Malin women see off Convoy
19.08.09
Malin...5-10
(Aisling McDermott 2-5, Emma Donaghey 2-3, Lorraine
Logan 1-0, Caroline Kelly 0-2)
Convoy...4-4
(Denise McElhinney 3-2, Stephanie Friel 1-1, Lauren
Guthrie 0-1)
by Liam Porter, Inishowen
Independent, at Hibernian Park
MALIN ladies cruised into the final of the ladies junior
championship at the weekend with a comfortable victory
against a Convoy side who only for a brief period ever
looked as if they might upset their Inishowen opponents.
Despite playing into a stiff breeze in the first half
Malin looked the stronger team, the only surprise was
that they hadn’t killed the game off by the interval and
went in at the break just two points ahead.
Convoy certainly posed a threat in attack in the form of
former Malin player Denise McElhinney, they just failed
to get the ball forward often enough or managed to keep
it there whenever they did get it forward.
That was in no small measure due to some excellent
displays in the Malin ranks and while McElhinney was
Convoy’s top scorer with 3-2 on the night, she was well
marked by the Malin full-back line who doubled up on the
Convoy forward for much of the game. |
That should have meant
Convoy had a free player somewhere on the pitch, but
Malin had much more fluidity in their play and always
looked as if they had the extra player available.
They dominated the early stages with Roisin McDonald
dominating in midfield and had it not been for some poor
finishing and players trying for goal instead of points,
they could have been much further ahead at the break.
Aisling McDermott who was a thorn in the side of the
Convoy defence all night, chalked up their first score
with a well-taken point in the 2nd minute, but by that
stage Malin had already hit two wides. They might have
added a goal in the 4th minute with another shot from
McDermott, but Aoife McLaughlin got back to save the
ball on the line. |
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McDermott added a second
point from a free and Convoy responded points from
McElhinney and Lauren Guthrie before Emma Donaghey fired
a looping shot over keeper Lydia Fowley to make it 1-2
to 0-2 in Malin’s favour.
That goal came in the 15th minute and Malin added a
second a minute later when Lorraine Logan fired home
from a tight angle as Convoy struggled to clear their
lines. Another point from McDermott followed before what
looked like the start of a Convoy comeback.
Gemma McGlinchey was fouled as she bore down on goal in
the 28th minute and Denise McElhinney rolled the ball
home from the penalty spot to reduce Malin’s lead. And
it was pegged back to just a point a minute later with a
long-range strike from Stephanie Friel that dropped into
the top corner. The same player added a good point from
play seconds later and all of a sudden, Malin who had
been cruising, had been pegged back.
However when they worked the ball back up the field in
injury time at the end of the first half, Emma Donaghey
and another Aisling McDermott free saw them regain a two
point lead before the break.
Convoy’s best efforts at a response in the second half
were met with stiff resistance from a Malin side who,
all round, had too much in their locker. Half-backs
Grainne Byrne and Ciara Walsh swept away much of the
loose ball pumped out of the Convoy defence and with the
full-backs marshalling McElhinney and the full-forwards
in fine form, Malin always looked too strong.
Their lead was extended just three minutes into the
second half when McDermott fired to the net, but again
Convoy hit back, again from the penalty spot after Niamh
Mailey was fouled.
Once again McElhinney stepped up and once again she
rolled the ball low into the bottom corner to leave just
two points between the teams.
But again Malin stepped up a gear. Emma Donaghey fired
home from the penalty spot at the other end and then a
cracking goal from Aisling McDermott extended their lead
to nine points.
Convoy’s response was another free from McElhinney over
the bar and then mid way through the half McElhinney
blasted a free to the net but it never looked as if they
had enough in the tank to overturn the Malin lead and
indeed it turned out to be Convoy’s last score of the
game.
Indeed Malin’s Caroline Kelly pushing forward in the
second half gave the Convoy defence a new headache to
deal with and she fired over two points in the last
thirteen minutes as they extended their lead with some
ease.
Aisling McDermott and Emma Donaghey also pointed for
Malin as they hammered home their superiority in the
last ten minutes and a Convoy side who had pegged the
lead back at the end of the first half, couldn’t muster
the magic again as their championship hopes fizzled out.
Malin: Marie Houten, Eimear Lafferty, Denise
McCloskey, Dereena Hoston, Caroline Kelly, Ciara Walsh,
Grainne Byrne, Roisin McDonald, Linda McColgan, Lorraine
Logan, Anne Marie Byrne, Breda McDaid, Michelle Doherty,
Aisling McDermott, Emma Donaghey.
Convoy: Lydia Fowley, Ethna Cranwell, Catherine
Mailey, Sabrina Barrett, Aoife McLaughlin, Aoife
McGinley, Lauren Quinn, Gemma McGlinchey, Ciara Foy,
Bonnie Doherty, Lauren Guthrie, Brid McConnell,
Stephanie Friel, Denise McElhinney, Niamh Mailey.
For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the
Inishowen Independent. |
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