JUN CAMOGIE ‘A’ FINAL: ST MARY’S 4-10 ST JOSEPH’S 3-4
ST MARY’S GIRLS CLAIM ‘A’ DOUBLE
Daire Walsh
AT Clanna Gael Fontenoy last Friday, St Mary’s College, Naas completed an impressive double by securing the Dublin Schools Junior Camogie ‘A’ Championship title with a 10-point victory against St Joseph’s, Lucan.
The Kildare side claimed the Senior ‘B’ crown at the expense of Maryfield College at the same venue a week earlier, but after Aoife Dunne saw her long-distance free drifting all the way into the net, Joseph’s moved into an early 1-1 to 0-2 lead.
Yet, Mary’s centre-forward Sophie Browne responded with a placed-ball goal of her own, and this was followed by Tara Doorey’s excellent 1-1 salvo.
A third goal arrived for Mary’s in the 14th-minute – an excellent close-range finish from Allie McGrath – and they created further daylight with unanswered Browne, Tara Bedford and Doorey points.
However, a Caoimhe Morris major helped Joseph’s to reduce their deficit to seven points (3-7 to 2-3) in time for the interval, and Laura Quinn’s speculative effort produced their third goal 11 minutes into the second half.
The Lucan girls were eager to make amends for their defeat in the Senior ‘A’ decider seven days beforehand, and Quinn’s point on the run brought them a step closer to their Lilywhite counterparts.
Another McGrath three-pointer eased any concerns that Mary’s may have had, though, and their deserved triumph was rounded off by late contributions from Sive Byrne and Browne.
Scorers – St Mary’s College, Naas: S Browne 1-4 (1-2f), A McGrath 2-0, T Doorey 0-4, S Kielty 1-0, T Bedford, S Byrne 0-1 each. St Joseph’s College, Lucan: A Dunne 1-2 (1-1f), L Quinn 1-1, C Morris 1-0, A Smyth 0-1.
ST MARY’S COLLEGE, NAAS: R Roche; A Kennedy, E Lynch, L Friel; H Goodfellow, A McCarthy, A McDermott; S Carroll, T Doorey; S Browne, D Doyle, A Stynes; A McGrath, S Kielty, T Bedford. Subs: E O’Boyle for Kennedy, S Byrne for Kielty (both 44), G Kielty for Stynes, K Whelan for McGrath (both 56), A Burke for Doyle (61).
ST JOSEPH’S COLLEGE, LUCAN: A Rooney; E O’Connor, L Dawson, L Sharkey; E Kate Carroll, S Byrne, L Concannon Murray; A Dunne, L Quinn; M Kelly, A Smyth, L Hanlon; C Morris, A Dunne, M Crowley. Subs: C McManus for Crowley (37), S McCormack for Kelly (58).
Referee: C Dodd (Clanna Gael Fontenoy).