U16 Ladies: Leinster final place secured
April 19, 2014
Marion Farrelly gains possession for Meath against Kildare in the Leinster U16 semi final at Walterstown
Venue Walterstown
date 19/4/14
Meath reached the Leinster A final after a hard fought victory over a competitive Kildare outfit in sunny Walterstown on Saturday.
A blistering start saw the royal girls grab 2.1 in the opening five minutes and establish a substantial lead which they never relinquished.
Those early goals by Marion Farrelly and Kelsey Nesbitt either side of a Farrelly point were followed by a spirited fight back from Kildare which saw them record 4 unanswered points up to the 20th minute.
It proved to be a tough day on the injury front for Meath as they lost Dani O sullivan and Saoirse Patchell to injury in the opening period and Ailbhe Leahy early in the second half.
Adjustments at Midfield and half back saw Meath wrestle back control and they finished the half well with a point from Regina Hand and a well deserved goal for the persistent Katie Bellew. There was 6 points between the teams 3.2 to 0.6 as referee Paul Burke blew the half time whistle.
Meath's management team rang the changes at half time with Leahy coming on for Hand and with the earlier replacement of Hannah Mulvaney for Dani O Sullivan and Trish Ownes for Patchell, Meath took the initiative as the 2nd half began. Great work by Aisling Duffy saw Farrelly get in for her second goal before Kildare could open their account. Aoibhin Cleary and the ever dependable Katie Bellew gained the initiative at midfield and set up their forwards for a further 5 points from Nesbitt, Megan Thynne, Niamh Hand and 2 from Cleary.
The Meath mentors emptied their bench and were pleased to see replacements Trish Ownes, Niamh Hand, and especially Hannah Mulvaney do particularly well. Meath were best served by Emma Cassidy Vicky Wall and Aoibhin Cleary. They were ably supported by Katie Bellew , Kelsey Nesbitt Karley Leavy and Megan Thynne while Aisling Duffy impressed on her first competitive start .
Next up for Meath is Roscommon in a challenge before preparations for another tilt at neighbours Dublin on 11th May in the Leinster Final.
Meath, S McNerney , K Leavy , V Wall , E Cassidy , A Cleary (0.2), N Mullen , S Patchell , K Bellew (1.0) N Cassidy , M Thynne (0.1) R Hand (0.1) A Duffy , K Nesbitt (1.1) M Farrelly (2.1) D O Sullivan SUBS : H Mulvaney , P Owens , A Leahy N Hand (0.1) M Gray A Jones, K Hannon, R Sherlock, M Lyons, N Donnelly ,S Lister and L McClean Tweet
