Macroom Ladies Football

Macroom’s U-16 ladies travelled to Uibh Laoighre GAA in Inchigeela on Sunday July 8th to play a friendly game against neighbours Naomh Fionnbarra.

The 7pm throw in meant the sun had lost most of its strength and a welcome breeze helped keep temperatures down but conditions were still very warm. Naomh Fionnbarra gave Macroom a good tough game and a well-stocked sub’s bench allowed both teams to experiment with positions and to play some of our younger players. The second half was very enjoyable as both teams found their form and the large crowd of spectators were treated to some great football. The final scoreline of Macroom’s 8-8 to Naomh Fionnbarra’s 1-4 didn’t do justice to a great match with both sides playing some great football. Thanks to Naomh Fionnbarra for a great game, to the referee, and to Uibh Laoghaire GAA for hosting the game. These incredibly successful young ladies are training hard in preparation for their upcoming Mid- Cork league final and also the upcoming Championship matches.

Following their brilliant win in the Mid- Cork league, Macroom’s Junior ladies have progressed into the County E Championship.

Wednesday July 5th saw our Junior ladies travel to Oliver Plunkett’s GAA in Ahiohill to play Keelnameela in the first round of their Championship journey. Macroom started confidently but Keelnameela weren’t giving anything away and following a very physical first half the sides were very equally placed at half time with Macroom ahead by a single point at 2-4 to 2-3.

Macroom kept the pressure on Keelnameela and the Macroom defence held up well and in the second half the Macroom ladies added 1-4 to their first half score where Kelnameela added just 0-3. When the final whistle sounded, Macroom came away with a great 3-9 to 2-6 win . Brilliant stuff ladies. On July 2nd our U-15 ladies had their first league match against Ballincollig in Tom Creedon Park. Despite the 8pm throw-in conditions were still very hot with Ballincollig winning the toss which left Macroom playing into the sun. Macroom scored first but the visitors were quick to come back and made the most of the advantage of playing with the sun at their backs. Ref Hughie Kelleher gave a water break at the 1/4 and 3/4 mark which was much needed by the players. Ballincollig pushed hard in the first half and when referee Hughie Kelleher blew the half-time whistle it was Ballincollig 4-3 to Macroom’s 1-1. The second half brought a resurgence from Macroom who gave everything they had and after the 3/4-time water break and two fast goals brought Macroom back into the game and the sides traded points in the final minutes.

Macroom closed the gap to just a single point but time wasn’t on their side and the final whistle brought a narrow 6-6 to 6-5 win for the visitors. Well done to Ballincollig for a great match, fair and hard fought but we really must applaud our own ladies on an incredible comeback, showing spirit and determination well beyond their years.

This U-15 team are working very well together and with some more time training together and our girls on holiday back in the squad, they will be well worth watching in the future. Thank you, ladies, for a great game of football that was a joy to watch.Some of our County players have been in action and successful recently. Congratulations to our club member Katie Dineen and the Cork Minor Ladies on a brilliant 5-15 to 2-11 win over Dublin on June 30th. This sets them up for a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland Final clash with Galway. Congrats also to our own Aoife Twomey on her selection for the U16 Cork Camogie Bs who played Kilkenny on Sunday and came home with a win - Well done Aoife! Macroom Ladies Football Club will host a Cork Ladies Football Development Summer Camp. This camp will be held in Tom Creedon Park from the 16th to the 19th of July. This camp will be coached by some of the top Cork Senior and Minor ladies team members and is a great opportunity for our young ladies to be trained by some of the stars of Cork ladies football. It will be a four day camp, running from Monday July 16th through to Thursday July 19th from 10am to 2pm. The fee is €45 which is payable on the day and each girl will receive a purple training jersey on completion of the camp. Bookings can be made by completing the online application form on https://www.surveymonkey. com/r/corklgfacamp2018.

For further information or queries please contact the Camp Coordinator Orlagh Farmer on 086-3509870.