Unconfined joy
McMullen’s Marvels win it in style
LILIES BLOSSOM AND LIFT TITLE
KILDARE………………………………. 2-11
LAOIS…………………………………… 1-05
BY DAIRE WALSH
There were scenes of unconfined joy in Croke Park on Sunday afternoon, as Kildare secured the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Premier Junior Camogie Championship title following an impressive nine-point victory over long-standing rivals Laois in a tension-filled decider.
Having won the All-Ireland Junior ‘A’ Camogie crown as recently as 2010, this victory represents another massive leap forward for Kildare, and with centre-forward Siobhan Hurley in outstanding form, they were always a step ahead of their Leinster counterparts in GAA HQ.
Having already played Laois on a couple of occasions this year – including a 3-9 to 1-12 reversal in a group stage encounter at Naas back on Sunday June 23rd – Jim McMullen’s side certainly had an idea of what to expect in the third-tier finale, although the surroundings of Jones’ Road was new territory for almost everybody on the panel.
However, they seemed unfazed by their surroundings during the early exchanges, and they found themselves two points to the good inside the opening 60 seconds of play. Johnstownbridge centre-forward Hurley was on target from a distance of 50 metres for the first score of the contest, and this was quickly added to by another white flag effort courtesy of teenage corner-forward Melissa Lyons.
This was precisely the start that the Lillies would have been hoping for, and thanks to their dominance around the middle-third, they were able to snuff out the initial surges forward by Laois with relative ease. Celbridge star O’Carroll got her account up and running with a fine point from play eight minutes in, before a similar strike by Roisin O’Connell four minutes later meant that the entire Kildare inside line had already gotten their names on the scoresheet.
By this stage, Laois had dropped forward Denise Quigley back as a sweeper in front of their full-back line, but with her direct opponent Carol Nolan also performing this role at the opposite end, they were struggling to bring balance to their play. Indeed, following a foul on the increasingly dangerous O’Carroll, Quigley was issued with a yellow card, and with Hurley on hand to expertly convert the subsequent free, a sizeable gap was developing between the two teams.
Laois eventually settled into the proceedings, though, and after the lively Olga Parkinson was impeded close to goal after 24 minutes, the reliable Louise Mahony finally got their account up and running from a routine placed ball attempt.
This was a morale-boosting score at a vital juncture, and with Niamh Dollard splitting the posts just three minutes later, they were beginning to cause the Kildare rearguard problems for the first time in the tie.
This scoring burst did help to re-energise the Kildare challenge, though, as a second point by O’Carroll two minutes before the interval ensured that they brought a four-point cushion (0-6 to 0-2) into the dressing room at the break.
Yet, Laois did throw a spanner into the works two minutes after the restart, as first-half substitute Grace O’Neill finished past Kildare netminder Saileog O’Keeffe from a tight angle for the opening major of the afternoon. As a result, their deficit had been reduced to the bare minimum.
To their eternal credit, though, they quickly restored their mid-way advantage with an emphatic three-pointer of their own from O’Carroll, who had been set free by a telling pass from Clane’s Lyons. The dynamic No. 14 rounded Laura Dunne before finding the net on this occasion, and the St Brigid’s custodian was also left helpless just a minute later, as O’Carroll once more raised a green flag in clinical fashion.
Kildare were now in rampant form, and a 35th minute point on the run by Hurley opened up significant daylight at a vital juncture.
Even though Louise Mahony found her range from two more dead-ball opportunities, points from Hurley and Lyons meant that it would take a minor miracle inside the final quarter for Kildare to be denied.
A second excellent Niamh Dollard score 46 minutes in did keep Laois in contention, but this proved to be their final score of the day, and though Kildare were less spectacular in the closing stages, further scores by Hurley and substitute Cliodhna McSweeney were enough to give them a comprehensive triumph.
Kildare manager Jim McMullen was able to introduce a number of players into the action before the final whistle, which was fitting when you consider the massive squad effort that the Kildare squad have produced throughout 2013.
KILDARE: Saileog O’Keeffe; Jane O’Donoghue, Aoife Trant, Niamh Concannon; Fiona Trant, Carol Nolan, Angela Lyons; Caroline Forde, Orla Bambury; Louise Keatley, Siobhan Hurley (0-5, 2 frees), Clodagh Flanagan; Melissa Lyons (0-2), Susie O’Carroll (2-2), Roisin O’Connell (0-1).
Subs: Hazel Mulligan for Concannon (46), Cliodhna McSweeney (0-1) for Lyons (54), Niamh Breen for Trant (59), Clodagh Farrell for Keatley (62).
LAOIS: Laura Dunne; Mairead Burke, Karen Cuddy, Aishling Dunphy; Joan Dollard, Sarah Ann Fitzgerald, Eimear Delaney; Claire Walsh, Elaine Mahony; Joyce Dunne, Denise Quigley, Louise Mahony(0-3, 0-2 frees, 0-1 ‘45’); Sile Burke, Niamh Dollard (0-2), Olga Parkinson.
Subs: Grace O’Neill (1-0) for J Dunne (29), Sarah Cuddy for Walsh (half-time), Catriona Downey for Burke (43), Sinead Lanham for Parkinson (52), Rosemary Bermingham for J Dollard (60).
REFEREE: Donal Ryan (Dublin).