Champs send out a timely reminder

Play moved from end to end throughout with both defences busy and winning the majority of their battles as the first half ended on a low scoring but captivating note. The Geraldines began the match in fine fashion with the first four points of the game in the opening five minutes from Rebecca Carr (2), Sorcha McCooey and Katie Todd. Stabannon settled down after that and got two quick points in reply in the seventh and eighth minute. The game flowed and ebbed without a further score as the two evenly matched teams fought hard to progress with their defences winning out with some superb covering play. It took till the twentieth minute for the deadlock to be broken as Stabannon Parnells closed to within a point with a quick reply from the Geraldines a minute later as Ciara O’Connor slotted over and Stabannon closing the difference again with a free a minute later. It took till the twenty eighth minute for the equaliser to come from Stabannon and the half ended with both teams on five points.

The second half began with the Geraldines attacking but it was Stabannon who got the first scores with a point quickly followed by a goal in the third minute. The Geraldines pulled a score back as Victoria Prendergast pointed a minute later but this was as good as it got for the Geraldines as it proved to be their final score with Stabannon taking complete control of the game for the last twenty odd minutes, piling on a further unanswered seven points. To rub salt into the wound Stabannon found the net in the final minutes of the match to emerge clear winners on the day and finish top of the group on a convincing score of 2-13 to the Geraldines 0-06. GERALDINES: Alannah Finn, Sharron O’Connor, Abbi O’Connor, Amy Dalton (Amy O’Donoghue), Sinead O’Keefe, Irene O’Hare (Ciara Power), Ciara O’Connor 0-01, Megan Scully (Jane Connolly), Rebecca Carr 0-02 (Eimear Curtin), Andrea Lennon (Meabh O’Hagan), Helen Ryan, Katie Todd 0-01, Victoria Prendergast 0-01, Roisin Soraghan and Sorcha McCooey 0-01.