Tuam Cortoon celebrate Connacht Ladies Football Championship success
AN impressive first half performance by Tuam-Cortoon help them clinch their first ever Connacht intermediate ladies football club title when they overcame Pádraig Pearses 1-14 to 0-8 in Sunday's final at Kilcoyne Park, Tubbercurry.
The Galway champions dominated the opening half to lead by seven points at half-time and although Pádraig Pearses did mount a second half comeback, Kevin Reidy's side finished strongly to make history and win their maiden Connacht title.
Sunday's final was Tuam-Cortoon's fourth successive weekend in competitive action but they showed no signs of fatigue as they were out of the blocks quickly.
Eabha Smith set up Clodagh Fallon for the opening point before Aoife O'Rourke twice found the range, with her second effort almost ending up in the net but Pádraig Pearses goalkeeper Lily Finneran was alert to palm the ball over the crossbar.
The Roscommon side eventually got motoring and were level by the 12th minute. Laura Glennon teed up Blathnaid Kelly to fire the ball over the bar. Glennon then got her first of the game while Katelyn Keogh was the next member of the Pádraig Pearses full-forward line to get on the scoreboard when she levelled the scoring.
Tuam-Cortoon retook the lead when midfielder O'Rourke got her third point of the afternoon with a sweetly struck right footed shot. A lively opening quarter almost saw the game's first goal. Katelyn Keogh let fly from the left wing but her effort flew across the goalmouth and just shaved the far post.
Sarah Banks and Clodagh Fallon got quick-fire scores as Tuam-Cortoon restored their three point lead. Padraig Pearses had a goal opportunity in the 16th minute. Glennon sent in a pin point pass to Keogh who found herself one on one with Tuam-Cortoon goalkeeper Aoife Higgins, who was quick off her line to smother Keogh's effort.
Fallon converted an 18th minute free before Smith scored a brilliant point on the right wing to double her side's advantage. Pádraig Pearses’ defence were under a lot of pressure and it told in the 23rd minute when Clodagh Powell's late challenge saw her recieve a yellow card and a ten minute stint on the sideline.
Tuam-Cortoon made good use of their extra player as Smith landed her second point and a Pádraig Pearses’ breach allowed Fallon to pop over a close range free. A late Gemma Casserly point gave the Galway champions a seven point half-time cushion as they led 0-11 to 0-4 at the break.
On the resumption, Pádraig Pearses who broke their 21 minute scoring drought when Laura Glennon got her second point of the day. She followed up with a converted free and the Pearses supporters began to sense a momentum switch in their team's favour.
The gifted Glennon, who is only 17, showed her talent once again when her left footed effort floated over the bar. The Roscommon minor star followed up with yet another point as the gap was cut to three with a quarter of the game remaining.
Tuam-Cortoon now had gone over 20 minutes themselves without a score but that changed when Fallon set up Casserly for a point that seemed to settle her side. They began to control the game once more and when Smith was fouled, Fallon converted the resulting free to make it a five point game.
Then in the 55th minute, there was jubilation for the Tuam-Cortoon supporters when Gemma Casserly rifled the ball to the roof of the net from close range. That put the result beyond doubt and there was still time for Casserly to take her tally to 1-3 with a late point.
After the final, Tuam-Cortoon manager, Kevin Reidy, said he was delighted with his team's success and particularly with their work-rate.
"I'm thrilled with the win. The girls put in a big performance. We worked very hard, especially when they came back at us in the second half. We had performers all over the field today with everyone putting in big shifts. We knew we would be up against a good team and the girls dug deep when they had to.”
TUAM-CORTOON: A. Higgins; E. Fallon, S. Melia, L. O'Dea; I. Cunniffe, K. Geraghty, J. Reidy; L. Finnegan, A. O'Rourke (0-3); C. Fallon (0-5, 0-3 frees), M. McGrath, S. Banks (0-1); E. Smith (0-2), G. Casserly (1-3), S. Devaney. Subs: E. Roche for L. O'Dea (57) G. Gavin for M. McGrath (59).
PÁDRAIG PEARSES: L. Finneran; E. McGreal, C. Lohan, C. Powell; R. O'Sullivan, G. Lohan, K. Malone; S. Dooley, Á. Ryan; K. Canning, E. Helpin, C. Mulryan; K. Keogh (0-2), B. Kelly (0-1), L. Glennon (0-5, 0-1 free). Subs: C. Malone for C. Mulryan, half-time; S. Goode for B. Kelly (49), I. Downey for S. Dooley (52) S. Killeen for Á. Ryan (56).
REFEREE: Kevin Corcoran (Mayo)