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women rallied in the closing stages and, to their credit, struck 1-1 to leave a nervy finish, but with Aisling Fitzpatrick, Louise Lawlor and Maria McBarron all strong in defence Beturbet did enough at the back to see out a 4-7 to 3-8 victory. Belturbet (Ladies IFC final v Mullahoran): Caron Fay; Louise Lawlor, Aisling Fitzpatrick, Marsha Brady; Melissa West, Maria McBarron, Eadaoin Minagh; Amy Lawlor (0-1) Simone Klusch; Sarah Sheridan (3-2), Sarah Murray (0-2), Laura McKiernan; Sinead Brady (1-1), Julie Ann McBarron, Katie Fitzpatrick. Sub: Frida Dolan (0-1).
minutes and Drumlane were on top but they just weren’t finishing their chances,” said the Cavan senior. “In the second-half we completely turned it around. We went in at half-time, had a chat and Mark Lawlor had a few words for us and we just came out a completely different team for the second-half. We got two goals in the last 10 minutes from Laura Brown and that kind of sealed it for us. “In the next round we were meant to play Killeshandra but they pulled out and that put us in the semi-final where we played Inny Gaels and again we couldn’t get into it at all in the first-half. They got a few quick scores and we kind of dropped the heads, but again at half-time things just totally turned around. We just seemed to be a second-half team, to be honest, and we knew we’d have to improve for the final.” Kingspan Breffni Park would be the meeting point for Belturbet and Mullahoran on July 21st when the intermediate championship and senior status for 2014 would be at stake. What developed was an enthralling decider which saw the Rories fall 1-3 to 0-1 behind after 16 minutes before quick goals from Sarah Sheridan and Sinead Brady propelled the trailers into a three-point lead. The Dreadnoughts hit back with a second goal, which had the teams level at half-time on 2-5 apiece, and regained their lead early on in the restart but points from Sarah Murray and substitute Freda Dolan had the maroon and whites back in the driving-seat. Mullahoran levelled again but the crucial moments were about to arrive for their opponents when Sarah Sheridan struck for two quick goals with under five minutes remaining which saw Belturbet with one hand one the cup. The Killydoon
Sarah Murray
“It was so close and I didn’t think that we had it at all, but the girls were fantastic again in the second-half,” Fay stated. “Sarah Sheridan scored 3-2 and she was so reliable for us in the forwards, as she had been all year. Sarah, Maria Smith, Eodain Minagh and Laura Brown, whose two goals were so crucial against Drumlane, were all key players for us and in the backs Aishling Fitzpatrick, Marsha Murphy and Melissa West were all really strong for us too.” A league title would follow in September to cap off a remarkable treble success, while the club’s Under 14 footballers continued the winning trend when they won their respective championship at Kingspan Breffni Park. Despite such an upward curve, Fay is hoping that 2013 will not be the peak of Belturbet ladies’ achievements, as she is confident that they have the players to challenge for more silverware in the top tier next season. “We had such success this year that we’ll be hoping to give a really good run at the senior championship next year,” she
Julie Ann McBarron
Danny Anscombe
Donal McDonnell
Damien O’Reilly The successful ladies squad from the final against Mullahoran, front l/r: Laura Brown, Sophie Rudden, Sinead Brady, Melissa West, Maria McBarron, Joanne McKiernan, Sarah Murray, Aisling Fitzpatrick, Julie Ann McBarron. Back: Sarah Sheridan, Laura Shannon, Ciara McSherry, Aideen Moyinagh, Simone Klush, Caron Fay, Amy Lawlor, Marsha Murphy, Freda Dolan, Katie Fitzpatrick, Louise Lawlor
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