Swift departure for Shels ladies

AN UNDERSTRENGTH Shelmalier side had no answer for a star-studded Foxrock-Cabinteely in the Leinster ladies’ football Senior club championship quarter-final in Bray on Sunday.

The Dublin outfit have so much strengthin-depth - boasting an array of talent from across the land - that they can afford to have inter-county players on the bench.

Meanwhile, Shelmalier were missing three of their Wexford stars, and were four short of their county final line-up.

With Sarah Harding-Kenny and Leona Tector injured, Siobhán Cloake unavailable and Róisín Murphy competing in the Intermediate camogie final with Buffers Alley, the Hollymount outfit were well and truly up against it.

However, it didn’t stop Pat Quill’s side from giving it a real go and they were especially competitive in the first-half.

Michelle Harding made an impression with a stellar performance, Deirdre Fox made a few fine saves between the posts, while Deirdre McMahon and Maeve Quill caused the Dublin club problems in defence.

McMahon actually kicked the Wexford club into an early lead, converting a free after Deirdre Byrne was fouled.

She popped over another dead-ball to make it 0-2 each but Amy Ring netted to kick-start the eventual victors.

Michelle Doyle converted a dead-ball after Harding was fouled but another major from the south Dublin club, this time from Hannah O’Reilly, helped them into a 2-4 to 0-3 lead.

Youngster Ailis Neville enhanced her growing reputation with a 24th-minute major as Shels kept fighting.

McMahon kicked another free before the interval but Foxrock-Cabinteely continued to tack on scores and build a 2-8 to 1-4 advantage at the change of ends.

The ‘hosts’ maintained a similar rate in the second period but the Shelmalier scored dried up.

Dublin panel member Hannah O’Neill found the net early in the period and, after a string of points, Laura Nerney shot past Fox to make it 4-16 to 1-4.

Kellie Kearney did add one tick to the Shelmalier side of the scoreboard late on to avoid a second-half shut-out but it wasn’t to be their day.

Shelmalier: Deirdre Fox; Eadaoin Fitzgerald, Sadbh McCarthy, Ceara O’Brien; Michelle Harding, Shauna Murphy, Eleanor Neville; Clara Donnelly, Kellie Kearney (0-1 free); Deirdre Byrne, Lauren Murphy, Michelle Doyle (0-1 free); Maeve Quill, Deirdre McMahon (0-3 frees), Ailis Neville (1-0). Subs. - Mikaela Lanigan, Lisa Quill, Caroline Curran.