Minor Co. League Div 5 Final: Austin Stacks 2-17 Beale 2-3 (report by Niall Lucey) On a sunny but perpetually breezy Churchill Lissodeige Pitch, our Minor Ladies lined out to face Beale in the County League Division 5 Final on Wednesday Aug 28th, 2024. The ground was dry and conditions were good for football. The man in the middle was Billy Lacey who ruled with his usual balance and fairness. Stacks got off to a solid start with a point from play from Penny Costello. It wasn’t long before Holly O’Brien and Grace Lucid added two more. But Beale got going through a well taken goal and our girls went back to chipping away at the points with Saoirse Moriarty and Deirdre Quigley adding to our tally. Amy Scanlon and Aoife Begley worked hard and were unlucky not to score. Fair play to our defence, our full back line of Aine Gibbons, Emily Flynn and Shauna Harris held steady while our half backs of Deirdre Quigley, Eimear Dillane and Kara Kirby raided as much as defended. Isabel Cushen and Emma Dunican came on in the full back line in the second half and contributed to steadying the ship when Beale looked like challenging our dominance. The midfield was tireless with Lucy O’Connor and Ellen Lucey running their socks off up and down the field. Upfront, our forwards continued their press with Amber Ryan and Aoibhinn Hennessy (still playing U14’s football!) came on to score and keep the scoreboard ticking over. Having put one or two shots astray, Saoirse Moriarty over came her frustration and rattled the back of the net with a bullet of a shot mid way through the second half, as more of an answer to her own inner critic than anyone else – brilliant! The girls ran out comfortable winners in the end but it was an overall team performance from a lovely bunch of girls that the coaches are Most pleased with. A lot of football to come from these girls in the years ahead!
Team & Scorers:- Aisling Browne, Emily Flynn, Shauna Harris, Aine Gibbons, Deirdre Quigley (0-1), Lucy O’Connor (1-4), Kara Kirby, Eimear Dillane, Saoirse Moriarty (1-5), Holly O’Brien (0-1), Grace Lucid (0-2) Aoife Begley, Penny Costello (0-2), Amy Scanlon, Aoibhinn Hennessey (0-2), Isabelle Cushen, Emma Dunican, Robyn Mc Namara, Emma Counihan, Claire Counihan, Chelsea Moriarty. Management team: Anthony Moriarty, Keith Costelloe, Niall Lucey, Eveylyn Ahern and Jemma O’Connell.
thanks to Adrienne for her photographs:
