No luck as Ballygarrett bow out
THOMASTOWN (KILKENNY) 2-8 BALLYGARRETT 0-8
BRUTALLY UNLUCKY Ballygarrett somehow fell out of the Leinster ladies’ football Junior championship at the hand of hosts Thomastown on Saturday.
The Wexford third tier winners were up against it coming into the fixture, facing the Senior champions from Noreside, but they didn’t look out of place at all and will still be wondering just how they didn’t progress to a last four tie with Castleknock.
One moment they might dwell on is Leanne Naughter’s disallowed goal in the first of eleven minutes of added-time.
The Wexford club had goals scratched off on three different occasions in the second-half and Naughter’s, the second of them, was hugely controversial.
The other two, both coming when longrange frees from Tara Doyle were bundled over the line, appeared to be fairly clearcut square balls.
However, when Naughter raced in to punch another long Doyle ball past Niamh Sheedy it looked like a perfectly good goal.
Even referee John Bermingham seemed set to give it without consultation, that was until several seconds after the goal that would have levelled the game (at 1-7 each).
The Wicklow official decided to head in to his umpires and, to the bemusement of the travelling fans, ordered that the flags be crossed.
All Ballygarrett had was bad luck or no luck at all. Megan Cahill hit the joining of crossbar and post, while Tara Doyle later clattered the post.
Twice they beat Sheedy, only to have the sensational Kate McDonald appear from nowhere to clear off the line. It just wasn’t to be their day.
Things started very tentatively with both sides feeling each other out.
On-form Megan Cahill opened the scoring in the sixth minute but talented youngster Sarah Barcoe replied in kind for the hosts.
Cahill registered again as the first quarter drew to a close but her second point was countered by Bríd O’Donoghue.
Anna Doyle added a quick brace from the right of the posts, the first a dinky little half-volley, as Ballygarrett went 0-4 to 0-2 up after 21 minutes.
However, Thomastown had a purple patch in which they registered four times in five minutes. Chief playmaker Eva Hynes scored three of them and Cliodhna Donnelly flighted over the other one to make it 0-6 to 0-4.
Deep into first-half injury-time McDonald performed her first magic trick, keeping Cahill’s shot out before clearing her lines under intense pressure from Naughter.
It was enough to give the hosts a two-point lead at the interval.
It was hardly possible but the third quarter was even tighter.
Cahill registered the only point in that time - while her side rode out the sin-binning of Anna Doyle.
It meant there was just one between the sides when Cahill’s effort in the 43rd minute came out off the joining of post and bar with Sheedy beaten.
Cruelly, Thomastown netted in the 47th minute on a rare foray deep into the Ballygarrett half.
Unsurprisingly it was Barcoe with the finish, after Hynes and O’Donoghue had combined to set her free on the right.
Cahill pulled a point back but found McDonald covering the line again after she collected from Tara Doyle’s shot that rebounded off the bar.
Caoimhe Cullen and Cahill exchanged points as the sides remained separated by three into added-time (1-7 to 0-7).
Two square-ball goals were disallowed, including the controversial call against Naughter, before Tara Doyle pointed (1-7 to 0-8).
However, O’Donoghue wrapped up the win in the tenth minute of added-time with a well-taken goal, and Hynes pointed to put the seal on Thomastown’s semi-final spot.
Ballygarrett: Sarah Donnellan; Yvonne Tighe-O’Loughlin, Caoimhe Joyce (capt.), Shauna Lawless; Róisín Timmons, Sinéad O’Loughlin, Lorna Doyle-Naughter; Tara Doyle (0-1), Sandra Lawler; Sherene Hamilton, Eimear Prendergast, Megan Cahill (0-5, 1 free); Niamh Newens, Aideen Egan, Anna Doyle (0-2). Subs. - Leanne Naughter for Egan (30+2), Ciara Doyle for O’Loughlin (39), Kate O’Loughlin for Newens (42), Niamh O’Connor for A. Doyle (60+1), Ailish O’Connor for Hamilton, inj. (60+4), also Fionnuala Cosgrave, Caragh Clarke, Jackie Cousins, Shauna McCarthy, Ciara Malone, Claire Kennedy, Ciara Breen, Latoya Breen, Kellie Doyle, Eve O’Loughlin, Ellen O’Loughlin.
Thomastown: Niamh Sheedy; Orla O’Keeffe, Kate McDonald, Ruth Ryan; Niamh Costigan, Niamh Whelan, Ailish O’Shea (capt.); Lisa Casey, Eva Hynes (0-4, 2 frees); Sinéad Whelan, Sally Teehan, Aoife Naddy; Bríd O’Donoghue (1-1), Sarah Barcoe (1-1), Cliodhna Donnelly (0-1). Sub. - Caoimhe Cullen (0-1) for Casey, inj. (51).
Referee: John Bermingham (Wicklow).