Dublin Minors win Leinster Championship Final
Dublin Weather the Storm to Snatch Dramatic Win.
Dublin 1-9 Meath 2-5.
Dublin weathered both a Royal storm and that which the elements threw at them to regain the Leinster Minor Championship title at a wet and windswept Sarsfields venue on Saturday. The Meath management team will be left scratching their in wonder at how this one got away. Having played with the advantage of a very strong wind in the first half they went in at half time leading by just a single goal, 2-2 to 1-2. The Dublin defence also had to brave a very heavy shower which fell late in the first half. There was a sense that they could have been overwhelmed as Maire OShaughnessy aided by Sinead Coyle, Vivienne McCormack and Joanne Byrne drove Meath forward. Bridgetta Lynch looked threatening.
Wave after wave of attacks were heading for the Dublin goal but Ballyboden St. Endas, Alice Gillen, stood tall and thwarted most. Meaths shooting was also letting them down and the wides mounted up.
With just twenty-five seconds on the clock Gillen used her legs to deny Lynch a certain goal. After twelve minutes she parried a dipping shot from Joanne Byrne and safely collected the ball. Dublin looked dangerous on the counter attack out of defence and after seven minutes one of these generated a free which was converted by Siobhan Woods. In their efforts to work the ball out of defence passes went astray on occasion because of the strength of the wind. Nevertheless they stuck at it and it paid dividends eventually. Meath failed to punish them when they regained possession. Gillen then parried another effort from McCormack before Lynch finally drove the ball to the back of the Dublin net for Meaths first score after ten minutes. This goal came about as a result of the linesperson giving a line ball to Meath when it was Joanne Byrne and not Grainne Barrett who touched it last. The Dublin defence had regained possession, however, before a poorly-placed pass gave the ball away and this time Meath exacted full retribution. Almost immediately afterwards Lynch hit the post with the follow-up shot from Byrne being saved by Gillen.
Dublin then lost fullback Deirdre Murphy with an injury and she was replaced by Na Fiannas Leah McCaffrey. Captain, Ellen Keatley was switched to fullback in Murphys place. Woods then missed with a free for Dublin while Byrne missed two for Meath. In between Gillen had come to Dublins rescue again. Twenty-four minutes into the game and the deficit was reduced as Oonagh Whyte registered a well-worked point for Dublin. It was now obvious that Dublins confidence was on the rise and four minutes later against the odds Dublin took the lead when Siobhan Killeen finished off a flowing move with a well struck goal. Killeen had a very impressive game for Dublin even though she was not named on the original starting fifteen. She will not have done her chances any harm ahead of the All-Iteland semi-final. Aoife Gallagher was substituted shortly after with a finger injury. Meath regrouped and finished the half strongly with a bullet of a goal from McCormack who scored from a very narrow angle, with the power of the shot giving Gillen no chance. A point from Byrne left Meath leading by three at half time. The wides count in the first half was eight to two in favour of Meath. Because of stoppages in play for injuries to Murphy and Gallagher six minutes of injury time was added on by the referee.
The anticipated second half onslaught towards the Meath goal with the aid of the wind took some time to materialise. Instead it was the Royals who went on the attack and McCormack drilled a shot against the bar after one minute with the follow-up effort going wide. This was a wake-up call for Dublin and they responded to the challenge. Siobhan Killeen was posing a major threat to the Meath defence and reduced the deficit to two points with a well-taken point after some lovely combination play that involved Aisling King after four minutes. King played a vital role in Dublins second half comeback. She was a regular target for Gillens excellent kick-outs and fielded many quite excellently. She also fielded many from Meaths goalkeeper, Samantha Monaghan during the second half. She was certainly in the running for Player of Match.
