Match report Foxrock Cabinteely vs St Brigids
- Sep 29,2018
*** Match Report New Ireland Assurance Senior club Championship Final ***
FOXROCK CABINTEELY 1-13
ST BRIGID’S 0-7
By James Hendicott
Foxrock Cabinteely cemented their recent dominance of the Dublin Senior Championship at St Margaret’s on Friday night, as a period of utter control in the first half helped the south Dubliners overcome their nearest rivals and take a fourth consecutive title.
Brigid’s had started well, controlling the opening minutes of the contest. Louise O’Reilly knocking over the first score and the side in red took the game to the holders as they started with plenty of verve.
Foxrock Cabinteely are known for their potent attacking play, though, and after both sides hit wides, the Foxes first solid attack saw Laura Nerney played into space out on the right of the square, from where she cut inside and beat helpless Dublin ‘keeper Ciara Trant from close range.
Niamh O’Donovan responded with a free, but Brigid’s strong start had been derailed, and what followed was to prove decisive. With FoxCab getting to almost every loose ball first, they ran the game in midfield, creating a string of chances and denying Brigid’s the space to make waves themselves.
The pressure game paid off quickly, as the Foxes controlled possession and made hay in a breathtaking 20 minutes burst. The champions hit no less than nine consecutive points. First, Laura Nerney, Tarah O’Sullivan, Amy Ring and Hannah O’Neill found the space to slot over from flowing team moves, with FoxCab showing potent attacking diversity.
Looking for a method to stifle the barrage, Brigid’s began to concede frees, and FoxCab proved they could score that way, too, with Amy Ring and Amy Connolly tapping over three more, before Connolly started charging into the full-forward line off the shoulders of defenders, and notched two more from open play.
A Niamh O’Donovan free after Brigid’s finally found a way out of Foxrock Cabinteely’s clutches slightly narrowed the margin to 1-9 to 0-3 in the holder’s favour, and she could have grabbed a couple more on the whistle, but it was only half time, and the damage looked to have been done.
Unsurprisingly, the contest tightened up in the second half. While Brigid’s never really looked like closing the gap, they matched FoxCab point for point, and were marginally the better side after Amy Connolly and Tarah O’Sullivan’s early points ahd put the title’s destination beyond doubt. Aisling Tarpey in the FoxCab goal was key to that: she stopped close-range one-on-one chances either side of half time, from Brigid’s forwards Louise Reilly and Emma Sherwood that could have gone a long way to closing that gap.
Brigid’s best moments came from letting their key players let loose: Noelle Healy and Emma Sherwood had been their standouts throughout, and both got the points their marauding performances in the centre ground warranted. The outstanding Hannah O’Neill - a consistent thorn in the Brigid’s defense - continued to threaten, but the game began to ebb in pace and drive. The winner had long been clear, so much so that Foxrock Cabinteely’s failure to score in the closing twenty minutes of the contest proved almost entirely irrelevant.
Deirdre Murphy’s late point for Brigid’s was fitting reward for the torrid time the Brigid’s captain’s defence had had to endure at the back, but it was scant consolation for Brigid’s, who just couldn’t live with Foxrock Cabinteely on the day. The Foxes’ fourth title in a row was their most convincing since an emphatic win kicked off this run of county titles back in 2015. Their fluid attacking play could well take them deep into the All Ireland, too.
FOXROCK CABINTEELY SCORERS: Amy Connolly 0-4 (0-2f), Laura Nerney 1-1, Amy Ring 0-3 (0-2f), Tarah O’Sullivan 0-2, Hannah O’Neil 0-2, Fiona Claffey 0-1
ST BRIGID’S SCORERS: Noelle Healy 0-2 (0-1f), Niamh O’Donovan 0-2 (0-2f), Emma Sherwood 0-1, Laura reilly 0-1, Deirdre Murphy 0-1
FOXROCK CABINTEELY TEAM: Aisling Tarpey, Aedin Murray, Sarah Quinn, Emma McDonagh, Sinead Goldrick (sub Ciara Murphy), Niamh Collins (subL Sinead Delahunty), Lorna Fusciardi, Tarah O’Sullivan, Ciara Ni Mhurchadh, Laura Nerney, Amy Connolly, Fiona Claffey, Hannah O’Neill (sub Niamh Ryan), Ciara O’Riordan (sub Cara Cooke), Amy Ring.
ST BRIGID’S TEAM: Ciara Trant, Niamh Jacob, Deirdre Murphy, Clare McCormack (sub Shauna Hinkson), Sorcha Furlong, Caroline Brogan, Aimee Molloy (sub Aoife Joyce), Emma Sherwood, Noelle Healy, Lorraine Brennan, Niamh O’Donovan (sub Aoife Coffey), Enya Farrell (sub Amy Fitzpatrick), Louise Reilly, Leah Mullins, Siobhan Devlin (sub Anne Marie Troy).