After a number of weeks of anticipation, the day finally arrived for the first ever game for the Curraha/St.Vincents Adult Ladies team. After many years of hard work from players and mentors alike at juvenile level, it was great for this partnership of clubs to now be in a position to compete at this level. The excitement level and interest in this game went up a few notches with the confirmation at the start of the week that former Meath double Senior All-Ireland winning manager Eamon Murray would be taking the reins, assisted by Aoife Battersby and Alan Kearns.
The hosts welcomed Castletown to Masterson Park for this opening league game, played under the lights on great evening for football. Curraha/St.Vincents were straight out of the blocks, with Mollie White securing possession from the throw-in and finding Róisín O'Connor who was hauled down 20 metres from goal. She picked herself up and confidently swung the ball over the bar, registering a first ever score for Curraha/St.Vincents at this level. A first goal was soon to follow, with Mollie White reacting quickest when a long range O'Connor free came back off the upright, gathering the ball and firing expertly to the net. O'Connor increased the lead further with a close range free following an excellent team move. Curraha/St.Vincents had settled really well, with Mollie White and Larissa Carey dominating at midfield and helping to pin the visitors in their own half. Castletown slowly began to work their way into the game, and registered their first score of the contest from a free after 14 minutes. They were soon right back in the game when a long range free was carried by the wind and deceived everyone to end up in the back of the net. O'Connor was on target again for the hosts, firing over from a free after a foul on full forward Niamh Byrne who was leading the line well and causing problems. Castletown responded soon after with a free of their own, with Curraha/St.Vincents keeper Lara Parsons then being called upon to deal with a couple of very tricky long balls which she handled comfortably. After an excellent first half, the hosts went in a point ahead and would have the advantage of playing with the wind in the second half.
Half-time: Curraha/St.Vincents 1-3 Castletown 1-2
The second half saw the visitors level the game almost immediately as they broke forward from the throw-in and fired over. An O'Connor free 2 minutes later nudged the hosts back in front, with Byrne continuing to cause problems and being hauled down once more. The best score of the game was to follow and extended the lead to 2 points. A quick free from Hannah Keogh, deep in her own half, found Ellen Gough who played a nice 1-2 with O'Connor, before releasing Byrne to fire over. She was on target again a minute later, with Katelyn McMahon winning back possession in defence and starting a move to find Byrne who fired over an excellent shot on the turn. The lead was increased to 4 in the 16th minute with Shauna White getting on the scoresheet. She had won possession herself before driving forward, exchanging passes with Keogh and firing over an excellent long-range point. Substitute Emma Hartford pushed the lead out to 5 points with 7 minutes to play, converting another excellent team move as she side-stepped her marker and fired over from close range. To their credit, Castletown never let their heads drop and pushed hard to get back into the game. The Curraha/St.Vincents defence stood firm however, with Keogh an increasingly dominant figure as the half went on, and Ava Cleary outstanding at full back. Any hopes of a comeback were eased as O'Connor registered another score following a foul on Ella O'Connor. She was then on hand to score the final point of the game, and bring her to tally to 6 to cap an outstanding performance from her. O'Connor won a kick-out and ran at the Castletown defence before being fouled 20 metres out. The point gave Curraha/St.Vincents a 7 point lead, and was closely followed by the full time whistle, which brought with a great cheer from the large crowd in attendance, as the hosts secured a historic win.
Curraha/St.Vincents couldn't have wished for a better start to their league campaign, securing what turned out to be a convincing win against good opposition. For a team that had never played together before at this level, they gave a great account of themselves and worked tremendously hard to secure the win. There is plenty of work ahead and bigger challenges to be faced, but this win will generate a lot of positive momentum and gives them a great base to build on for the rest of the season.
Full-time: Curraha/St.Vincents 1-10 Castletown 1-3
Curraha/St.Vincents: Lara Parsons, Nia Hetherton, Ava Cleary, Emily Mahon, Katelyn McMahon, Hannah Keogh, Shauna White(0-1), Mollie White(1-00), Larissa Carey, Kate Tuite, Róisín O'Connor (0-6), Ellen Gough, Amelie Kelly, Niamh Byrne(0-2), Gene Andrews.
