Corcoran kicks the Valley to impressive victory

Loughnavalley 3-5, Milltownpass 1-4

A personal haul of 2-3 from the impressive Morgan Corcoran helped Loughnavalley see off the challenge of Milltownpass to claim the Under 18 Division 2 Championship in The Downs on Sunday afternoon.

As is often the case with matches played at this time of year, the strong, swirling wind and heavy underfoot conditions meant that the final was always likely to be a low-scoring affair. However, both sides gave their all in what was an absorbing contest from start to finish and a great advertisement for ladies’ football.

Milltownpass began the match on the front foot and opened the scoring after three minutes with a point from Orlagh O’Brien, which was quickly followed by an over from Aisling Whelan. Loughnavalley’s first scoring chance came after eight minutes when Caoimhe Clarke was put through on goals by the influential Aoife Murphy. Clarke opted for power over placement and her well struck shot was saved by the Milltownpass netminder Lucy Rossiter.

After spending much of the first ten minutes defending, Loughnavalley began to get the upper hand around the middle of the park and opened their account in the 13th minute with a pointed from Corcoran.

Thanks in no small part to the challenging conditions, clear-cut scoring chances were few and far during a first half in which Milltown edged the territorial battle. They extended their lead in the 20th minute when a well struck long range shot from Erin Cleary found the back of the net. It would be Milltownpass’s last score until the 47th minute.

Loughnavalley began to gain the upper hand as the first half drew to a close and reduced the Milltownpass lead to the bare minimum when Aoife Murphy’s speculative effort from wide on the right sailed over Lucy Rossiter and into the top left-hand corner of the net in the 26th minute.

They levelled proceedings a minute later when the industrious Sarah Thompson scored a fine long-range point. The victors took the lead for the first time in the 30th minute when Corcoran scored her second free of the match. That left the half time score reading: Loughnavalley 1-3, Milltownpass 1-2.

A dominant third quarter laid the platform for Loughnavalley’s victory. Two minutes into the second half, the increasingly influential Corcoran extended her side’s lead to two points. Less than a minute later, she buried the ball past Rossiter to put her side firmly in control.

At this stage in proceedings, Loughnavalley were winning most of the duals across the pitch. Anna Rami was cleaning up at the back, while Ellen Daly and Aoife Murphy were doing Trojan work in the middle third. When Murphy sent the ball over the bar in the fifth minute of the second half to put her side six points up, they already had one hand on the trophy.

Despite having a mountain to climb, Milltownpass continue to ask questions of Loughnavalley. Sophie Farrell, in particular, put in a serious shift at half back both breaking up attacks and launching the ball into her own forwards. However, despite their best efforts they were finding it very hard to create chances due to the diligence of Rami and her defensive colleagues.

As the second half progressed the intensity of the match dipped a little. Loughnavalley sealed their victory in the 49th minute when player of the match Corcoran fired the ball into the Milltown net after blocking a clearance.

Although, nine points down at this stage, the Milltownpass players’ heads didn’t drop. A brace of points from Eva Jackson and Erin Cleary in the 50th and 51st minute was the least they deserved for their industry. However, that was as good as it got.

Loughnavalley managed to keep their opponents at arm’s length for the remainder of the match and ran out worthy winners in the end. While they were undoubtedly the best team on the day, the Milltownpass players can hold their heads high after a performance that was full of character.

Scorers - Loughnavalley: Morgan Corcoran 2-3 (2f), Aoife Murphy 1-1, Sarah Thompson 0-1.

Milltownpass: Erin Cleary 1-1, Aisling Whelan, Orlagh O’Brien and Eva Jackson 0-1.

Loughnavalley: Lilly Farrell; Anna Rami, Emma O’Brien, Emma King; Rose Macken, Aoife O’Brien, Sinead O’Brien; Ellen Daly, Caoimhe McCann; Aoife Murphy, Morgan Corcoran, Roisín Tuite; Sarah Thompson, Rachel Ennis, Caoimhe Clarke. Subs: Rosie Rami for Caoimhe Clarke (57 mins)

Milltownpass: Lucy Rossiter; Bronwyn Wright, Caoimhe Gavin, Pippa Jackson; Sophie Farrell, Ava Cosgrave, Jennifer Campbell; Charlotte Butler-Clyne, Rachel Flood; Eva Jackson, Orlagh O’Brien, Caoimhe Burke; Aisling Whelan, Erin Cleary, Kacey Boyce. Substitute used: Emma Finneran for Kayce Boyce (H/T), Katie Burke for Bronwyn Wright (52mins)

Referee: Barry Nea (Killucan).