Kerry ladies breathed a sigh of relief after referee Des McEnery blew the final whistle after extra time as they defeated Donegal by 5 points. In an extremely defensive style game where both teams had bodies behind the ball it was due to smart decisive runs of Patrice Dennehy & player of the match Sarah Houlihan that Kerry came out on top. Kerry's forwards all round contributed with fine scores & that was the difference between the sides. Kerry started the game without taliswoman Louise Ni Mhuirteartaigh due to slight injury concerns & she was replaced by Denise Hallissey. Donegal got the first score of the game from danger woman Geraldine McLaughlin who along with Sarah Jane McDonald & Karen Guthrie were at the centre of Donegal's scores & thorns in the Kerry side. Kerry's first score came from Lorraine Scanlon. The teams traded a few early scores but Kerry did build up a 3 point cushion which was wiped out when Emma McCrory 13 bravely challenged for a ball in the air & punched to the net. Kerry added a few scores, which again were wiped out when Geraldine McLaughlin hit for Donegal's second goal moments before half time. Kerry 0-9 Donegal 2-04. Donegal similar to first half got the first score of the half but Sarah Houlihan tapped 2 over the bar for the lead. All through the half, neither team were able to lead by more than 2 & frequently the lead changed hands. Both teams emptied the bench with Kerry introducing Megan O'Connell, Laura Rogers & Louise Ni Mhuirteartaigh, with Laura Rogers scoring a crucial point to level the game to bring it to extra time Score Kerry 0-15 Donegal 2-09. Kerry started the period of extra time much brighter with 4 points to Donegal's 1 before Louise Galvin effectively ended the tie with a goal - all in the first period of extra time. Edel Murphy was quickly called into action in the opening minute of the second period punching the ball away for a 45. Donegal tried hard to get back into the game with some scores but Kerry replied to keep their lead. Final score: Kerry 1-22 Donegal 2-14. Sarah Houlihan won Player of the Match award for her tireless work & scores at crucial moments. Kerry opposition in the quarter finals will be known on August 9th.

Kerry Team: E Murphy; A Lyons, A Desmond, D Hallissey (0-1); E Sherwood (0-1), C Kelly, D Corridan; L Scanlon (0-3 0-1f), B Breen (0-2); M Quirke, C Lynch, A Leonard; P Dennehy (0-3), L Galvin (1-0), S Houlihan (0-8 0-4F). Subs: L Rogers for Corridan (46), M O'Connell for Scanlon (46), L Ní Muircheartaigh (0-2) for Galvin (52), Galvin for Rogers (0-1) (65), C Buckley for O'Connell (74)
Team Picture: Front Row L-R: Cait Lynch, Aisling Leonard, Gina Crowley, Cassandra Buckley, Deirdre Corridan, Aislinn Desmond, Sarah Houlihan, Patrice Dennehy, Denise Hallissey, Julie Brosnan.
Back Row: Sarah Jane Joy, Aoife Geaney, Aoife Lyons, Megan O'Connell, Laura Rogers, Louise Galvin, Edel Murphy, Amanda Brosnan, Caroline Kelly, Bernie Breen, Maria Quirke, Lorraine Scanlon, Emma Sherwood.

Congratulations to Laune Rangers who defeated Dr Crokes to win the U16 Co. League last Thursday in Beaufort. Laune Rangers got off to a flying start and following a Lisa Mangan point, some great play led to a Cliona Coffey goal but Crokes responded with a three-pointer of their own. Lucy Knight pulled off a great save in the Killorglin goal to keep Rangers in front. As the half time whistle drew near, Ciara O'Brien scored two goals in quick succession to give her side a commanding advantage, while Crokes managed to add on two points before the break. At half time, the score was Laune Rangers 3-6, Dr Crokes 1-3. Dr Crokes were on an all out attack after the break, but Rangers net minder Lucy Knight was in stellar form, with three super saves in the third quarter but the Killarney side then got a goal & a point to bring the difference in score back to 5 points. Ciara O'Brien completed her goal hat-trick as well as notching up two more points. Dr Crokes managed to find the net for their third goal, but the final whistle came to give Rangers a deserved win and the title of County League Champions. The final score in Beaufort was Laune Rangers 4-10, Dr Crokes 3-6. Team: Lucy Knight, Ciara O'Sullivan, Lucy Clifford, Sarah Clifford, Tara breen, Alanna Foley, Sarah Clifford capt, Yvonne Sheehan, Cliona Coffey (1-3), Ciara O'Brien (3-4), Megan Gamble (0-2), Lisa Mangan (0-1), Roisin O'Hara. Subs: Molly O'Donnell, Fiona Brennan, Lauren Hurley, Muireann Arthurs, Alice Joy, Nikki Clifford, Brenda Brennan, Laura Brennan.
U 17 Development Squads will recommence with a NEW phase on Sat 9th August in Mounthawk at 11.00 . Players who were unable to do Phase 1 are encouraged to join in with this phase as games etc are planned.
The final phase of the U12 development squads commence on Saturday as follows: South/Mid Kerry Cromane 10.00-11.30; North Kerry/Sliabh Luachra Currow GAA 11.15-12.45; East Kerry/Killarney Legion GAA 10.00-11.30; Tralee/West Kerry - Tralee venue TBC. Tweet

Most Read Stories