U16 Ladies Gaelic Co.Final

22 November 2015


Gallant Display by U16s


The U16s faced Clara in the reduced side county final in a bitterly cold Clara on Sunday 22nd. (Each team plays 7 to 11 a side in reduced side matches, with the number of players being agreed between both teams before the match. Dunnamaggin played their full panel of 10 players on this occasion). The Dunnamaggin girls were facing a huge challenge having already ended up on the wrong side of the score line when they previously faced Clara in the league.


Dunnamaggin began strongly and were first to score with a well taken point from Sarah Doherty. Clara were quick to respond and scored 1-2 without reply. The Dunnamaggin midfielders of Claire Kirwan, Emma Denny and Lauren Browne fought hard for every ball and their work rate led to 2 goals in quick succession by the ever battling Sarah Doherty. This gave Dunnamaggin the lead 2-1 to 1-2 going into the final 10 minutes of the first half. The ding dong battle continued with Clara gaining the upper hand and scoring 2-1. However the Dunnamaggin forwards never give up attitude and the pressure exerted by Ellen O’ Neill, Sarah Doherty and Kathy Long resulted in Clara conceding a free which was well taken by the hard working Aoife Mulhall. Half-time score Clara 3-3 Dunnamaggin 2-2.


Clara came out stronger in the second half. Their experience and the depth of their panel began to show as they were able to introduce fresh legs to the proceedings. The Clara girls were clinical in their approach and scored 2-1 in the first couple of minutes. In response Grace McLoughlin (who played in the U13 final a few weeks ago) made a number of fearless saves.  The Dunnamaggin backs of Sarah Davis, Ellen Burke and Aoife Mulhall didn’t give up and fought tooth and nail for every ball. Their hard work and an excellent clearance was rewarded with a well taken point by Kathy Long. However, the onslaught by the more experienced Clara girls continued resulting in a further 2-3 being scored.  The Dunnamaggin girl’s heads never dropped and each and every player still gave it 110%. The match ended on a very positive note with the final 2 scores being a well taken goal by Sarah Doherty and a point by Lauren Browne. Final score Clara 7-7 Dunnamaggin 3-4.


This was a great team effort from the Dunnamaggin girls. They went into the fixture as serious underdogs and the final score (as is often the case in reduced sided games) does not give an accurate indication of how close the match really was. The disappointment and tears evident at the final whistle showed how much the game meant to the girls. While they might have been underdogs, they believed in themselves and believed they had a chance. This frame of mind was great to see in the clubs final match of this, the first season. It is this resolve that has to be carried forward into next year when hopefully the tears of disappointment will be replaced with tears of joy……


Special thanks to the team mentors Paul Whelan, TJ Mills and Anne Davis along with Michael Davis, Joe Burke and Michel Doherty who put in such hard work during the year.


Panel: Kathy Long, Claire Kirwan, Lauren Browne, Aoife Mulhall, Emma Denny, Sarah Davis, Ellen O’ Neill, Ellen Burke, Sarah Doherty, Grace McLoughlin.