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Gritty Greencastle vanquish
champions
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Greencastle...2 (Kelly 4, Henry 30) Carndonagh...0 by Simon McGeady, Inishowen Independent, at Chapel Lane GREENCASTLE brought the Inishowen league champion’s winning run to a juddering halt at Chapel Lane on Thursday evening with a powerful team performance. Fine first half strikes from Shauna Kelly and Karen Henry gave Paddy Hannon’s girls a lead they doggedly defended for the next fifty minutes. After their disappointing 3-1 defeat to Cockhill recently, it was just the tonic the Greencastle girls required to get them back on their feet in the title race, a race that had Carndonagh won this match they would surely have been out of. The home side were really up for this game and they made the perfect start on four minutes when Danielle Logue collected a long throw in inside the Carn penalty box and touched the ball back to Kelly who curled a shot past McElroy from the edge of the area. Moments later Logue was the provider again, this time for the speedy Karen Henry who outpaced her marker only for a combination of keeper and covering defender to smother her shot. |
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It was a promising start
from Greencastle, but not for nothing are Carndonagh
champions and soon the home side were on the back foot.
With the pace of Treasa Doherty and the trickery of
namesake Zoe, the ladies in red posed a considerable
threat on the break. However, superb Greencastle defending, notably from Geraldine Harkin and Niamh Hannon, restricted Niall McGuinness’ girls to a string of corners that the hosts were able to repel. Zoe Doherty then spun Katriona Cavanagh and tore towards goal only for Niamh Hannon to stop her in her tracks with a crunching tackle on the edge of the D, illegally in the eyes of the referee. Rosie McColgan scooped the resulting free over the wall and harmlessly into Evelyn Dougal’s arms. Carndonagh would have to do better than that if they had designs on winning the match, but their shooting – and they had several chances – was poor. Carn’s best chance of the half came after 25 minutes. |
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Danielle Gordon found some
space on the left and her shot-cum-cross just eluded Zoe
Doherty at the far post. Greencastle’s second goal, on the half hour mark, was perfectly in tone with the a game played at a frenetic tempo. Katriona Cavanagh thumped a first time pass up the middle towards Shauna Kelly who back headed the ball over the Carn defence and Henry was off to the races, scampering towards the lower goal before clinically shooting low to the bottom right corner from the edge of the area. In the second half the St Patrick’s Park girls enjoyed a lot of possession, but tigerish play from Greencastle midfielder Annette McLaughlin ensured Anita Doherty and Co. were rushed into making wayward passes. Nevertheless, the game was still there for Carndonagh and had they shown more composure they might well have come back to earn at least a draw, but time and again shots either flew over the bar or were dribbled weakly down Dougal’s throat. Carn should have scored in the 55th minute when, after a high Anita Doherty ball into the area, Zoe Doherty nipped in between Harkin and Hannon but with the goal at her mercy she flicked the ball wide. That effort just about summed up Carn’s bad day at the office. The Carndonagh threat petered out in the closing stages as Greencastle tightened their grip once more and they held on for a precious win. The champions, who surely won’t play as bad as this again this summer, should bounce back from this setback but certainly the way this game panned out will have given Mr McGuinness plenty of food for thought. Greencastle: Evelyn Dougal, Niamh Hannon, Katriona Cavanagh, Geraldine Harkin, Loirin Melarkey, Shauna McLaughlin, Danielle Logue, Annette McLaughlin, Danielle Barr, Karen Henry, Shauna Kelly. Subs: Lynn McGuinness for Cavanagh (79). Carndonagh: Edel McElroy, Rosie McColgan, Deborah McLaughlin, Caroline Kelly, Lauren Doherty, Aisling Newtown, Anita Doherty, Treasa Doherty, Denise Doherty, Zoe Doherty, Danielle Gordon. Subs: Deirdre Foley for Kelly (47), Kate Ruddy for Newton (47), Georgina Gordon for D Doherty (47). For full coverage of all your weekend sport, read the Inishowen Independent. |
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