Well done to the Towers Senior ladies beat Kilmacud Crokes in the Intermediate Championship Semi-final on July 6th. They now face Clontarf in the final Wednesday July 20th:
TESCO INTERMEDIATE FINAL
Clontarf v Round Towers, Clondalkin
Venue: Fingallians GAA Club Swords
Time: 7.15pm (extra time if required) –
Kilmacud Crokes 0-4 Round Towers, Clondalkin 0-8.
Experience the Key as Towers Reach Intermediate Final.
What an eventful game? One could be forgiven for anticipating that such
a low scoring semi-final would have been uninteresting. But uninteresting
it wasn’t. There was total commitment by both sides from start to finish
with the visitors securing victory in the last ten minutes. We had four
yellow cards, a penalty missed or saved depending on your point of view,
tremendous defending by both sides, great fielding, passes going astray,
superb blocking down and a game well refereed. Round Towers found it
easier to make space early on but the forwards were off target, missing
six good opportunities in the first half. Centre forward, Louise Byrne,
from Kilmacud Crokes was sin binned after four minutes for a high
tackle. Referee, Paul Flanagan, had little option but to issue the yellow
card. One expected a rush of scores from Towers with Crokes down a
player but the Clondalkin side only managed one point from the boot of
Dublin senior B player, Natalie Behan and that was after eight minutes.
Fifteen minutes gone and Caoimhe Joyce of Towers receives yellow for a
similar offence. There was a great sense of anticipation amongst the home
supporters now as they had the numerical advantage. A pointed free by
Martha Mullins levelled matters after fifteen minutes but that was as good
as it got for Crokes in the first half. Four well worked chances were put
wide towards the end of the half.
At the other end Emily Hamill was proving a handful for fullback,
Philippa Greene and after seventeen minutes, shrugged her off and shot
over the bar from the edge of the paralellogram when a goal looked a
certainty. Sighs of relief from the Kilmacud support. On twenty-four
minutes we had the score of the match when right half-back, Andrea
Bowe went on a solo run from her own half and tidily dispatched the
ball between the posts. Helena Frawley and Nicola Farrell were shading
the battle of the midfielders against Sinead Kearns and Ruth Collins but
the Crokes distribution on the night was below par. They were finding
it difficult to find their forwards with the ball. There was also an over-
indulgence of hand passing out of defence leading to passes being
misplaced and handing the initiative back to Towers. In tight games
experience counts for a lot and so it was the Green and Whites. Their
experienced half back line of Andrea Bowe who is certainly back to her
best, All-Ireland medal winner, Maria Kavanagh and Suzanne Murray
were dominating defensively while at the same time pushing forward
in attack at every opportunity. Likewise, Ciara McGowan and Bronwen
Keirnan for Crokes were overlapping regularly but all to no avail.
The fullback line of Aisling Kelly, Philippa Greene and Marie Ryan were
coping well under severe pressure. Then deep into injury time Emily
Hamill again found a half yard, turned sharply and from close range
popped the ball high and over the bar when a goal chance beckoned. One
couldn’t help but feel that the gods were still smiling on Crokes. At half
time Towers led by 0-4 to 0-1.
Into the second half and the home side upped the ante. A point after four
minutes by Aoife Gallagher reduced the deficit to two and five minutes
later it was down to the bare minimum when good combination play
between sub Ciara Williams and Martha Mullins saw the latter bisect
the uprights. On fifteen minutes Towers midfielder, Sinead Kearns,
ploughed into the back of an opponent and yellow card number three was
appearing from the referee’s pocket. Instead of the home side gaining
the momentum it was the visitors who went up the gears and two quick
points followed from Hamill again and the wily and very experienced
Catherine Roche. Ann Marie Cahill replaced Nicola Farrell with a view to
adding some much needed energy to Kilmacud’s play.
With ten minutes left Crokes finally got behind Towers defence and when
full forward Therese Casey looked like getting that all important goal
that would level matters, she went for a point having been put off by an
attempted foot block by goalkeeper, Caitriona McGrath. But referee, Paul
Flanagan, was pointing to the penalty spot and calling McGrath aside for
a little chat. By now everybody knew what was coming and soon she was
handing over her goalkeeper’s jersey to centre forward, Hannah Tyrell,
herself an experienced goalkeeper, and heading for the sin bin. Were
Crokes going to pull it out of the fire after all? Up stepped Louise Byrne
and struck the ball to the left of Tyrell but the sub keeper anticipated
correctly and saved comfortably. The opportunity was gone and it was
Towers who finished the stronger and wrapped up the game with late
points from Ruth Collins and Catherine Roche. A late pointed free by
Aoife Gallagher improved the look of the scoreboard for Crokes. The
team with those experienced players had battled though to a final meeting
with Clontarf.
Three Towers players stood out on the night, namely, Maria Kavanagh,
Eileen Hamill and Andrea Bowe. The Player of the Match goes to Andrea
for a superb performance where she covered acres of ground, was equally
adept at defence and attack, competed tigerishly and regularly broke up
Kilmacud’s attacks.
Well done too to the referee who had a very good game overall and
wasn’t afraid to administer yellow cards when they were needed. With
the way the game has gone lately we need to see more of this kind of
refereeing. Keep up the good work, Paul.
Kilmacud Crokes – Martha O Connor, Aisling Kelly, Philippa Greene,
Marie Ryan, Ciara McGowan, Gillian O Brien, Bronwen Keirnan, Helena
Frawley, Nicola Farrell, Una Murphy, Louise Byrne, Anna O Grady,
Aoife Gallagher, (0-2, 1 free), Therese Casey, Martha Mullins, (0-2, 1
free).
Subs – Ciara Williams for Anna O Grady and Ann Marie Cahill for
Nicola Farrell.
Round Towers, Clondalkin – Caitriona McGrath, Eimear McGrath,
Geraldine McTavish, Andrea Bowe, (0-1), Maria Kavanagh, Suzanne
Murray, Sinead Kearns, Ruth Collins, (0-1), Catherine Roche, (0-2),
Hannah Tyrell, Aisleen Milton, Natalie Behan, (0-1), Emily Hamill, (0-
3), Claire McGinty.
Report by Finbarr O Driscoll, P.R.O.
