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ULSTER SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI FINAL: DOWN 0-7 MONAGHAN 2-8
It
was a case of Down but not out for
the Mourne girls on Sunday as they
suffered a seven point loss to the
Monaghan Ladies team in the first
leg of the Ulster Championship
semi finals.
Playing in front of a bumper crowd
in Downpatrick, Down got off to
the better start with a point on
the five minute mark from Michaela
Downey. The Clonduff player
followed this up two minutes later
with another score following good
set up play by the half back
unit. Monaghan got onto the score
sheet after ten minutes with a
well taken point from Niamh
Kindlon from the 25 yard line.
Neither team held the advantage at
the end of the first quarter as a
combination of missed chances and
solid marking on both sides kept
the scores to a minimum. Sinead
Murphy was everywhere for Down,
getting the breaking ball and
setting up the attacks with Eilish
McConville equally impressive in
pushing forward from the back.
Donaghmoyne player, Hazel Kingham
brought the sides level following
a neat interplay with Niamh
Kindlon, who was at the centre of
everything for Monaghan. Down
were unlucky not to hit the back
of the net on the halfway mark as
a high ball in from Michaela
Downey’s free was caught cleanly
by Kyla Trainor. The Downpatrick
player struck for the net only to
see ‘keeper Linda Martin make a
great save low to her left. They
created another great chance a few
minutes later when Eilish
McConville hit a low ball up the
right wing to Michaela Downey.
She proceeded to beat two players
before striking the ball low and
narrowly to the left of the post,
much to Monaghan’s relief. As the
half time whistle approached,
Monaghan took the lead for the
first time as Hazel Kingham took
her second score of the game.
However Down were to have the last
say of the half when Michaela
Downey received the ball fifteen
yards out and retained possession
well before taking her chance. As
the teams headed for the changing
rooms, there was nothing between
them at 0-3 each.
Down suffered a sucker punch at
the start of the second as a long
ball into the square sneaked under
the crossbar giving ‘keeper Emma
Madine no chance. Picking up the
pace of their game, Monaghan
followed this with another score
from the very impressive Niamh
Kindlon. The Monaghan half
forward line of Kindlon, Theresa
McNally and Charlene Graham
provided problems for the Down
back line with some strong runs
and interplay through the centre
of the field. The standard of
tackling and harrying of the Down
backs was notable though with
Annaclone player Eliza Downey
impressive in restricting her
player down the wings. Down got
another chance to narrow the
scores as Maeve McConville made a
strong run down the right hand
side before striking the ball
across goal. Linda Martin came to
her team’s rescue again however
with another impressive save from
the powerful strike. Down’s luck
again deserted them when Michaela
Downey’s free blasted onto the
cross bar however she followed up
well to point for the Mourne
county. Monaghan’s defence proved
tough to break as they restricted
the supply of ball in to Downey
and Kyla Trainor but the game
really started to drift away from
the Down girls when Therese
McNally latched onto a kickout
before hitting the net to put her
team up by six. Further scores by
Kindlon, Graham and Kingham
threatened to make the second leg
match redundant but Down rallied
well with points from captain
Eilish McConville and midfielder
Patricia McKibben. With the gap
at seven points, Down were again
unlucky with the last effort of
the game as a brilliant ball
across goal from substitute Sonya
McGaw was collected well by Downey
who unleashed a powerful strike
only for the cross bar to come to
Monaghan’s rescue again. Final
score Down 0-7, Monaghan 2-8
So with the first leg of the
Championship semi finals complete,
Down will be left to rue some
missed chances in the first half.
While the team did show glimpses
of their potential with their back
line performing well and some neat
interplay around the middle of the
field, they will need to up the
supply to the forwards and take
their chances if they are to
progress to the Ulster Final.
With the second leg in Clones on
Sunday, the aggregated nature of
the Championship means Down need
to win by eight points to progress
to face either Armagh or Tyrone.
On a brighter note, the Down U16
team reached the Ulster final with
a resounding 8-12 to 0-4 win over
Derry. In what was a great team
performance, the main scorers were
Cara Laverty, Lorraine Havern and
Grainne Kelly who also featured
for the senior team.
DOWN SENIOR TEAM
1.
Emma Madine
2.
Aine Keary
3.
Eliza Downey
4.
Aveen McEvoy
5.
Eilish McConville
6.
Aoibheann Downey
7.
Geraldine Campbell
8.
Michaela Downey
9.
Patricia McKibben
10.
Grainne McClean
11.
Lyndsey Cunningham
12.
Maeve McConville
13.
Sinead Murphy
14.
Kyla Trainor
15.
Kerry O’Neill
Subs used : Sonya McGaw and Grainne
Kelly
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