Navan O’ Mahonys outmuscle Skryne in the battle of Brews Hill
Navan O’Mahonys 6-10 Skryne 1-02
LGFA U14 Football Championship. Division 8 – Final
Scorelines tend to give a fairly accurate picture of how a game pans out and who was the superior team on the day and it would be absolutely fair to say that O’Mahonys were the best team on the day in yesterday’s Division 8 final and they deserved their victory. They were bigger and stronger than our girls and their strength was the difference between the teams.
However, this final was just the bookend for what was a fantastic year for this bunch of girls and while it would have been nice to bring home a piece of silverware, these girls had already won in the eyes of the Manager, Coaches and the parents who followed their journey throughout the season. With 6 under 12s on the team and most of the rest still 13, their achievements this year have been nothing short of spectacular in a championship where they faced teams mainly made up of 14 year old girls. The girls were drawn in a strong group with Navan sides O’Mahonys and Simonstown Gaels. An opening round win against today’s opponents O’Mahonys was a huge boost of confidence to the girls who realised that day that they were capable of going toe to toe with the stronger Navan teams. The next group game against Simonstown saw the girls lose narrowly by a single point. Skryne had to play Simonstown again to decide who would advance to the semi-final as group winners. The girls produced a fantastic performance in Simonstown to reverse the result of the last group game in spectacular style with a 10 point victory over the North Navan side. The semi-final against neighbours Walterstown saw Skryne cruise into the final with another excellent display of fast free flowing football.
The final was on home turf for O’Mahonys and they were in a determined mood with the memory of the opening round defeat giving them an extra pep in their step as they sought to exact revenge on the Skryne girls. Right from the off they hit Skryne with everything they had. Skryne played with the wind and the hill in the opening half. O’Mahonys hit a goal on the 11th minute to open the scoring and followed this with a point. Megan O’Brien got a hand to a long range shot from Rachel O’Dowd to deflect the ball past the O’Mahonys keeper for Skryne’s opening score. O’Mahonys added another point after the water break before Skryne hit 2 points in a row to level matters with Liz Fitzpatrick and Rachel O’Dowd both getting their names on the scoresheet. 2 more quickfire points from O’Mahonys just before half-time saw them lead by 2 at the break. Half-time score Navan O’Mahonys 1-04, Skryne 1-02.
The second half was all one way traffic with O’Mahonys making the most of the wind advantage as they powered to victory. The defence faced wave after wave of Navan attacks but Hannah Clarke, Ailbhe Lynch, Isabella Reuter, Róisín Reeves and Isabella Meharg put in a terrific shift to try and stem the flow, but as tiredness set in the O’Mahonys found it easier to get their scores. The Navan side had added 3-04 to their tally without a reply as the game broke for the second half water break.
The water break was an emotional one for Skryne as the team recognised that the game was slipping from their grasp. The despair shown by these girls during that water break was a testament to the team spirit and camaraderie that they have fostered in this group.
The last quarter was much brighter from Skryne as they pushed forward in search of scores. Unfortunately, with the team pushing forward, Skryne were now getting caught by counter attacks from O’Mahonys who added another 2-02 before the final whistle blew and condemned the girls to a disappointing defeat.
The girls may have lost this battle, but they will return stronger than ever. Many of the girls will start training next Tuesday as the U13 season gets underway. No doubt these girls will be fighting for trophies again in the very near future.
Click here to view photos from the match courtesy of Carol Pentony.
Team: Meabh Lynch; Claire Cassidy Hannah Clarke; Isabella Reuter, Roisín Reeves, Ailbhe Lynch; Megan O’Brien(1-0), Ellie Kate McDonnell; Lauren Meharg, Ellen Hogan, Rachel O’Dowd(0-01); Grace Hollywood, Elizabeth Fitzpatrick(0-1). Isabella Meharg, Emma Dardis, Cara Mahon, Harriet Hayes.