Dublins forwards also inherited the bug that afflicted Meath in the first half and the wides began to mount. It took Dublin another six minutes before the gap was down to one point with Woods bisecting the posts for a great score. Meath were still looking far more dangerous and Gillen was forced to save with her feet again, this time from Joanna Byrne. Kate Byrne then rattled the woodwork for Meath and the ball was scrambled to safety. Claire King was featuring prominently in Dublins defensive duties as Meath sought a killer goal. Olivia Smartt was spoken to the referee as a result of a foul on a Meath player. Another six minutes passed before the sides were level when Whyte cooly floated over a beauty. Lucy Collins was lucky to escape sanction for an attempted blockdown on McCormack before Lynch hit the post again. A Byrne free after twenty-one minutes opened up the lead again to two points. Gillen again fielded another dangerous high ball under the crossbar as Meath sought to stretch the lead. Dublin turned the screw during the next five minutes and really pressurised the Meath defence. Whyte kicked another fine point and this was followed by three well-converted points by Woods from frees all from the difficult side of the posts for a right-footed kicker. This was probably what won her the Player of the Match award. Suddenly the lead was out to three points and Dublin tails were up.
No Meath side goes down without a fight and they took the game to Dublin for the final five minutes. Two pointed frees by Byrne had the deficit down to the bare minimum but Dublin managed to lift the siege and the referees whistle after four minutes of injury time came as a great relief to the Dublin team, its mentors and supporters. Luckily for Dublin on the final free awarded to Meath the referee had blown promptly for it not having spotted substitute Laura Bagnall bearing down on goal. It was the one time when the Meath bench would have preferred to have seen an advantage being allowed for their side. This Meath team would never dominate a game again to this extent and lose. They were too intent on trying for goals in the second half when points were there for the taking. From the statistics point of view they were ahead of Dublin in everything but the scoreboard. The wides tally was fourteen to twelve in Meaths favour, one nil on forty-fives, four nil on shots against the post, two nil on shots against the crossbar and six nil on shots that had to be saved by the goalkeeper. Monaghan had very little to do in the Meath goal and she tidied up whenever the need arose. She could not get sufficient purchase on her kickouts in the second half and this enabled Dublin to keep the pressure on Meath. Gillen also had to dive at Meath forwards feet on a few occasions. So to the victor the spoils. Dublin will savour this win. Meath snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
My Player of the Match - Alice Gillen. Her top quality goalkeeping kept Dublin in the game throughout.
Dublin - Alice Gillen (Ballyboden St. Endas), Ellen Keatley, capt., (Scoil Ui Chonaill), Deirdre Murphy (St.Brigids), Claire King (Ballyboden St. Endas), Grainne Barrett (Clann Mhuire), Jenny Ward (Ballyboden St. Endas), Lucy Collins,(Na Fianna), Olivia Smartt (St. Brigids), Emma McDonough (Foxrock/Cabinteely), Siobhán Killeen (Raheny), (1-1), Siobhan Woods (Raheny),(0-5, 4frees), Aisling King Ballyboden St. Endas), Oonagh White (Clann Mhuire), (0-3), Aoife Gallagher Kilmacud Crokes), Maria Kenny Ballinteer St. Johns).
Subs - Leah Caffrey (Na Fianna) for Deirdre Murphy, Lauren Ebbs (Naomh Barróg) for Aoife Gallagher, Aoife Nolan (Na Fianna) for Grainne Barrett and Ciara Ruddy (Ballyboden St. Endas) for Maria Kenny.
Meath - S. Monaghan, K. Blaney, C. Murray, O. Duff, E. Troy, K. Allen, capt., M. OBrien, M. OShaughnessy, L. McCann, S. Coyle, V. McCormack, (1-0), J. Byrne, (0-5, 4 frees), K. Callaghan, B. Lynch, (1-0), K. Byrne.
Subs - L. Dempsey for K. Callaghan, L. Murray for C. Murray, L. Bagnall for L. McCann, A. McCann for S. Coyle.
Referee - S. Duane (Kildare). The referee was very sharp on the whistle throughout the game and got the vast majority of calls correct. Despite the fact that the game was played in a great spirit and was keenly contested, weather conditions did not make it easy on the players. Nevertheless the foul count was high and if the rules were being strictly implemented a number of players from both sides could have been sin binned for persistent fouling.
More photos from the game can be viewed on GAApic.com, click here to view
