U14s book semi-final place
U14 CHAMPIONSHIP Shamrocks 2-10 Stradbally 3-05
Our U14s made the trip to a sunny but windy Stradbally last Monday evening for round 4 of the U14 Championship where we were met by both a strong breeze and an equally strong Stradbally side. Both of these teams have become familiar with each other as they met in U12 and U13 County Finals last September with the Shamrocks girls just coming out on top in both grades after two memorable games, with little between the sides.
This would be the case again as both sides moved up to the U14 grade and the bigger full-size pitch. Playing into a strong first half breeze the Shamrocks girls had a quiet start to the game, soon finding ourselves 1-01 down thanks to some great football from Stradbally. Shamrocks worked hard to stay in the game and opened the scoring when some fine work by Robyn McLoughlin at corner forward kept the ball from going out of play at the corner flag.
The Shamrocks forward floated in a precision cross which was brilliantly collected and finished to the net emphatically by Chloe Royle. Clodagh O’Keeffe soon followed up with a couple of well-taken points but it was Stradbally who were on top at half time, leading 2-04 to 1-02.
With the strong breeze now to our advantage the Shamrocks girls made sure to make it count. In a frenzied ten minutes after half time the Shamrocks scoring boots came to life, Clodagh O’Keeffe adding four more points in quick succession, all from marauding runs through midfield, including one superbly taken point from a very tight angle out on the wing. Soon after Chloe Royle who was working tirelessly in midfield picked up a stray Stradbally kickout and cut through the heart of the Stradbally defence to score her second goal of the game.
That was then followed by another Clodagh O’Keeffe lung bursting run, which released the ball into Robyn McLaughlin who blasted the ball over the bar. Katelynn McCarthy was now bossing the midfield sector and got on the scoresheet when she added an eighth Shamrocks point. Shamrocks were now well on top, but credit to Stradbally who are not easily beaten as they added their third goal to keep themselves in the game before Caoimhe Sheridan latched on to a loose ball and slotted over from all of 25 yards. That point was soon cancelled out by Stradbally before Skye Gubbins had the final say with a splendid solo run resulting in the final point of the night to seal a hard-fought Shamrocks victory.
Final score Shamrocks 2-10 Stradbally 3-05. This was another great performance from our U14s who have now booked a place in the semi-final stages which are fixed for Monday June 5th.
Shamrocks team: Ella Daly, Ciara Martin, Katie Mangan, Angelika Sochalska, Louise Moloney, Katelyn McCarthy, Juno Mooney, Skye Gubbins, Chloe Royle, Rhiannon Keniry, Clodagh O’Keefe, Kayla Dunne, Robyn McLoughlin, Alyson Murphy, Caoimhe Sheridan. Leah O’Donovan, Bonnie McLoughlin, Aifric Sheridan, Kayla Cronin, Sarah Henley.
U12 GO GAMES
The WLGFA U12 Go Games started last Wednesday with Stradbally making the trip to Knockanore. This was the first game with the new Go Games rules introduced by the three Associations for 2023 which sees one point being awarded for a goal and two for getting the ball over the bar. It took both teams time to adjust to the new rules but made for a very enjoyable game with both sides playing some great football and being evenly matched. This Wednesday evening the Shamrocks girls make the short trip to play Ardmore/Grange in round 2.
U8S/U10S
It was a busy night in Knockanore last Monday with our U6s, U8s and U10s hosting near neighbours St Catherines. With four mini games being played on the pitch everyone had a really enjoyable evening with some brilliant football on display by all teams!
WLGFA U17 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
It’s that time of year again when the WLGFA Development Programmes kicks off for the summer months. First up is the U17 Programme which is open for girls born in 2006 and 2007 and kicks off on Saturday June 10th at 10am. The programme will run for five Saturdays and includes a Blitz Day on Tuesday July 11th.
SYMPATHY
All in Shamrocks Ladies GFC wish to extend our sincere sympathies to the O’Keeffe family on the sad passing of Nora O’Keeffe. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dhílis.