Subs Used: Ella O'Connor, Sarah McLoughlin, Emma Hartford(0-1), Jessica Brennan.
The hosts welcomed Castletown to Masterson Park for this opening league game, played under the lights on great evening for football. Curraha/St.Vincents were straight out of the blocks, with Mollie White securing possession from the throw-in and finding Róisín O'Connor who was hauled down 20 metres from goal. She picked herself up and confidently swung the ball over the bar, registering a first ever score for Curraha/St.Vincents at this level. A first goal was soon to follow, with Mollie White reacting quickest when a long range O'Connor free came back off the upright, gathering the ball and firing expertly to the net. O'Connor increased the lead further with a close range free following an excellent team move. Curraha/St.Vincents had settled really well, with Mollie White and Larissa Carey dominating at midfield and helping to pin the visitors in their own half. Castletown slowly began to work their way into the game, and registered their first score of the contest from a free after 14 minutes. They were soon right back in the game when a long range free was carried by the wind and deceived everyone to end up in the back of the net. O'Connor was on target again for the hosts, firing over from a free after a foul on full forward Niamh Byrne who was leading the line well and causing problems. Castletown responded soon after with a free of their own, with Curraha/St.Vincents keeper Lara Parsons then being called upon to deal with a couple of very tricky long balls which she handled comfortably. After an excellent first half, the hosts went in a point ahead and would have the advantage of playing with the wind in the second half.
Half-time: Curraha/St.Vincents 1-3 Castletown 1-2
The second half saw the visitors level the game almost immediately as they broke forward from the throw-in and fired over. An O'Connor free 2 minutes later nudged the hosts back in front, with Byrne continuing to cause problems and being hauled down once more. The best score of the game was to follow and extended the lead to 2 points. A quick free from Hannah Keogh, deep in her own half, found Ellen Gough who played a nice 1-2 with O'Connor, before releasing Byrne to fire over. She was on target again a minute later, with Katelyn McMahon winning back possession in defence and starting a move to find Byrne who fired over an excellent shot on the turn. The lead was increased to 4 in the 16th minute with Shauna White getting on the scoresheet. She had won possession herself before driving forward, exchanging passes with Keogh and firing over an excellent long-range point. Substitute Emma Hartford pushed the lead out to 5 points with 7 minutes to play, converting another excellent team move as she side-stepped her marker and fired over from close range. To their credit, Castletown never let their heads drop and pushed hard to get back into the game. The Curraha/St.Vincents defence stood firm however, with Keogh an increasingly dominant figure as the half went on, and Ava Cleary outstanding at full back. Any hopes of a comeback were eased as O'Connor registered another score following a foul on Ella O'Connor. She was then on hand to score the final point of the game, and bring her to tally to 6 to cap an outstanding performance from her. O'Connor won a kick-out and ran at the Castletown defence before being fouled 20 metres out. The point gave Curraha/St.Vincents a 7 point lead, and was closely followed by the full time whistle, which brought with a great cheer from the large crowd in attendance, as the hosts secured a historic win.
Curraha/St.Vincents couldn't have wished for a better start to their league campaign, securing what turned out to be a convincing win against good opposition. For a team that had never played together before at this level, they gave a great account of themselves and worked tremendously hard to secure the win. There is plenty of work ahead and bigger challenges to be faced, but this win will generate a lot of positive momentum and gives them a great base to build on for the rest of the season.
Full-time: Curraha/St.Vincents 1-10 Castletown 1-3
Curraha/St.Vincents: Lara Parsons, Nia Hetherton, Ava Cleary, Emily Mahon, Katelyn McMahon, Hannah Keogh, Shauna White(0-1), Mollie White(1-00), Larissa Carey, Kate Tuite, Róisín O'Connor (0-6), Ellen Gough, Amelie Kelly, Niamh Byrne(0-2), Gene Andrews.
Subs Used: Ella O'Connor, Sarah McLoughlin, Emma Hartford(0-1), Jessica Brennan.
