Five in Row for Dubs
- May 12,2014
Five in a row for Dubs!
Dublin are the 2014 U16A Ladies Leinster Football Champions after a brilliant second half display. Dublin came flying out of the traps in the second half and totally dominated the middle third of the pitch for most of the second thirty minutes. Dublin Captain Erica Byrne was immense in midfield and was the platform for the multitude of Dublin's second half attacks.
Behind Erica the back six for Dublin didn't give the Meath forwards an inch and tackled their hearts out regularly dispossessing and blocking their Meath opponents throughout the whole of the final. Although they were all excellent two of the backs really stood out Chloe Lawless and Hannah O'Dea.
Up front Dublin had all the aces and ripped Meath to shreds leaving them chasing shadows all day. Dublin Scored six unanswered points in the opening fifteen minutes of the second half and were totally in control at this stage. But Meath were not finished yet and worked the ball up field and a lobbed a high free into the heart of the Dublin defence and got on the end of it to dispatch it to the net.
But there was no stopping Dublin and they charged forward and responded to the Meath goal with three unanswered points. At this stage Dublin were suffocating Meath who just couldn't get out of their own half. A free gave them the opportunity to catch their breaths and give their beleaguered defence a little respite.
They worked the ball into their forwards and got themselves another free, at this stage with the clock ticking down they needed goals to get back into the game. So another high looping ball was sent towards the Dublin goal and awkwardly floated just under the crossbar, the Dublin keeper palmed the ball off the underside of the crossbar and it looked like the ball bounced on the line and was then cleared but one of the umpires signalled for a goal. A number of Dublin players protested that it hadn't crossed the line but the goal stood.
This just seemed to make Dublin more determined and they attacked from the Kick out moved the ball quickly to substitute Niamh Carty who buried the ball to the back of the net and Meath resistance was finally broken.
Dublin dominated to the finish led by Player of the Match Hannah O'Neill who was just magnificent today, not only taking some brilliant scores herself but also getting on to a huge amount of ball and running at the panic stricken Meath defence setting up her fellow forwards to score point after point. By the final whistle there was no denying that Dublin where the better team and deserving Leinster Champions.
Dublin v Meath: Katie Ronan (Kilmacud Crokes), Hannah Foster Ryan (Foxrock Cabinteely), Tarah O'Sullivan (Foxrock Cabinteely), Megan Duffy (Foxrock Cabinteely), Chloe Lawless (Round Towers Lusk), Laura McGinley(Naomh Barrog), Emily Flanagan (Ballyboden St Endas), Hannah O'Dea (Cuala),
Erica Byrne (O'Dwyers), Hannah O'Neill (Foxrock Cabinteely), Ellen Curran (Foxrock Cabinteely), Mia Jennings (Kilmacud Crokes), Jade Sweeney Knot (Thomas Davis), Danielle Murray (Lucan Sarsfields),
Billie Kate Huggard (Cuala).
Dublin Subs: Muireann O’Gorman for Foster Ryan, Niamh Carthy for Murray, Claire McGrath for Huggard, Sabrina Moloney for Sweeney Knot.
Dublin scorers: Hannah O’Neill 1-03, Niamh Carthy 1-03, Erica Byrne 0-04 (3F), Billie Kate Huggard 0-03, Ellen Curran 0-02
Player of the Match: Hannah O’Neill
Report: WeareDublin
