Inniskeen end St. Anne's unbeaten record in Louth Senior Camogie League Final
July 20, 2015
12th July 2015 in Knockbridge
Inniskeen 1-7
St. Anne's 0-7
Inniskeen held off St. Anne's to claim the Senior League title and put an end to St. Anne's unbeaten run in 2015.
Inniskeen bossed the terms from the beginning of the match and indeed could have put St. Anne's out of contention within 15 minutes of the start, were it not for the spectacular performance of the St. Anne's goalkeeper Leanne Sharkey, who stopped what seemed like "unstoppable" shots on goal. However, they did take the lead courtesy of two points from Tina O'Connor who caused numerous problems for the Togher defence. St. Anne's were slow to settle and were always chasing the game and were required to work a lot harder for their scores than Inniskeen. However, Aideen Dunne at centre field, who was in flying form, fired over a point on 11 minutes to kick start the Togher side, followed by a point from Denise Moynagh to level the sides. Inniskeen went two points up again thanks to Carmel McSkane and Tina O'Connor. St. Anne's fought hard and earned points each from Denise Moynagh and Catriona Cantwell to level the sides again before the interval. Despite Inniskeen's dominance, they didn't power-on enough, to put St. Anne's out of sight before the interval. Half-time score Inniskeen 0-4, St. Anne's 0-4.
The signs were good for St. Anne's as Siobhan Dawdry pointed from a free shortly after the restart to give the Togher side a one point lead, but Inniskeen soon regained their assertiveness and went one point clear as Sharon McGahon who showed great leadership qualities and slotted over two points. As the intensity of the match rose and both sides eager to avoid costly mistakes, it was a hit & hope ball from the sideline, sent toward the St. Anne's defence by Julieanne Finnegan that landed in the back of the net, to give Inniskeen a four-point lead. St. Anne's reduced the deficit to three points as Siobhan Dawdry sent over a place ball. With three points between the teams, St. Annes' resilience emerged, as players pushed forward and showed a glimpse of the passion that typified their performances this season. Their efforts was soon rewarded, (or so they thought), as Marianne Hullen gathered possession of a long range ball on the edge of the box and kicked to the back of the net to draw the match. However, for some unknown reason the referee disallowed the goal and awarded a free out, to the dismay of the Togher supporters. St. Anne's rallied on in disbelief as Eilish Meaney pointed from a free which was cancelled at the opposite end by a well taken Edel Kieran point for Inniskeen, to round off a three-point victory for the Monaghan girls.
It was a strong overall team performance from the Inniskeen girls who well deserved the victory. However, the Togher girls could be forgiven for feeling slightly aggrieved, as lady luck certainly didn't favour them in the form of a few dubious refereeing decisions.
Scorers for Inniskeen: Tina O'Connor 0-3, Julieanne Finnegan 1-0, Sharon McGahon 0-2, Carmel McSkane 0-1, Edel Kieran 0-1.
Scorers for St. Anne's: Denise Moynagh 0-2, Siobhan Dawdry 0-2, Aideen Dunne, 0-1, Catriona Cantwell 0-1, Eilish Meaney 0-1.
Inniskeen Team: Mairead McGahon, Louise McArdle, Roisin McKenna, Edel Kieran, Carmel McSkane, Josephine Fitzpatrick, Sharon McGahon, Amanda McArdle, Gillian Hamill, Julieanne Finnegan, Sinead Comiskey, Tina O'Connor, Sinead Lynch, Niamh Jones, Kathy Deary, Claire Deary, Ruth Lorenz.
St. Anne's: Leanne Sharkey, Catriona Cantwell, Linda Woods, Eilish Meaney, Martina Crehan, Denise Moynagh, Aideen Dunne, Marianne Hullen, Nikita Kelly, Clodagh Gill, Siobhan Dawdry, Gillian Sharkey, Ciara Byrne, Michelle Sharkey.
