Castletown-Geoghegan stage comeback to secure victory
Castletown Geoghegan 2-5 Castlepollard 2-4
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The Castlepollard side that played in Saturday’s U16 camogie final.Image 2 of 4
The successful Castletown Geoghegan camogie side.Image 3 of 4
Rebecca Ward, Castlepollard, is pursued by Morgan Corcoran, Castletown Geoghegan, in the U16 camogie final on Saturday in Cullion.Image 4 of 4
Ellen Daly, Castletown Geoghegan, is chased by Ella Reilly, Castlepollard.By Shane King
Castletown Geoghegan were crowned division 1 camogie U16 shield champions by the bare minimum in an entertaining battle with Castlepollard last Saturday. On a day where the weather was changeable and along with greasy surfaces, conditions for camogie were not ideal.
A strong breeze was evident as both sides completed their warm-up routines. The game opened on a bright fresh autumn day but dark clouds were looming over Lough Owel as the teams lined out in Cullion.
Castlepollard made the better start with Rebecca Ward opening the scoring within the first minute with a fine wind-assisted point. Ella Reilly scored a free on the 65 metre line to put her side two points ahead.
Castletown Geoghegan got off the mark in the seventh minute when Morgan Corcoran overturned the ball and went on a solo run down the left side of the field to point neatly.
Alesha Kennedy extended Castlepollard’s lead to four-points by rattling the back of the net following a good ball in from Chloe Wong. Castletown replied minutes later when Emma O’Brien retrieved the ball in the centre of the field and hand passed off to Aoife Murphy who went on to score a well worked point.
As heavy rain began to beat down, midfielder Ella Reilly scored a superb point from long range. She further extended her side's lead, when her free from the ‘65 dipped below the bar and fell to the back of the net. Reilly’s efforts saw the north Westmeath side take a seven-point lead with 29 minutes played. This lead wasn’t to be held for long, as Morgan Corcoran reduced the deficit with a goal just before the half-time whistle. Aoife Murphy passed the ball to Corcoran who had the opportunity of a point but instead powered her way through the Castlepollard defence to give Castletown a lifeline heading into the break.
As the second half got underway, the autumn sunshine made a welcome return. Castletown capitalised on the favourable conditions to dominate proceedings in the second half. Aoife Murphy maintained her side's comeback with two converted frees to bring them within two-points of their opponents.
Castletown defended well, led by the inspirational wing-back Aoife O’Brien to repel numerous Pollard attacks. Following good interplay from the black and amber’s, Emma King offloaded the ball to Morgan Corcoran who again powered through the defence and somehow managed to score a point whilst falling to her knees.
Despite the hard work of defenders Chloe Wong and Izzy O’Neill Castlepollard found scores hard to come by.
In the 42nd minute, substitute Sinéad O’Brien’s goalward shot dropped short, however the swift reactions of Morgan Corcoran resulted in a goal, when she struck the ball to the back of the net to take the lead for the first time by two points.
Following this the two sides found scores hard to come by, with both defences coming out on top. Heading into the final 10 minutes, Ella Reilly scored a fine long-range point from the centre of the field, reducing Castletown's lead to the narrowest of margins.
In a pulsating end to the game, Castlepollard had a chance of goal but their effort edged narrowly wide of the goalpost. The final whistle sounded moments later much to the relief of the Castletown team and their large contingent of supporters.
Scorers - Castletown Geoghegan: Morgan Corcoran 2-2 and Aoife Murphy 0-3 (2f)
Castlepollard: Ella Reilly 1-3 (2f), Rebecca Ward 0-1 and Alesha Kennedy 1-0.
Castletown Geoghegan: Amy Birch, Rose Macken, Amy Seery, Anna Rami, Aoife O’Brien, Emma O’Brien, Anne Reynolds, Ellen Daly, Morgan Corcoran, Emma King, Aoife Murphy, Roisín Tuite, Emilene Leahy, Caoimhe Clarke,Carol Anne Finn, Molly Conlon, Sinead O’Brien, Caoimhe McCann, Sarah Thompson, Ann-Marie Leahy and Therese Daly.
Castlepollard: Ali McCarthy, Ariane Hayden, Doireann Manly, Aimmee Gaffney, Amy Higgins, Izzy O’Neill, Muira Mac Lochlainn, Ella Reilly, Chloe Wong, Ava Murphy, Rebecca Ward, Sarah Lancaster, Alesha Kennedy, Kayla Kennedy and Emma O’Reilly, Lana Monaghan, Maeve Morrissey, Holly Cullen, Clodagh Hennessy and Ashling Wong.
Referee: Kevin Reihill (St. Munna’s)