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Castlemartyr 06-12 Cloughduv 04-14 This long overdue fixture was finally fulfilled last Thursday evening after a lot of false starts when Cloughduv made the journey to Castlemartyr. Our U16 team hadn't played a competitive match since the end of April although all the girls have been involved with other age groups during the summer from U13 all the way up to our junior team. It was a slightly chillier evening than we've been used to of late but it was dry underfoot which lent itself to perfect conditions for a fast flowing game. The game began at a blistering pace and it wasn't long before the visitors opened the scoring with a well take point from close to the sideline and then added a second a minute later. With good work from Ellen Hayes Nally and Grainne Lynch in the middle of the field, pressurising their counterparts, and supplying useful ball into our forwards it wasn't long before we were on the scoreboard with three points from play from Ellen's sister Lilly and a expertly executed 45 from Aimee Morgan. Cloughduv added another point before Aimee scored her first goal of the game with an unstoppable shot from well outside the 13m line. Our full back line of Ciara Steele, Aisling Harty and Ella Fleming , broke down attack after attack and made life very difficult for Coughduv's forwards and they had to work hard for every score. We traded score for score and in the 29th minute it was all square at 01-06 a piece. Just when we were anticipating the half time whistle to allow the girls to rest and regroup our forwards had other ideas and within 60 seconds we had raised the green flag not once but twice after a two fantastic passages of play involving a final shot from an impossibly tight angle and a move involving five different players all the way from the half back line directly to goal. This left us with a nice cushion at the short whistle but we knew we had to keep up the intensity for the second half as both teams had the potential and ability to win the game. The only change at the beginning of the second half was a swap of position with Aisling McCarthy taking up the full forward position and Faye McGrath moving to wing back. We started brightly with Millie Bowles and Amy Murphy in the half forwards continuing to break any continuity Cloughduv had in their defence and we had added a point and a goal to our score within the first two minutes after the restart. But for the next ten minutes it was all about Cloughduv. Although we did score another goal in that period Cloughduv scored 03-04 to draw the game once more, 05-07 to 04-10. Our girls showed real character and upped their effort even more. Half backs Kate Butler, Caoilfhionn Barry and Faye McGrath took the game by the scruff of the neck and began forcing the attackers into making mistakes. These mistakes were punished and the resultant clearances went directly to our clinical forwards and it wasn't long before we were ahead again with another green flag raised. Lucy Keneally replaced Ella Flemimg who had a tremendous game at corner back. Cloughduv kept plugging away, converting a 45 and forcing a fine save from our goalie, Chloe Lane, who deflected a goal bound shot over the bar. Mille made way for Ruby McGrath and Nicole McCarthy replaced corner forward April Cousins who was a constant thorn in their defences's side. Grainne and Ellen in midfield continued their excellent supply of ball to our forwards and we added another three points from play. With ten minutes left we led by four points. The pressure mounted on our half back and full back lines and as tiredness set in it was our girls who proved to be the more resilient, wining more and more ball and clearing their lines with more efficiency. Cloughduv did score another point but we responded with a brace of our own before they converted a 45 which was to be the last score of the game. It was a great game to watch with end to end play, the ball traveling up and down the pitch at speed. We saw impressive scoring from both sides with points being converted from very tight angles and the net being rattled on more than one occasion from well outside the 20m line. Well done to all the girls and coaches on a very fine display. Full Team:- Chloe Lane, Ella Fleming, Aisling Harty, Ciara Steele, Aisling McCarthy, Caoilfhionn Barry, Kate Butler, Ellen Hayes Nally, Grainne Lynch, Amy Murphy, Aimee Morgan, Millie Bowles, April Cousins, Faye McGrath, Lilly Hayes Nally, Lucy Keneally, Ruby McGrath & Nicole McCarthy.
