Early goals give Harps edge against Eoghan Rua

Eastern Harps avenge last year’s Intermediate Championship final defeat with clinical performance

IN A thrilling game of twists and turns, Tourlestrane turned to attacking ace Katie Walsh to turn the tide against Geevagh in last Sunday’s Sligo LGFA Connacht Gold Adult League Division One decider. The inter-county forward, back after a hand injury ruled her out of Sligo’s TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship campaign, scored 1-3 in the second-half and also set up two goals for Lauren Normanly, who impressed at centre-forward.

Walsh scored her team’s 13th and final score in added time as Tourlestrane ended up scraping home by a two-point margin, 4-13 to 2-17, against a Geevagh side who, time after time, refused to give up.

Elaine O’Reilly kept firing over points (10 in total, six from frees), her sister Stephanie kept running at Tourlestrane’s defence and Sinead McTiernan also did her bit for Geevagh.

Given that Tourlestrane failed to build on a devastating opening 15 minutes, when they led 0-8 to 0-2, after

Sligo LGFA Adult League Division Two Final Eastern Harps

Eoghan Rua 4-13 2-10

HOW quickly things can change. Last September Eoghan Rua won the Sligo LGFA Connacht Gold Intermediate Championship final with a dizzyingly good 16-point defeat of Eastern Harps. In June of this year the west Sligo club seized provincial glory, scoring six goals to write themselves into Connacht LGFA history.

On Sunday last they tasted defeat at Markievicz Park – losing to the aforementioned Eastern Harps by nine points, 4-13 to 2-10, in the Division Two

half a dozen excellent points from corner-forward Leonie Gaughan, who plays in goal for Sligo, this game echoed last year’s Sligo LGFA Premier Championship final clash.

Then Tourlestrane dominated but were forced to a replay that Geevagh won.

It appeared that they had learned from that experience by taking the game to Geevagh and, breeze-assisted, it initially looked like Geevagh were in for a drubbing.

Leonie Gaughan was finding the target quite brilliantly and Lauren Normanly, who last month helped Sligo win a Connacht LGFA U-16 ‘B’ Championship, was at ease at this level.

Tourlestrane’s lead could have been bigger, too, but Leah Walsh’s final of the Sligo LGFA Connacht Gold Adult League.

Eoghan Rua’s team has changed since those landmark victories and for last Sunday’s competition final they were up against driven opponents who had a point to prove after what happened in last year’s county final. By clinically scoring three goals inside the opening 11 minutes, with Tara Phillips, Lisa Powell and Katie Hannon each finding the net decisively, Harps reversed what was inflicted upon them at this venue almost 12 months ago when Eoghan Rua netted three times by the 13th minute.

Harps captain Lisa Casey led her side’s charge from her centre-forward berth – nothing new about that – but she was one of several matchwinners goalbound effort was kept out by Geevagh goalkeeper Aisling Sweeney. Sarah Cunney, excellent throughout, created the chance.

Geevagh, who were showing signs of

COUNTY TITLE: Members of the Eastern Harps panel and management following their capture of the Sligo LGFA Connacht Gold Adult League Division Two title at Markievicz Park last Sunday. They defeated Eoghan Rua in the decider.

for the Gary Ward-managed team. Also outstanding were Megan McCormack, a busy, creative attacker, and wing-back Roisin Molloy, who plays for Athlone Town in the FAI Women’s National League.

The winners were 10 points clear, 3-2 to 0-1, thanks to their early three-goal salvo – the first goal coming after 25 seconds when Tara Phillips goaled as Eoghan Rua substitutes were getting to their allocated seats in the stand. Credit is due to Eoghan Rua for making a game of it because they had grittily drawn level by half-time, 2-6 to 3-3. Their recovery began when full-forward Sophie Barrins scored a closerange goal after a delivery from way out the field caught the Harps defence napping.

Leah Duffy, whose excellent tally of life when Sarah Reynolds carried the ball into Tourlestrane territory, should have threatened Tourlestrane’s goal but Stephanie O’Reilly shot weakly after combining with Bernice Byrne. O’Reilly, however, was only getting warmed up. nine points (all frees) made her this final’s top scorer, was keeping her side in touch by landing five points in the opening period.

Eoghan Rua’s second goal – Sinead Naughton’s well-taken score after 28 minutes – was another obvious moment that re-energised the Connacht LGFA Junior Club champions.

Harps will reflect on the 24 minutes that followed their third goal as their flimsiest phase – they only scored once during this time, were outscored 2-5 to 0-1 and were fortunate that Eoghan Rua didn’t score at least two more goals.

Leah Duffy’s shot for goal was blocked and Louise Lindsay’s 19th minute rocket had Eoghan Rua fans applauding – believing it to have gone

A purposeful run from the wing-forward led to a Megan Davey point and then the veteran attacker went for goal – denied only by a block from Tourlestrane full-back Aisling Egan. Four unanswered points from Geevagh brought them right back into it and then Stephanie O’Reilly passed to Nora O’Reilly, whose goal attempt was straight at Tourlestrane in – but the ball went by the wrong side of the post, narrowly so.

While Eoghan Rua were finding a way back at one end of the pitch, they were grateful for their defenders and goalkeeper for stopping Harps from