Camogie All-Ireland Premier Junior Championship Round 1
Mahony inspired Laois lay down a marker to start championship
LAOIS…………………………………. 3-18
DUBLIN……………………………….. 1-10
By DAIRE WALSH
Louise Mahony helped herself to an impressive personal tally of 1-10, as Laois issued a serious statement of intent for the year ahead against Dublin in the All-Ireland Premier Junior Camogie Championship at O’Toole Park on Saturday afternoon.
Following their final defeats to Kildare and Down in the past two seasons, David Cuddy’s charges will not be short of motivation in 2015, and with fixtures against Westmeath, Limerick, Roscommon and Armagh still to come, they will have plenty of momentum behind them as a result of their victory over the Metropolitan outfit.
However, although the final scoreline may suggest that the O’Moore county had it all their own way, the hosts opened up a two-point lead during the early exchanges courtesy of points from Carolanne Canning and Elaine Gallery.
Laois eventually opened their account on eight minutes with a fine score from full-forward Laura Marie Maher and unanswered points by Sarah Ann Fitzgerald and Mahony subsequently edged them into the ascendancy for the first time.
Dublin’s Gallery converted a brace of frees either side of Fitzgerald’s second contribution to the scoreboard, but there was a sense that the visitors were beginning to discover their best form.
Mahony and the reliable Gallery did swap points beyond the 20-minute mark, but owing to four points without reply from Mahony (two), corner-forward Amy Loughman and the increasingly-prominent Maher, Laois held an encouraging 0-9 to 0-5 buffer at the mid-way point in the tie.
Indeed, Laois continued to make significant headway when the action resumed, as a further 0-2 salvo by the sublime Mahony meant that they opened up a six-point cushion.
A second point by the powerful Canning brought some much-needed solace for a struggling Dublin, but the excellent Mahony quickly responded with her seventh and eighth points of the game.
Dublin did receive something of a lifeline at the end of the third-quarter when Megan O’Reilly found the back of Laura Dunne’s net in clinical fashion, before Laois replied with a well-taken three-pointer of their own from Maher just three minutes later.
This score effectively opened the floodgates, and after Maher and Mahony had enhanced their own individual hauls, goals from Loughman and Niamh Dollard in the 56th and 57th minutes respectively created clear daylight between the sides.
Loughman, Mahony and Fitzgerald all split the posts in the closing moments of the play, and despite conceding late points to O’Reilly and Gallery, Laois had all of 14 points to spare in the end.
Next weekend Laois will host Westmeath in a top of the table clash after the Lake County side overcame Armagh in their opening game. Another win there would have Laois well on their way to a semi-final spot.
Teams and Scorers
DUBLIN
Scorers: Elaine Gallery 0-6 (4f, 1 ’45’), Megan O’Reilly 1-1, Carolanne Canning 0-2, Lynn Devoy 0-1.
Team: Aisling Spillane; Christina O’Reilly, Danielle Powell, Grainne Smith; Roisin Drohan, Michelle Kelly, Shauna McBride; Emer Maher, Jenny Browne; Alison McGrath, Lynn Devoy, Rachel O’Connor; Elaine Gallery, Carolanne Canning, Megan O’Reilly. Subs: Tino Kelly for Rachel O’Connor (35 mins), Emer Keenan for Carolanne Canning (49 mins), Grainne Ryan for Grainne Smith (54 mins), Maggie McIntyre for Megan O’Reilly (58 mins).
LAOIS
Scorers: Louise Mahony 0-10 (6f), Laura Marie Maher 1-3, Amy Loughman 1-2, Niamh Dollard 1-0, Sarah Ann Fitzgerald 0-3 (1f).
Team: Laura Dunne; Mairead Burke, Rosemary Bermingham, Aisling Burke; Elaine Mahony, Eimear Delaney, Elizabeth Ryan; Olga Parkinson, Sarah Ann Fitzgerald; Niamh Dollard, Louise Mahony, Aisling O’Dea; Amy Loughman, Laura Marie Maher, Aoife Burke. Subs: Dawn Mortimer for Aoife Burke (42), Caitriona Downey for Aisling O’Dea (58), Sharon Moylan for Marie Burke (58), Margaret Hogan for Aisling Burke (60).
Referee: Fintan McNamara (Clare).