68 kildarepost
THURSDAY 08 SEPTEMBER 2016
SPORT
Photos: Pat Tinsley
Fogarty’s class helps push Larries’ ladies to glory St Laurence’s........ 3-13 Confey.................... 2-8
Kildare Ladies SFC final By Patrick Ward St Laurence’s claimed the Kildare Senior Championship crown in some style on Saturday afternoon as they came out on the right side of an intriguing battle against Confey in Hawkfield on Saturday evening. Played on front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, the ladies in red and gold were good value for their eightpoint win as their opponents never held the lead after the second minute. Emer Fogarty was the scoring star for the south Kildare side as she registered 1-6 from play in a fine personal performance, while Aine Gately was the main threat for Confey as she scored 1-4 before being forced off with a serious looking injury 10 minutes from time. It was Confey who got off to the better start as they hit the front within two minutes of the first whistle. It was their captain Aine Gately that got them off the mark as she slotted over a close range free, but Ciara Wheeler cancelled
that out at the other end by striking a fine point from distance after running at the Confey defence. Wheeler’s second effort from long range soon after didn’t quite have the legs to make it over the bar, but it did drop short and somehow evaded Confey goalkeeper Emma McCartney to end up in the net. County star Emer Fogarty began to exert her considerable influence on the game from that stage onwards, and she kicked Larries’ next two scores of the game. The first came following a probing run, while her second effort was an eye-catching point from long range. Confey were in desperate need of a point at this stage, and Deirdre Gately duly obliged with a cracking effort from the right wing. Any joy that was emanated from that score was soon crushed when St Laurence’s struck for their second goal as Fogarty swept the ball to the net following an intricate move between Brianne Hayden and Naomi Nolan. The influential Hayden soon followed that up with a fine point from long range to stretch her side’s lead to nine points by the 22nd minute. Confey were also dealt a blow as they lost goalkeeper Emma McCartney after injuring herself trying to prevent Fogarty’s goal. It really looked like the north
Confey’s Deirdre Gately takes on the Larries defence
Kildare outfit were dead and buried at that stage, and many teams would have given up when faced with such a monumental challenge, but they stuck to their task and began to pluck away at the deficit. They were given a significant boost when Orla O’Shea drove home a 25th minute goal from close range, and three scores from the irrepressible Aine Gately reduced the gap to one score as Larries took a lead of 2-5 to 1-5 into the half-time break. The leaders were dealt a sizeable blow on the stroke of half-time though, as Paula Keatley was sin binned for hacking down Aine Gately 20 metres from goal. They had to begin the second half without their experienced centre-back and her loss was evident right from the restart as Ciara Hogan scythed right through the heart of the Larries defence and floated over a fine point. Fogarty responded at the other end with a score, but Confey managed to pull themselves level when a Deirdre Gately shot for a point dropped short, and following some consternation around the area, Aine Gately found the back of the net. Laurence’s- having been outscored by 2-4 to 0-1 in the 16 minutes either side of halftime- could have wilted, but they appeared to get their second wind and began to push on. Their task was greatly helped when they won a penalty as Niamh Scally hauled down Naomi Nolan inside the area, and although Maggie O’Neill’s tame penalty was initially kept out by substitute ‘keeper Mairead Scanlon, the corner-forward was alert enough to follow it in and slam home the rebound. That goal gave Larries’ a new lease of life, and although Rachel Divilly converted a free soon after for Confey, it was the Narraghmore club side that controlled the remainder of the game. Paula Keatley’s reintroduction was a big factor in their dominance, while the impact of Deirbhile Byrne from the bench was also sig-
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nificant. She set up Maggie O’Neill for a point within moments of coming on, while a point from Fogarty helped open up a four-point lead. Ciara Hogan was continuing to carry the fight to St Laurence’s, and she landed her second point midway through the half, but Confey looked ran off their feet by this stage and that proved to be their final score. They also lost Aine Gately to what appeared to be a hamstring injury with 10 minutes to go, making their task even more difficult. St Laurence’s finished the stronger of the two, and with their defence holding firm
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they managed to kick the last four points of the game. Byrne, Fogarty, Hayden and O’Neill all raised white flags for the victors down the home stretch, and even though Ciara Wheeler had to be carried off due to injury, they saw the game out comfortably to seal a sweet win. Scorers for St Laurence’s: E Fogarty 1-6, M O’Neill(1-0pen,1f) 1-2, C Wheeler 1-1, B Hayden 0-2, D Byrne and L Keatley 0-1 each. Scorers for Confey: A Gately 1-4(2f), O O’Shea 1-0, C Hogan 0-2, D Gately and R Divilly 0-1 each.
C
St Laurence’s
Farrell; E Marron, K Leahy, I Grufferty; A Fitzpatrick(R Crowe 35mins), P Keatley, N Berry; B Hayden, L Keatley; C Wheeler(S O’Neill 57mins), E Wheeler, J Miley(N Crowe 63mins); M O’Neill, E Fogarty, N Nolan(D Byrne 35mins).
Confey
E McCartney(M Scanlon 22mins); N Quinn, C McNamara, O Horan; O Hogan, O O’Shea, S Munnelly; Ciara Hogan, CJ Hogan; N Scally(S Smith ht), A Gately(L Whitson 52mins), R Harte; R Divilly, S Daly, D Gately.
Emer Fogarty was in superb scoring form for St Laurnece’s in their win over Confey
Clare to come for ladies in IFC All-Ireland final
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Emma Wheeler looks to escape the attentions of Confey’s Ciara Hogan
The Kildare ladies will face Clare in the All-Ireland Ladies IFC final after they overcame Tipperary in a titanic struggle in what was the second of this year’s semi-final matches in the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick this
afternoon. The Banner women emerged on the right side of a 3-14 to 2-16 scoreline in a game that went right down to the wire. Niamh O’Dea bagged a couple of first half goals for Clare to help them on their way, but Tipperary nabbed a goal before the break to leave the game finely balanced going into the second half, with Clare leading by 2-7 to 1-9. A second half goal from Niamh Keane proved crucial however, and Clare hung on in the final
stages to seal a ome-point win. Kildare secured their place in the All-Ireland final last weekend courtesy of a breathtaking extratime victory over Sligo in Breffni Park, Cavan, and team manager Alan Barry will undoubtedly have been keeping a keen eye on what was going on in Limerick this afternoon. The extra week of preparation should aid the Lilywhites, who are three weeks away from appearing in their second successive All-Ireland final on September 25.