Capital gains for Harps as they progress to semi-finals
Round Towers (London) 1-08 Derrygonnelly Harps 4-13
DERRYGONNELLY Harps secured their place in the All Ireland IFC semi-final with an emphatic 4-13 to 1-08 victory over London side Round Towers in Ruislip last Saturday.
Following a well-contested first half the Harps led 2-04 to 1-04 with goals from Eimear Smyth and Brenda Bannon and they went on to pull away in the second period as Bronagh Smyth added goal number three, before sister Eimear brought her tally on the day to 2-09 with Derrygonnelly’s fourth goal in added-on time to wrap up a convincing win.
There wasn’t much between the sides in the early stages of the game as they shared the opening four points.
Eimear Smyth fired over a point from play and another from a free, while Niamh Foley and Eadaoin Devine answered for Round Towers.
And the home side then swooped for the first goal of the game as Jennifer Sheehan teed up Shauna Ryan, who finished from close range to make it 1-02 to 0-02 in the 14th minute.
The lead though only lasted two minutes as the Harps hit back with a goal of their own.
The hard-working Emma Burns intercepted possession and drove forward before popping the ball into Bronagh Smyth who in turn fed Eimear Smyth, and she slotted low to the net.
Derrygonnelly got their noses back in front after this as Eimear Smyth knocked over before Sarah Jane Jones followed up with a point to make it 1-04 to 1-02.
Round Towers answered with a Stephanie Dunne point, but Derrygonnelly immediately went down the other end and scored their second goal with Brenda Bannon’s effort dropping into the corner of the net to put four between the sides.
Round Towers had the last say of the half from a Dunne free, but at the break the Harps led by three.
With the home outfit struggling to break down a welldrilled Harps rearguard, Derrygonnelly went on to extend their advantage as the half progressed.
Eimear Smyth landed the first point of the second half following a great run and she then tagged on two points from frees to make it a six-point game, 2-07 to 1-04.
Smyth was causing the Round Towers defence all sorts of problems and she swung over another fine point before then teeing up sister Bronagh for the Harps’ third goal, with the younger of the Smyth sisters producing a composed finish to make it 3-08 to 1-04 in the 48th minute.
Round Towers finally accounted for their first score of the half in the 50th minute when Captain Rebecca Considine got forward from her defensive berth to slot over, but Derrygonnelly responded straight away with a fine point from Bannon after she collected a loose pass, while Eimear Smyth and Bronagh Smyth also rattled over points to push the lead out to 12 points.
Round Towers did continue to battle, and Lydia Kenny, Roisin Hogan and Roisin Kelly notched points, but Eimear Smyth and Bronagh Smyth answered with points for the Harps before Eimear Smyth fittingly rounded off the scoring with a wonderful goal.
The Harps full forward sliced through the Round Towers defence with a terrific run before placing the ball low to the corner as Derrygonnelly ran out 4-13 to 1-08 victors.