Cooley Kickhams maintained their complete dominance of the ladies landscape when taking their fourth successive senior championship on Sunday August 12th. Cooley retain senior championship crown Cooley Kickhams 1-12 Naomh Malachi 0-5 The final served up yet another meeting with arch rivals Naomh Malachi. Cooley have had the upper hand in recent years (beating them in the '99 and '00 deciders) and that trend continued as they stormed to an emphatic ten-point success, 1-12 to 0-5. There's no love lost between these sides and nothing is ever given easily when they meet - particularly in a final. Exchanges were tough and the Cooley girls had to work hard for everything. A large crowd flocked to Haggardstown for the much-hyped clash and was treated to some fine fare as both sets of players admirably grappled with the inclement weather conditions. Lynn Savage and Ann Marie Murphy - who were to be the winners' two most influential players over the hour - made little of the slippery ball to fire early points but the Shelagh side signalled their intent when Clare Mulholland pointed a free in the fifth minute. Cooley were into their stride already, though, and their particularly pleasing brand of football yielded a further brace of scores from the deadly double act of Savage and Murphy (who between them scored eleven points). Again the Malachis replied - this time a fine long-range effort from Player of the Match Orlaith Kirk - but they were under the kosh and only the brilliance of goalkeeper Edel Rogers denied Savage a goal. Cooley continued to apply the pressure and were once more unfortunate not to register a major when Murphy's effort crashed back off the crossbar. It was coming, however... After 22 minutes, it arrived. Sara Jane McCormack was the goal-scoring hero when her high shot flew to the back of the net to give her side a commanding advantage. More heroics from the Malachi netminder prevented a second goal but Cooley kept their composure and tagged on a series of points to establish an interval lead of 1-9 to 0-3. With a nine-point advantage, the second half was just a matter of consolidation. The Shelagh ladies knew they needed goals to put a dent in the deficit but, despite some good early possession, they couldn't work the oracle. They managed only two points in the second half, thwarted by a mixture of good defending and poor finishing (six wides in the third quarter). Cooley themselves were content to sit back on their lead and absorb the pressure. It wasn't until the 46th minute that they opened their second-half account from a Lynn Savage free. Shortly afterwards the challengers came agonisingly close to grabbing a goal but centre forward Jennifer Mulligan's shot flew agonisingly wide. That was their last decent opportunity as Cooley closed out the match in impressive fashion. Fittingly, the last score of the match came from Savage who was set up when Cooley worked a quick free in to the No. 11. All in all, this was a terrific performance from the champions. In defence, they were extremely solid and their tight marking rarely allowed the challengers a sight of goal. Karen Kane, Catherine Murphy and newcomer Michelle McGuinness excelled in this department. The two central figures in attack - Savage and Murphy - wreaked havoc throughout and their ability to take scores was a critical factor in the win. Malachis simply weren't allowed to express themselves. Clare Mulholland was impressive in attack, however, and midfielder and county star Orlaith Kirk was outstanding at midfield. But on the day Cooley were just too good. Again. Cooley Kickhams, 2001 Louth senior ladies football champions: Louise Long; Grace Clarke, Joan McCarragher, Grainne Byrne; Michelle McGuinness, Karen Kane, Catherine Murphy; Nuala Murphy, Audrey Rafferty; Lorraine White, Lynn Savage (0-6), Gabrielle Hanlon (capt, 0-1); Sara Jane McCormack (1-0), Ann Marie Murphy (0-5), Keshia Murphy. Naomh Malachi, 2001 senior finalists: Edel Rogers; Ann Leavy, Olga Short, Audrey McCrave; Jenny Agnew, Majella Agnew, Karen Rafferty; Orlaith Kirk (0-1), Ann McDonnell; Clare Mulholland (0-3), Jennifer Mulligan (0-1), Elizabeth Nulty; Sinead Mulligan, Edel McKeown, Patricia Agnew. St Kevins are intermediate champions St Kevins 2-8 St Patricks 2-2 St Kevins' ladies bounced straight back to senior ranks when they recorded a 2-8 to 2-2 victory over St Patricks in the 2001 Louth intermediate championship final at The Ramparts on Sunday August 26th. It was a truly sensational victory for the Philipstown girls who at one stage looked to be on course for a bit of a trouncing. Despite opening the scoring through a fine Geraldine Conlon point in the second minute, they found themselves trailing by 2-2 to 0-1 at the midway stage in the first