Elliffe’s late goal wins the day for super St Joseph’s

St Joseph's 1-11 Coralstown/Kinnegad 1-8

By Gerry Buckley

It needed extra-time to separate two evenly-matched teams in last Sunday’s curtain-raiser at a well-attended TEG Cusack Park, at the end of which the lady footballers from St Joseph’s were crowned as Westmeath intermediate champions with a three-point win against Coralstown/Kinnegad in ideal conditions for football.

After a slow start – there were only two scores (both for the losers) recorded in the opening 22 minutes – this game developed into a riveting contest, and it looked like a replay was on the cards until Caoilinn Elliffe popped up with a match-winning goal in the last minute of extra-time to win the day for the girls in green and gold.

After shooting a brace of early wides, Coralstown/Kinnegad opened the scoring in the fourth minute courtesy of a Sinéad Murtagh point at the end of a fine move. Kiera Giles doubled the losers’ advantage some two minutes later with a very good free taken from her hands.

A scoreless quarter of an hour ensued before Áine Maxwell, who had a fine game overall, had to advance smartly off her line to stop Chloe Carney from potentially finding the net. St Joseph’s pounced for three unanswered points between the 23rd and 27th minutes via two Sinéad Robbins frees either side of a score from play by Karen Keegan (moments after her introduction), and this hat-trick was enough for them to lead by 0-3 to 0-2 at the interval.

Caoilinn Elliffe (a low-trajectory shot) and Giles (a tricky free) traded points early in the second moiety. These proved to be the only two scores in the third quarter. Robbins rounded off a terrific move with a point in the 46th minute, but St Joseph’s were dealt a blow within a minute when Kayla McDonnell was sin-binned, with Therese Murray converting the resultant free for Coralstown/Kinnegad.

Robbins put the Streamstown-based outfit two clear (0-6 to 0-4) with a neat point in the 49th minute, but the red and white-clad side regained the lead five minutes later when great work by Aileen Murtagh teed up Murray who drilled the ball low to the net. Niamh Kearney equalized at the end of a patient move in the 29th minute. Both teams had chances to win the day late on, but with the scoreboard reading 0-7 to 1-4 at the end of regulation time, two extra-time periods of ten minutes each were required.

The winners had the better of the first period of extra-time and they belatedly took the lead in style via the boot of Elliffe in the second last minute of the stipulated ten. Mia McDonald levelled the contest again (1-5 to 0-8) with a point via the woodwork.

The second period was action-packed. The respective number 14s, McDonald and Keegan, pointed at either end when goals briefly beckoned. Another point exchange followed, on this occasion between Robbins and McDonald, to keep the teams on level terms. Robbins and Murray traded points from frees, but Elliffe proved to be the St Joseph’s hero with time almost up when she found the net, albeit after a strong suspicion of overcarrying by Keegan before she played the final pass.

After the match, Thomas McCormack, vice-chairperson of the Westmeath Ladies Football Board, presented the Mary Wynne Memorial Cup to the winning captain Orla Robbins, and the official player of the match award to Sinéad Robbins.

Scorers – St Joseph’s: S Robbins 0-6 (3f), C Elliffe 1-2, K Keegan 0-2, N Kearney 0-1. Coralstown Kinnegad: T Murray 1-2 (0-2f), M McDonald 0-3, K Giles 0-2 (2f), S Murtagh 0-1.

St Joseph’s: Áine Maxwell; Cliona McCormack, Orla Robbins, Ellie Conway; Joyce Conway, Róisín Killian, Kayla McDonnell; Claire Conlon, Aoife Keegan; Niamh Kearney, Sinéad Robbins, Síle Kearney; Lauryn McDonnell; Caoilinn Elliffe, Laura Conlon. Subs used: Karen Keegan for L McDonnell (25), Lauryn McDonnell for N Kearney (44), Molly Russell for S Kearney (inj., 50), Niamh Kearney for Conlon (57), Keelin Robbins for Russell (start of e/t), Jenny Barrett for E Conway (e/t, 16).

Coralstown Kinnegad: Emma Kiernan; Áine Brannock, Donna Kiernan, Maeve Walsh; Aileen Murtagh, Tori Coyne, Tally Claffey; Aileen Brannock, Shannon Lyons; Claire Taaffe, Kiera Giles, Sinéad Murtagh; Chloe Carney, Mia McDonald, Therese Murray. Subs used: Sarah Sullivan for S Murtagh (38), Marie Cooney for Carney (38), Emer Fogarty for Taaffe (52), Sorcha Ryan for Walsh (e/t, 8), Andrea Goggins for A Murtagh (e/t, 10+1), Sinéad Murtagh for Aileen Brannock (e/t, 16).

Referee: Paul McCaughey (Milltown).