Mourne-ing a defeat for the third time
LADIES FOOTBALL
MOURNEABBEY………………………………1-10
CARNACON…………………………………….0-15
Daire Walsh
THEY produced a gallant display at Parnell Park on Sunday afternoon, but for the third time in four years, Mourneabbey came up just short in the LGFA All-Ireland Senior Club Championship decider.
A strong third-quarter from the Cora Staunton-inspired Carnacon had created serious daylight in the north Dublin venue, and even though Doireann O’Sullivan and Brid O’Sullivan helped to bring Mourneabbey back into the reckoning, they couldn’t quite turn the tide in their favour.
Carnacon were searching for their first national crown since 2013, and they opened the scoring with a fine score on the run by Martha Carter. However, Mourneabbey full-forward Doireann O’Sullivan later stepped up to a 30m free, and ensured Carnacon’s lead was a short-lived one.
With five All-Ireland senior titles already under their belt, it was always expected that Carnacon would present a formidable challenge to Mourneabbey. They edged in front once again with a routine free by Staunton (who will soon be embarking on a new career in the Women’s AFL), and centre-forward Amy Dowling subsequently opened her personal account with a neat point from play.
Another free by the influential Doireann O’Sullivan brought the Mourneabbey deficit down to the bare minimum, but even though Carnacon spurned a number of opportunities in the opening period, Dowling and Carter (who was named at full-back, but played in a more advanced role) found the target for the westerners.
This gave them some breathing space, but Doireann O’Sullivan once again fired back – this time with a superb long-distance score from play. Indeed, despite seeing this score immediately cancelled out by the 11-time All-Star Staunton, they were agonisingly close to restoring parity on 23 minutes.
Doireann O’Sullivan dispossessed Claire Egan close to the Carnacon goal, and she was extremely unfortunate to see her subsequent strike crashing off the underside of the right-hand post. Team captain Brid O’Sullivan eventually cut the gap with a fine score at the end of a patient move, but thanks to an Emma Cosgrave effort from a tight-angle, Carnacon held a 0-7 to 0-4 advantage at the midway point in the action.
This kept Mourneabbey’s quest for a clean sweep of junior, intermediate and senior very much alive heading into the second-half, but within six minutes of the restart, Carnacon had doubled their cushion.
Staunton was on target either side of a hard-earned point from Fiona McHale, and although Doireann O’Sullivan’s fourth brought this scoring sequence from the central Mayo outfit to one end, Staunton’s impact on the game was beginning to grow substantially.
She added a 38th-minute point to her tally, and after Aoife Brennan beautifully curled over the posts off her right-foot, another Staunton contribution opened up an eight-point gap between the sides. Mourneabbey were now left with a mountain to climb, but the 44th-minute sin-binning of Carnacon half-back Doireann Hughes offered the Munster kingpins a potential lifeline.
Back-to-back scores from Roisin O’Sullivan and Ciara O’Sullivan gave them hope, and while a sixth Staunton point briefly halted their charge, Ellie Jack also found her range in fine style.
Brid O’Sullivan then secured a much-needed goal for Mourneabbey after executing an outstanding one-two with Laura Fitzgerald, but Staunton once again settled Carnacon with a fisted score.
Fitzgerald added her name to the scoresheet after she was previously denied by Carnacon netminder Michelle Higgins, and yet another Doireann O’Sullivan placed-ball conversion set-up a nail-biting conclusion.
Mourneabbey pushed hard for a match-winning goal in the dying moments, but in spite of their best endeavours, Carnacon dug deep for a narrow victory.
Scorers for Carnacon: Cora Staunton 0-7 (3f), Martha Carter, Amy Dowling, Aoife Brennan 0-2 each, Fiona McHale, Emma Cosgrave 0-1 each.
Scorers for Mourneabbey: Doireann O’Sullivan 0-5 (4f), Brid O’Sullivan 1-1, Roisin O’Sullivan, Ciara O’Sullivan, Ellie Jack, Laura Fitzgerald 0-1 each.
CARNACON: Michelle Higgins; Claire Egan, Marie Corbett, Sadhbh Larkin; Doireann Hughes, Fiona McHale, Sharon McGing; Martha Carter, Erina Flannery; Michelle McGing, Amy Dowling, Louise Bowling; Aoife Brennan, Cora Staunton, Emma Cosgrave.
Subs: Aoife McHale for Larkin (54).
MOURNEABBEY: Meabh O’Sullivan; Emma Coakley, Cathy Ann Stack, Kathryn Coakley; Roisin O’Sullivan, Eimear Meaney, Aisling O’Sullivan; Niamh O’Sullivan, Maire O’Callaghan; Ciara O’Sullivan, Brid O’Sullivan, Ellie Jack; Laura Fitzgerald, Doireann O’Sullivan, Eimear Harrington.
Subs: Aileen Buckley for Coakley (half-time), Ciara Lawlee for N O’Sullivan (49).
Referee: Maggie Farrelly (Cavan).