CAMOGIE O’NEILLS ALL-IRELAND COLLEGES SENIOR ‘D’ CAMOGIE SEMI-FINAL
Dominican College (Dublin) ………………………………………… 1-12
Loreto College, Mullingar…………………………………………….. 1-06
Daire Walsh
JULIE McLoughlin produced a star performance at Na Fianna GAA, Dublin (Mobhi Road) last Wednesday afternoon, but it wasn’t enough to secure Loreto College’s passage to the All-Ireland final, as a Mary Cronin-inspired Dominican College (Griffith Avenue, Dublin) secured a hard-earned six-point triumph over the Mullingar school.
Crookedwood star McLoughlin was a thorn in the side of the Dominicans’ rearguard throughout the course of the contest, and with the exception of a long-range pointed free by half-back Fiona Glynn, accounted for all of the Harbour Street outfit’s scores on the day.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to secure Roisin Scally’s charges the triumph that they craved, and when Dominicans corner-forward Claire Byrne found the back of the Loreto net in the 46th minute, they were able to push on for a memorable success.
Under the stewardship of Eoin Ryan and Louise Morris, Dominicans had been extremely impressive en route to the penultimate round, and the Griffith Avenue girls showcased their talents during a thrilling 6-2 to 3-5 win over Loreto Beaufort in the Dublin finale last month.
However, Loreto had also given plenty of notice of their capabilities, and just three minutes into the action, the dynamic McLoughlin (who was switched from midfield to centre-forward prior to throw-in) split the posts under pressure for the opening score of the tie.
Dominicans did respond quickly with well-taken efforts from half-forward duo Aoife Wade and the aforementioned Cronin, but thanks to a subsequent brace by McLoughlin, Loreto had developed a slender advantage nine minutes in.
Rachel Egan – who helped Dominicans to seal their county title with two goals from the substitutes’ bench – levelled matters for a third time courtesy of a 12th minute point, but following a bright start to the proceedings from both teams, the play became rather scrappy at the start of the second-quarter.
Yet, the increasingly elusive McLoughlin sparked fresh impetus into the game eight minutes before the interval, when she shot brilliantly past Dominicans netminder Ciara Tierney from a right-hand angle, despite being off-balance.
In such a tightly-contested encounter, it was hoped that this might be the kind of score that would push Loreto on to greater heights, but instead it seemed to galvanise the north Dublin side.
A trio of successful placed-ball strikes by reliable midfielder Niamh Rock helped Dominicans to restore parity, and with Cronin adding her second point of the half, Loreto were facing into a narrow 1-3 to 0-7 deficit upon the resumption.
The outstanding McLoughlin immediately cancelled out the Dominicans buffer after the restart, but they were eventually pegged back by another eye-catching score from the pacey Cronin in the 38th minute.
As the half wore on, Loreto were proving to be somewhat wasteful with the possession that came their way, but when Glynn found the target from all of 70 metres on the stroke of 45 minutes, the prospect of a nerve-jangling final-quarter loomed large.
The pivotal juncture of the game arrived moments later, however, when a speculative effort on goal by industrious inside forward Byrne deceived Loreto custodian Meadbh Scally, creeping into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
This came as a hammer blow to the Loreto cause, but Scally thwarted Byrne’s quest for a second goal 12 minutes from time, as she was able to divert a low shot over the crossbar.
With McLoughlin still continuing to cause plenty of panic in the Dominicans defence, there was always a chance that Loreto could force their way back into the reckoning. They weren’t operating with the fluidity that they had displayed in the opening period, though, and thanks to strong defensive work by Niamh Gleeson and Ashley O’Sullivan, Dominicans were able to keep Loreto at bay as the final-whistle approached.
Fine scores for the Metropolitans from Byrne, Wade and Cronin provided significant daylight between the sides, and though Loreto finally added their third point of the half via the tireless McLoughlin five minutes into time added on, a fifth point for the magnificent Cronin ensured Dominicans’ passage to the final.
Scorers
Dominican College: M Cronin 0-5, C Byrne 1-1, N Rock 0-3 (3f), A Wade 0-2, R Egan 0-1. Loreto Mullingar: J McLoughlin 1-5 (0-1f), F Glynn 0-1 (f).
Dominican College
Ciara Tierney; Clodagh Ellis, Niamh Gleeson, Hannah Brunton; Ashley O’Sullivan, Roisin O’Donoghue, Bronagh Hennessy; Catherine Murphy, Niamh Rock; Aoife Wade, Mary Cronin, Niamh Witter; Rachel Egan, Nadine Murphy, Ciara Byrne. Subs: Katie O’Neill for Hennessy (36), Hennessy for Egan (58), Hannah Carty for C Murphy (60).
Loreto College, Mullingar
Meadbh Scally; Siobhan Kearney, Leah Dunne, Shauna McGrath; Shauna Coughlan, Niamh Horan, Fiona Glynn; Sabina McLoughlin, Katie Heffernan; Ashley Ruane, Julie McLoughlin, Chloe Kenny; Shaunagh Maher, Olivia Kelleghan, Lauren Gavigan. Subs: Rebecca Kelly for Maher (half-time), Grainne O’Connor for Kearney (50).
Ref
Michael Ward (Laois).
IN A NUTSHELL
Player of the match
Julie McLoughlin (Loreto College, Mullingar). Despite being on the losing side, the Loreto captain and Crookedwood star put in a tremendous shift, taking all but one of her side’s score, including 1-4 from play.
The key moment
Ciara Byrne’s goal for the Dominicans gave the Dublin outfit a decent cushion at a key juncture, as Loreto found themselves out-marked in the final quarter.