoring and game to an end of a very entertaining last 15 minutes
where Roscommon tried hard to pull back arrears but just fell short in the end.
Roscommon too good for battling Tir Na N'og
Roscommon proved too strong for rivals Tir na Nog when running out
comfortable 8 point winners against a game and battling Tir na Nog
that competed well but were just not able to get the scores when needed. Tir na Nog got on the board first here through a point from center
forward Clare Rafferty but this was quickly cancelled out by Roscommon's new
full forward, Maggie Murphy who looked a lively sort. Tir
na Nog
had the better of the early going but were not able to convert their chances
with the Roscommon defense giving nothing away.
Murphy got the next score for Roscommon to leave them a point ahead by the 11th
minute. Soon after they added another through midfielder, Nuala McGarvey, before neither
side made any further impression on the scoresheet
until Tir na
Nog narrowed the gap once more to a point from Niamh Daly. But Roscommon were began to press forward and
before the break increased their lead once more when
Unfortunately for Tir na Nog
it was all one way traffic in the second half as Roscommon took control, while Tir na Nog
try as they may to get back on terms could not convert any chances they made.
It was a good 12 minutes into the half befor we had a
score, with Tir na
Nog having a good measure of the play, but it was
Roscommon who scored first through Maggie Murphy, as every time she got the
ball she looked dangerous. Roscommon's Regina Finnegan back from injury, started to influence at center forward by running at
the defense and opened big gaps down the center. Left corner
forward, Lynn Cahill for Roscommon got on the end of a ball around the
goalmouth and hit home a fine goal to increase their lead to 7 points with 9
minutes left on the clock with things looking bleak for Tir
na Nog.
McGarvey and Finnegan made it a 9 point lead minutes
later before wing forward, Maudie Lynn with a good
pass from Finnegan, shot to the Tir na Nog
net for Roscommon's second goal with two minutes left to play. Tir na Nog did get in for a very late goal themselves from a well
worked goal by Niamh Daly with Marie Keane adding a
fine point in injury time. But Tir na Nog
had left it too late to start scoring as the final whistle was sounded with
Roscommon the side who made the best use of possession and always had the
easier time putting scores on the board. Maggie Murphy at full forward will
give extra firepower to the Roscommon side upfront this season and will cause
problems for most defenses.
Shamrocks take Orla Benson Cup
Roscommon had to settle for second best in this Ladies Orla
Benson Cup Final as their arch rivals Shamrocks proved just too strong on the
day, a day that must be said was more suited to the sauna than for Gaelic
Football as the mercury was in the 90's with stifling humidity the order which
made playing conditions very difficult for the ladies.
Shamrocks got off to a flying start and had two points on the board by the
5th minute through good scores from mid fielder, Rita Kearny and center
forward, Ashling Fahy.
Impressive left wing forward, Colette Walsh for Shamrocks, minutes later added
another point to stretch their lead to 3 points but against the run of play
Roscommon got in for an equalizing goal when corner forward, Lynn Carvill, who may have got away with a slight push in the
back on her marker, did well though to beat the keeper when slamming home a
fine goal. The sides went in very tired at the break on level pegging with
Shamrocks having the better of the exchanges in the half with some good work in
defense by the Roscommon full back line, with left corner back Ciara McGurk doing well.
On the restart, Roscommon edged in front from an early minute free from
Roscommon now were in danger of slipping further behind and these fears were
realized when Shamrocks added two more points from Fahy
(1 free) and one from Colette Walsh who was causing problems in the Roscommon
defense. Shamrocks began to impose their will now on the game and in the last
quarter they never let up on their rivals who could have done with the help of
the injured Sharon McGovern upfront.
From here to the final whistle they added another 1-03, the goal another fine
effort from Fahy while Walsh,
Roscommon
snatch victory with late goal
The first half of this ladies football clash saw Tir na nOig
in the driving seat leading by double scores on a score line of 2-02 to
0-04. During this time they had forced the issue scoring the all
important goals and took their scores better than opponents Roscommon.
Roscommon applied heavy pressure on the restart which soon resulted in a
It was all Roscommon now and good pressure gave McCallan the opportunity to
display her free taking skills and she duly obliged when putting two more
between the posts to leave the sides level with 5 minutes
remaining. It was on the rare occasion that Tir na nOig
made it out of their own half as Roscommon piled on the pressure.
A goalmouth frenzy in the dying minutes saw the ball
rebound to Roscommon's, Caroline Newton, who found the Tir
na nOig net with the last
kick of the match. Full time was blown immediately on the kick out
and the good work that Tir na nOig had done in the
first half came to naught as they were well and truly routed in the second half
when failing to score.
Roscommon now go on to the final against arch rivals Shamrocks.