Clann Gaels goal blitz decisive as Athlone rally falls short
Clann Gaels 5-8, Athlone 2-11
By Eamon A. Donoghue
Clann Gaels scored five goals in the first half to set them on the road to victory over Athlone in the Westmeath LGFA Division 5 League final at Páirc Chiaráin last Friday evening.
Unbeaten Clann Gaels backed up their pre-match favouritism coming into this final and did the hard work in the first half, before seeing out the game with excellent efficiency in the second half.
An amalgamation side made up of players from Multyfarnham, Bunbrosna and surrounding areas, Clann Gaels gelled well as a team and showed better support play than their opponents.
Inspired by Annie Dolan and driven on by Meadbh McLoughlin, they laid the platform in the first half. They had a convincing half-time lead of 5-2 to 0-5 and they showed efficiency in the second half which helped them to hang on and see out the win.
The first-half goals came from Dolan (a brace), Aine Newman, Eva Coughlan and Meadbh McLoughlin. But it was the second half where Clann Gaels showed how effective they were as a team.
Although they were under the cosh from a rejuvenated Athlone, almost every time they attacked into the Athlone half, they scored. Albeit they only put 0-6 on the scoreboard in the second half, but every point was as important as each goal scored in the first half.
For Athlone, they had the opportunities to do better. The Shannonsiders were in the positions and had many chances to score that they didn’t take, particularly goal opportunities that could have won the game. But their first half showing cost them overall.
Athlone brought on Lucy Allen and Ellie Denby at half-time and Emily Henshaw, Katie Gibbons and Anita Sheerin early in the second half. The substitutions turned the game on its head. Allen scored immediately after the resumption and they took over, possession wise, but they weren’t efficient enough in front of goal.
Athlone’s Ciara Murphy opened the scoring from a free, but things went downhill from there for the home side. They simply didn’t kick on from there and while they did get the ball into scoring positions, the Shannonsiders struggled to turn those chances into scores.
From the moment Dolan took off and ran at the Athlone defence and buried the ball past Ceara Dwyer in the Athlone goal, Clann Gaels didn’t look back.
The outstanding Dolan scored her second goal for a more physical Clann Gaels team and the floodgates opened. They had most of the job done by the interval. But they were thankful for Dolan’s performance; the Westmeath player scored all of her side’s second half scores.
From Athlone’s perspective, once they had Westmeath minor player Lucy Allen on the field, her energy and enthusiasm was infectious. Athlone looked a different team from the one seen in the first half, but again they were let down in front of the goal. They just lacked the forwards with shooting capabilities needed to take scores.
Goals from Grace McGlynn and Jilly Begley, along with scores from Murphy and Maeve Gleeson, brought Athlone right back into the contest in the second half. However, they didn’t take enough of their chances and a more efficient Clann Gaels were deserving winners overall.
Scorers - Clann Gaels: A Dolan 2-7 (3f), A Newman 1-1, E Coughlan and M McLoughlin 1-0 each. Athlone: C Murphy 0-5 (3f), G McGlynn 1-1, J Begley 1-1, M Gleeson 0-2, E O’Connell and A Martin 0-1 each.
Clann Gaels - Carol Leonard Manning, Aoibhe Wallace, Katie Penrose, Eimear Kiernan, Maura Buckley, Meadbh McLoughlin, Grace Downes, Meave Greene, Amber Fleming, Aine Newman, Emma Broughan, Anne Dolan, Roisin Lyons, Eva Coughlan, Niamh Kiernan. Subs: Dearbhail McLoughlin, Eva Cawley, Grace Bracken and Aimee Barrett.
Athlone - Ceara Dwyer, Niamh Molloy, Anna Redmond, Emma Killian, Alesha White, Eimear Galvin, Leah Nugent, Maeve Gleeson, Eva Gregg, Ellen O’Connell, Ciara Murphy, Aine Martin, Grace McGlynn, Jillian Begley, Chloe Moran. Subs: Emily Henshaw, Lucy Allen, Ellie Denby, Katie Gibbons and Anita Sheerin.
Referee - Des McEnery.