LGFA All-Ireland Minor ‘B’ Football Championship Final
Kildare 2-15
Roscommon 2-6
There was no fairytale ending for Roscommon’s minor ladies in their quest to land the All-Ireland ‘B’ title last Sunday as they fell at the final hurdle to an impressive Kildare side in tough conditions at Hogan Park in Moate.
Roscommon had started brightly and should have been even further ahead after ten minutes when Aoife Gavin raised a green flag following some impressive attacking play from Aimee O’Connor and Sinéad Glennon.
Kildare’s better use of possession began to tell as the half wore on, however, with captain Neasa Dooley prominent from frees and open play. Her first point arrived following a lung-bursting run through the heart of the Roscommon defence and that was quickly followed by a cool finish from the dead ball. Her supreme composure was also evident when she calmly rounded the impressive Sasha Lavin in the Roscommon goal and raised her side’s first green flag after nineteen minutes.
Speaking after the match, Roscommon manager, Ollie Colgan, highlighted this period as the beginning of the end for his team’s chances.
“The damage was done in the second quarter, that’s when they got a run on us, and unfortunately we couldn’t get it back. We made a few changes at half-time and it worked for a while, we quelled them a bit. But we just didn’t get the breaks going forward ourselves, when you’re chasing a game it’s so hard. You have to watch to make sure you’re not too open at the back but still to try and penetrate. They kept going but it just wasn’t our day.
“When you’re chasing, you’re so conscious of not making a mistake and unfortunately we did make a couple which kept them in the game. We won the second half but the gap was too much, we were too far down, you won’t get away with that,” he said.
The damage may have been done in that second quarter but Roscommon, to their credit, refused to bend the knee in the second half. A cruel Leah Hayes goal just before the break certainly didn’t help matters though and Colgan’s charges arrived at the dressing room trailing by 2-7 to 1-2.
Roscommon fought tooth and nail on the resumption and their spirit was epitomised by the brave work of Megan Kelly and captain Shauna Fleming in contesting and winning possession.
In fact, it was this dogged resistance which led to Roscommon’s second goal. Mikaela McHugh provided a well-timed block down on a Kildare defender, the ball ran to Kara Earle who returned it to McHugh, and she finished to the net.
Roscommon’s fightback, which was aided by two more Aimee O’Connor frees, was hampered in the closing stages when Ellen Irwin was sin binned and Kildare powered home with points from Nanci Murphy, Aislinn Dooley and Sarah Doyle.
Manager Ollie Colgan said progress has been made in spite of the disappointing end to this year’s championship campaign.
“It’s all about development, and getting back up to the top table from Intermediate to Senior. When you’re in games like these you like to win them, but it’s still been a very successful year. The progress those players have made, each individual player whether they’re regular starters or one of the panellists that didn’t get quite as much game time, has been outstanding. They will benefit from it, and the clubs will benefit from it when they go back to the championship,” he concluded.
Kildare: C Farrell; C Regan, L Gilbert, E Birch; H McLoughlin (0-1), L Murtagh, A Cullen; M Aspell (0-2), L Curran (0-1, one free); C Nugent, N Dooley (1-2, one free), A Dooley (0-3); L Hayes (1-0), N Murphy (0-3), S Doyle (0-3). Subs used: C Downey for Birch (18 mins), J Deay for Nugent (half-time), M Dagg for Hayes (40 mins), E Kehoe for Doyle (60 mins), C Ennis for Murphy (61 mins).
Roscommon: S Lavin; A McLoughlin, K Colgan, E Kildea; M Kelly, S Fleming, J Brennan; S McVeigh, L Brady; S Scally, M McHugh (1-0), E Irwin; A O’Connor (0-6, four frees), S Glennon, A Gavin (1-0). Subs used: K Earle for Gavin (half-time), A Hanmore for Glennon (34 mins), L Curran for Scally (44 mins), K Nolan for Brennan (50 mins), C Corcoran for Brady (60 mins).
Referee: E Moran (Kerry)
Stat Attack
Wides: Kildare 8 Roscommon 5
Yellow cards: Kildare 0 Roscommon 1 (Irwin, 49 mins)
Red cards: None
Player of the Match: Lauren Murtagh (Kildare)
