U14C Championship Final 2018
Éire Óg v Broadford
@ Shannon Camogie Wednesday, 30th May, 2018
Half time score: Éire Óg 1-03 Broadford 0-03
Full Time score: Éire Óg 3-03 Broadford 2-05
Éire Óg withstood a late Broadford resurgence to take the honours in the U14C Cup final by the narrowest of margins on a scoreline of 3-03 to 2-05 at an impeccable Shannon Camogie pitch on Wednesday evening. Leading by 8 points with 9 minutes of normal time left on the clock, spectators could be forgiven for expecting the Townies to cruise to victory. Broadford, however, are made of sterner stuff and threw all they had at their opponents, giving the large crowd of supporters a thrilling and nervous finish!
The Ennis side took an early lead as Ella Cahill pointed from 2 placed balls. Broadford levelled with a pointed free from Cathy Farrell and a Beatrice Vaughan score from play. The sides swapped frees, but, Éire Óg had a good finish to the half as an Ella Cahill free dipped to the back of the Broadford net, giving her side a three point lead as the half time whistle was sounded.
It was Éire Óg that got the better start to the second half as a Rachel Russell pull on the ground resulted in their second green flag, giving them a six point advantage. Cathy Farrell pointed a free for Broadford, but, Éire Óg won the subsequent puckout and an impressive passage of play resulted in Ella Cahill scoring her second goal of the evening. Just five minutes of normal time remained when Broadford were awarded a free from the 45 metre line. It was Cathy Farrell that stood over the sliotar and with nothing to lose, went for goal. Her shot found its intended target, much to the joy of the Broadford contingent. Buoyed by this score, Broadford fought hard and were unlucky to see their next effort forced narrowly wide by some excellent defending. A minute later, Broadford were awarded another free which was duly converted by Cathy Farrell, leaving just 4 points between the sides. Broadford were firing on all cylinders now and within grasping distance of causing a big upset. Normal time had reached its conclusion and the match was in the 1st minute of injury when Broadford were awarded another free. Once again, Cathy Farrell stood over the sliotar and with nerves of steel, sent her shot to the back of the Éire Óg net, leaving just a single point between the sides. Great credit must go to the Éire Óg defence for clinging to this slender lead for a further two minutes of injury time, as despite emptying the bench, they were visibly drained by the intense humidity and tired legs were evident, having just played their semi-final against Feakle-Killanena 48 hours earlier. The shrill of the final whistle was accompanied by a sigh of relief from the Éire Óg sideline and huge disappointment for Broadford. Joint captains for Éire Óg, Aoibheann Hahessy & Eunice Boateng were presented with the cup by referee, Kevin Walsh, who complimented both sides on serving up a hugely entertaining and skilful match.
Éire Óg team : Olive Shannon; Irene Boateng, Niamh Kennedy; Ciara Shanahan, Eunice Boateng, Emma Lyons; Abbi Roche, Aoibheann Hahessy; Shauna Faughey, Ella Cahill(2-03 1-03f), Rachel Russell(1-00); Annie Lynch, Sarah Murphy
Subs : Aoise Kelly For Shauna Faughey, Elise Ryan for Emma Lyons, Líadan de Ghlaisne for Sarah Murphy, Aoibhe Coote for Annie Lynch, Riona Hely for Elise Ryan
Broadford team : Hannah O'Donnell; Emma O'Brien, Isobel O'Connell; Ashleigh McNamara, Ella O'Brien Amelie O'Riordan; Cathy O'Farrell(2-04f), Sinead Vaughan; Niamh Reddan Beatrice Vaughan (0-01), Caitriona Corrigan; Ella Ryan Meaney, Saidbhe O'Sullivan
Referee: Kevin Walsh ( Wolfe Tones )
