U16s lose out to Dubs
LEINSTER LADIES U16 FOOTBALL U16 C’SHIP GR A
DUBLIN…………………………………..6-16
KILDARE…………………………………1-3
Daire Walsh
at Blanchardstown
Kildare’s Leinster U16 Ladies Football Championship campaign ended in a resounding defeat to an impressive Dublin at TU Blanchardstown on Sunday afternoon.
Despite suffered back-to-back reversals against Meath and Longford prior to this encounter, the Lilywhites possessed a slender hope of making to the knockout stages. However with skipper Katie O’Sullivan, Aisling O’Neill and Emma Howe all in devastating form, Dublin always held the upper hand.
The visitors had the aid of a strong breeze during the first half, but suffered a hammer blow in the opening minute of the contest. After rolling her ankle close to her own posts, full-back Aaliyah O’Toole was withdrawn from the action. This led to the redeployment of corner forward Ella Hayes at the heart of their defence – a position the Maynooth star is readily accustomed to. Nevertheless, it was Dublin who ultimately broke the deadlock through quick-fire O’Neill and Leah Keogh points.
The maiden goal of the tie inevitably arrived in the 12th-minute, when O’Neill released O’Sullivan for a superb finish beyond the reach of Kildare’s Fiadh Whiteley. Dublin continued to ramp up the pressure with Howe, O’Neill and Eva Ahern contributing scores in quick succession.
O’Sullivan and Keogh added points inside the second quarter, before Castleknock’s O’Neill grabbed a second major at the end of another intricate attacking move.
Kildare finally posted a response on 25 minutes, Hayley Wiltshire kicking an excellent point on the run.
O’Neill’s 1-1 salvo re-established Dublin’s authority, though, and Keogh subsequently ensured they brought an insurmountable 3-9 to 0-1 cushion into the interval. Kildare sought fresh impetus to their play by introducing a number of substitutes either side of the break.
O’Sullivan boosted her haul on the restart with another superb point, only for their momentum to be briefly halted. Zoe Brierty picked out Rebecca Travers in acres of space and the Rathcoffey midfielder fired a powerful right-footed drive past Dublin custodian Molly Cassidy. Yet, this only served as a temporary respite for Terry Boyle’s side.
Supplementing an Ella Darcy point, Howe took advantage of some loose defensive play to claim Dublin’s third goal on 36 minutes. They had to wait a further 10 minutes for their next score, with a number of new faces taking their time to settle into new surroundings.
In this juncture, Wiltshire added a second point for Kildare and Ballykelly’s Eimear Hanlon was marginally off-target at an awkward angle.
St Sylvester’s ace O’Sullivan joined O’Neill in bagging a brace of majors and Ciara O’Connor’s two-point salvo enhanced their lead inside the closing 10 minutes of the proceedings.
The hard-working Wiltshire registered her third point for Kildare, but their opponents were determined to finish on a high.
Like her Clontarf club-mate O’Connor, Ava Corcoran was eager to stake her claim for a starting position. In between well-worked points, she secured Dublin’s sixth goal to round off an accomplished team display.
Scorers – Dublin: Aisling O’Neill 2-3, Katie O’Sullivan 2-2, Emma Howe, Ava Corcoran 1-2 each, Leah Keogh 0-3 (1f), Ciara O’Connor 0-2 (1f), Eva Ahern, Ella Darcy 0-1. Kildare: Rebecca Travers 1-0, Hayley Wiltshire 0-3 (1f).
DUBLIN: Molly Cassidy; Erin Christie, Katie Quinlivan, Teagan Comber; Roisin Quigley, Lucy Crowe, Lucy Quinn; Ali Griffin, Rebecca Duffy; Leah Keogh, Katie O’Sullivan, Eva Ahern; Aisling O’Neill, Emma Howe, Ella Darcy.
Subs: Sophia Nyhan, Hannah Rooney, Aoife Coppinger, Sarah Willis, Ciara O’Connor, Amelia Ryan, Sinead Flannery, Emma Kane, Emer Crowley, Ava Corcoran, Emily Foster, Emma O’Brien, Aoibhin McCarthy, Eimear Mangan, Aimee McKeon.
KILDARE: Fiadh Whiteley; Muireann Ures, Aaliyah O’Toole, Fáinche Grimes; Doireann Killeen, Hannah Davis, Holly Tyrell; Rebecca Travers, Emma McAleenan; Hayley Wiltshire, Eimear Hanlon, Elena Prendergast; Dara Hodson, Niamh Mortell, Ella Hayes.
Subs: Jill O’Toole, Zoe Brierty, Aisling Archbald, Aoife Kilkenny, Áine Dooley, Beverly Moran.
Referee: Paul Burke (Louth).