Ulster U14 Ladies Championship

Down 9-12; Armagh 1-2

Sun kissed St Patricks Park, Saul hosted the U14 Ladies championship game between Down and Armagh on Saturday June 3rd with a strong squad performance from the red and blacks overcoming neighbours Armagh by 9-12 to 1-2.

In the minutes following the throw-in Armagh took the honours in early possession but didn't trouble the scoreboard despite Down keeper Nicole O'Connor being asked to pull off a smart save inside the first 5 minutes and the Armagh corner forward Laura McShane widing from a good opportunity. Down then stepped up the pace as Laura McClements and Sileen McDonald took a hold at midfield that they rarely relinquished from that point on. McClements picked out Siofra Murdoch with a great ball over the top and Siofra drove low to the net to give Down the lead. Further scores flowed for Down from the excellent Natasha Lennon (2 goal, 4 points), Eimear Kane (1-1), Eimear McGeogh (0-1) and Sileen McDonald (1-0) before Armagh converted a close in free to open their account 20 minutes in. Natasha Lennon converted a free and added a further point from play to continue her lead scoring role and then Armagh showed their potential with firstly a point from Megan Cinnamon before Niamh Gernon goaled for the visitors just before the break. With the whistle bringing the half to a close, the game was virtually over as a contest with Down in control by 5-8 to 1-2.

At the start of the second period, Down made changes but continued in the same vein. Substitute Shannon Kelly curled over a great left foot effort and then set up Siofra Murdoch for a further minor score inside 5 minutes. Another replacement, Ashleigh Dinsmore then joined the scorers with a sharp point from the left hand side before she cleared up a scramble in the Armagh goalmouth by placing the ball in the bottom corner of the net. Dinsmore then repeated the feat a minute later as the Down girls were rampant. With 10 to go, the excellent Shannon Kelly who was tormenting the Armagh backline cut inside on a superb solo and planted a shot to the top left hand corner of the goal. As the game wound down, Shannon Kelly appeared to fall heavily on another piercing attack with what looked like an ankle injury. She was taken off to hospital and we hope there's nothing serious and that Shannon recovers quickly. The match concluded with Down running out winners on a 9-12 to 1-2 scoreline and they qualify for the final which is likely to be against Tyrone later this month.