Southern Gaels denied fairytale camogie victory by Clonkill

Westmeath Junior B Camogie Championship Final

Clonkill 3-6 Southern Gaels 4-2

In a thoroughly enjoyable match, Southern Gaels just came up short of a fairytale ending in their first adult camogie final when losing out to a more experienced Clonkill side by a single point last Saturday.

With The Downs a magnificent venue, the two sides combined to serve up a wonderfully entertaining final.

Clonkill dominated the opening quarter, scoring 1-3 without reply with Lorraine Kelly to the fore. Pointed frees from Eimear Galvin and Sarah Coote got the Athlone side on the scoreboard and into the game before half-time. And when Coote scored a goal five minutes after the restart, Gaels were right back in the game.

Solid performances from Claire Doyle, Sarah Carter and Ailish Mannion in defence limited Clonkill's scoring opportunities and Lisa Ann Roche made a number of excellent saves in goals.

However, with Katie Nea among those to the fore for Clonkill, Lorraine Kelly scored the north Westmeath side's second goal. Eimear Galvin then responded for the Athlone side with her side's second goal to leave one point separating the sides.

Claire Russell added another goal for Clonkill and, by the end of the third quarter, Clonkill added three points to lead by 3-6 to 1-2.

However, Gaels finished strongly as they showed grim determination, huge levels of skill and a never say die attitude.

The influential Sarah Coote netted twice in the closing stages to leave just a point separating the sides. But time ran out for the valiant Athlone girls and Clonkill emerged winners.

In addition to those already mentioned, Áine Galvin, Frances Coote and Róisín Ní Duibhir also played key roles for Southern Gaels throughout. The side have made great progress in just their second year in operation, with manager Gearóid Ó Duibhir the driving force behind the team.

Southern Gaels team & scorers: Lisa Ann Roche; Sarah McNamara, Sarah Carter (captain), Áine Galvin; Claire Doyle, Frances Coote, Ailish Mannion; Róisín Ní Duibhir, Eimear Galvin (1-1); Ellen O'Connell, Sarah Coote (3-1), Ciara Finn; Muireann Lambe, Grace McGlynn, Lucy Brett. Subs: Mags Mulligan (for Brett), Kirsty Donnelly (for Lambe), Abi Joyce (for Mulligan), Amy Joyce (for Donnelly), Sinead Heavin and Ríona Cunningham.