Boardsmill 2.13
St Pats 1.10

Boardsmill ladies lifted their second trophy in 8 days with a commanding performance against a resilient St Pats- Duleek Bellewstown side.

Their juniors largely represented by  u16 and minor players had too much guile for their larger and physically stronger opponents. Senior players such as Ciara Ashe , Maura Hegarty , Eimear Murray , Cliona Murray ,  Raina Griffin and Amy Troy stiffened the enthusiasm of the younger players and provided a back bone of experience which allowed the youngsters to express themselves.

It could all have been so different had St Pats built on a fortunate goal straight from the kick off but to their credit the south meath girls knuckled down and reeled of 4 consecutive points over the next 10 minutes . Scores from Ciara Ashe(2) Laura Garrigan and Dani O Sullivan gave Boardsmill the lead just before one of the St Pats midfielders was sin binned with 12 minutes gone. St Pats didn't lie down and snatched the next 2 points , both frees from the strong running Katie Dowling . However  a lobbed Paula Dorian shot from the corner of the D found the top corner of the St Pats net to reclaim the lead for the Mill. It was all Boardsmill at this stage but they couldn't really make their numerical advantage count  . 2 clear cut goal chances were squandered and a number of speculative shots for points went narrowly wide . Alannah Hannon did raise a white flag and her sister Toni slotted another after slick interplay with Griffin and Ashe. St  Pats keeper made a fine save from Laura Garrigan after she was slipped in one on one with the keeper just before the St Pats  recorded a point close to the break.

Player of the match Raina Griffin restored the 4 point cushion with a point from a narrow angle before Referee Peter McDonagh  called time on a very competitive half . Boardsmill led by 4 points , 1.7 to 1.3 at halftime.

The wind had been blowing strongly across the pitch during the first half and favored St pats in the second half.  Boardsmills Dani O Sullivan and Paula Dorian swapped 2  points with St Pats before the team in green introduced Senior Inter County  captain Kate Byrne with 40 minutes gone . Her impact was immediate with the north eastern outfit closing the gap with a well taken free . That was as good as it got for the team in green ,  as a blistering 2 minute spell saw Laura Garrigan find the net after a sweeping move from back to front put 6 between the teams . Moments later,  Alannah Hannon won the kick out and slotted it back over the St Pats bar to put a significant gap between the teams , 2.10 to 1.6 with 12 minutes left .

To their credit St Pats increased their efforts and clawed back a point through a Katie Dowling free.

Paula Dorian responded with 2 frees either side of an instinctive point from broken play by Toni Hannon. There was 3 minutes remaining and St Pats went looking for the goals that might rescue their bid for silverware .They  did record 3 points in the dying minutes  but Boardsmill were not to be outdone . Their spirit and savvy was typified by the  sight of  15 year old  Hannah Kealey emerging with the ball from the Boardsmill square while far taller  team mates and attackers looked on in admiration . It was a smashing evening for the Boardsmill girls and Captain for the night Ciara Ashe was delighted to accept the Division 4 league trophy from Jackie Sheridan . A brief shower didn't dampen their enthusiasm and the team was also delighted to laud Raina Griffin on receipt of her Player of the match trophy.

Congratulations to mentors David Dempsey, Paul Dorian and Toni Hannon

Best for Boardsmill were Raina Griffin, Maura Hegarty  and Dani O Sullivan . They were well supported by Ciara Ashe and Kealey Hannon . Special mention for the defensive unit and   the free taking of Paula Dorian. All 6 forwards scored in what was a fine team performance. The future looks bright for this young team

Boardsmill  E Murray, H Kealey C Murray K Hannon , C Bird M Hegarty  R Troy, A Troy R Griffin (0.1), D O Sullivan (0.2), C Ashe,(0.2) T Hannon(0.2)  P Dorian (1.3) A Hannon (0.2)L Garrigan (1.1)

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