Goals prove the difference as Kildare miss out on All-Ireland final
Kildare lost out to Mayo in the LGFA U16 All-Ireland semi-final
Kildare’s hopes of reaching an U16 All-Ireland final were dashed by Mayo in the home of Longford Slashers on Thursday evening as that oft repeated, and never wrong cliché, ‘goals win games’ came to the fore once again.
It may seem like a silly thing to say but apart from Mayo’s five goals, there little between the teams. It certainly wasn’t the one-sided contest that the final scoreline might suggest. Kildare probably had just as much possession in around the Mayo final third as the Westerners did at the far end but Mayo were just that little bit sharper and more precise with their final ball and then were clinical when in front of the posts.
Although the rain that fell in the build up to the throw in made things difficult for the players, both teams quickly took to their task as there were no signs from either team in front of a packed stand.
The first four points were shared evenly with the Kildare scores coming from Aoife Treacy and Sinead Shine.
Kildare were actually the first team to have the ball in the net in the eighth minute when Ciara Dempsey played the ball inside to Aibigéal Corcoran who flicked past the advancing Meabh Lavin. However, the cheers were cut short as the referee had blown his whistle before the ball reached the Kildare full forward for too many steps taken by Dempsey in the build up.
Two minutes later, there was a green flag raised at the Kildare end and this time there was no referee’s whistle to save the Lilywhites. Mayo corner forward Mikalya McLoughlin was a thorn in Kildare’s side throughout the game and after receiving a pass from Katie Corcoran, she nearly sidestepped her marker before blasting home.
Shine and Aibigéal Corcoran were among the scorers as Kildare hit back before the second Mayo goal came in the 20th minute, Emma Duffy ruthlessly firing home with a stinging left footed drive.
By half time, Kildare were 2-6 to 0-7 behind but they made a flying start to the second half.
Amy Wall and Aisling Nolan scored within the opening 60 seconds and then Dempsey was inches away from an equalising goal when her shot flew just past the post. A goal at that stage to the level the game, when Kildare were totally on top, might have changed the course of the game but it wasn’t to be.
Any chances Kildare had of getting back into the game were ended in the 39th minute when referee Philip Conway awarded a penalty following a lengthy discussion with his umpires regarding whether a foul by Gwyn Canavan was inside or outside the square. The decision went against Kildare and Aoibhinn McNamara found the net despite goalkeeper Chloe Wright getting a strong hand to the shot.
Kildare heads didn’t drop but Mayo added further goals through Katie Hughes and a second for Duffy.
It says a lot about the attitude of the Kildare girls that even with the game lost, they still managed to kick the last three points of the game through Wall, Ciara Dempsey and Sarah Shelley.
The Kildare team can take a lot of credit for their performance despite the defeat and they’d undoubtedly learn a lot from the experience, while Mayo go on to Kerry in the All-Ireland final.
Meabh Lavin; Isabelle Basquille, Leah McNamara, Sophie Tiernan, Amy Doherty, Grace Bailey, Siofra McGuinness 0-1; Chloe Fahey, Ailbhe Ferguson; Aoibhinn McNamara 1-0pen, Saerlaith Dillon 0-1f, Katie Corcoran 0-1, Emily Duffy 2-0, Katie Hughes 1-4, Mikayla McLoughlin 2-1 (1f). Subs used: Sophie Morna, Niamh Curran 0-1, Clodagh Breslin, Sadhbh Mooney, Riona Kelly.
Chloe Wright (St Laurences); Breffni Nolan (Cappagh), Grace Coburn (Kill), Gwyn Canavan (Celbridge), Rachel Dooley (Castlemitchell), Lauren Mooney (Maynooth), Issey Kelly (Straffard, 0-1); Sarah Shelley (Cappagh, 0-1), Ciara Dempsey (St Laurences, 0-1); Lily Harney (Eadestown), Aoife Treacy (Celbridge, 0-1), Amy Wall (Castlemitchell, 0-3), Sinead Shine (Maynooth, 0-4, 2fs), Aibigéal Corcoran (Maynooth, 0-1), Aisling Nolan (Cappagh, 0-1). Subs: Orla O’Carroll (Naas) for Corcoran, 45; Isabelle Walsh (St Laurences) for B Nolan, 46; Alex Finn (Clane) for Treacy, 50; Grace Gallagher (Balyna) for A Nolan, 50; Sadhbh Fennin (St Laurences) for Kelly, 52.
Philip Conway (Armagh).