half. Pats' first goal came from the penalty spot when Bronagh Malone capitalised following a fourth-minute foul on Karen Fealy. Full forward Lynda White kicked a point a minute later while, at the other end, Susan Byrne's shot came back off the post. On 15 minutes Pamela Cumiskey showed great awareness to gather possession and blast to the net, giving the green and whites a 2-1 to 0-1 lead. Ashley Duffy would add another Pats point 13 minutes later but, amazingly, this was to be the Lordship side's last score of the match. The 1995 senior county champions took over for the remaining 45 minutes, registering a haul of 2-7. As the match developed into a one-sided affair, the pressure from the Philipstown outfit was relentless. Nicola Wogan's effort was excellently saved by Pats 'keeper Janine Pepper and a Donna-Marie Brennan shot flashed past the post into the side-netting. The experienced Anne-Marie King showed her team-mates the way. First she sent over a good individual point. Five minutes later, the totally dominant midfielder surged upfield once more but this time she emphatically blasted to the back of the net to give Kevins their first goal. Susan Conlon fired the final score of a first half which ended with St Kevins trailing by the narrowest of margins, 2-2 to 1-4. The stage appeared to be set for an epic second half but the Kevins proved much too strong and totally dominated post-break proceedings. They struck four unanswered points before Donna-Marie Brennan sneaked in behind the Pats defence to stylishly finish to the back of the net. Anne-Marie King gave a devastating display, covering every blade of grass and proving herself to be equally adept at winning possession at centrefield, breaking up opposition raids, or finishing off scores herself. Deservedly, she was chosen as Player of the Match. When the final whistle sounded, St Kevins captain Linda McCabe accepted the trophy from Louth Ladies Association Chairman Dermot Woods, much to the delight of the assembled throng of Philipstown supporters. In the semi-final, St Kevins had accounted for a fancied Stabannon side while the Pats overcame the Newtown Blues/Fechins amalgamation. St Kevins, Louth intermediate ladies football champions 2001: Denise Barron; Leanne Meehan, Susan Byrne, Helen McLean; Sylvia Larkin, Donna Crehan, Linda McCabe (capt); Ann-Marie King (1-1), Eleanor Smyth; Geraldine Conlon (0-1), Colette Kearney, Karen Bowhan (0-1); Susan Conlon (0-4), Nicola Wogan, Donna-Marie Brennan (1-1). St Patricks, 2001 intermediate finalists: Janine Pepper; Karen Duffy, Laura McCartney, Karen McArtain; Karen Mulligan, Denise Dunne, Rachel Connolly; Ashley Duffy (0-1), Bronagh Malone (1-0); Michelle Duffy, Denise Finnegan, Catherine O'Connor; Karen Fealy, Linda White (0-1), Pamela Cumiskey (1-0). Consolation for Malachis in U14 grade Naomh Malachi 6-5, St Patricks 2-2 Naomh Malachi gained a degree of consolation for their senior final defeat when they defeated St Patricks in the U14 decider. This final was the curtain-raiser for the senior game and the young under 14s certainly did their part in setting the stage for what their supporters had hoped would be a famous double. There was no doubting the merit of their victory as the girls from Shelagh recorded as comprehensive a victory as one could ask for, sprinting across the finishing line with a 6-5 to 2-2 winning margin amassed. Despite the heavy rain at Haggardstown, this was an excellent game of football. St Patricks were quickest out of the starting blocks and rushed into an early four-point lead with a goal from half forward Lorraine McCann and an Aileen Zamboglou point. The winners responded in appropriate manner to draw level through a point from Edel Gorman and an Emma Gernon goal. Aine Louis Connolly was unfortunate not to add a second major when her effort came back off the post. Pats were then awarded a penalty but McCann's spot kick was excellently saved by Jenny McGee who also had to be alert a few moments later to deny Olivia O'Callaghan. The Pats did get another goal, however, when Sharyn McArtain's high shot sneaked under the crossbar. The Malachis refused to roll over and Gernon's second goal was the crucial score in seeing them go in with a slender 2-3 to 2-1 interval advantage. In contrast, the second half was one way traffic. A 2-1 blitz in the opening ten minutes put the match beyond Pats' reach, the goals coming from Sandra Lynch and Aine Louise Connolly. The goalfest continued with Lynch finding the net for the second time and Marie Brennan also getting in on the goalscoring act. In the end, it was plain sailing for the free-scoring Malachis as the Pats were condemned to further final heartache. Tweet

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