Mourneabbey v Foxrock-Cabinteely
Mourneabbey team who defeated Foxrock-Cabintelly in the All Ireland Ladies Senior Club Championship final at Parnell Park
MOURNEABBEY………………………………..………………………….1-13
FOXROCK-CABINTEELY………………….……………………………..1-7
Driven on by the heartbreak of final defeats in three out of the past four seasons, Mourneabbey were finally crowned All-Ireland Ladies Senior Club Football champions with an emphatic triumph over Foxrock-Cabinteely at Parnell Park.
The Cork outfit came up short in the 2014, 2015 and 2017 deciders, but with Doireann O’Sullivan (0-6) in outstanding form throughout, they overcame the challenge of the Dublin and Leinster champions in fine style in front of a big crowd.
Dynamic county star O’Sullivan, who won her first TG4 All Star award a week previously, already had two points on the board for Mourneabbey when Foxrock-Cabinteely corner-back Emma McDonagh was sent to the sin-bin with just five minutes gone.
Shane Ronayne’s charges took full advantage of their numerical supremacy – Laura Fitzgerald (two), Doireann O’Sullivan and the lively Ellie Jack (two) all finding the target to give them a 0-8 to 0-1 advantage.
Foxrock-Cabinteely settled upon McDonagh’s return with points from inside forwards Hannah O’Neill and Amy Ring (free) only for Mourneabbey to respond with another avalanche of scores.
After the outstanding Doi-reann O’Sullivan raised white flags either side of sister Ciara’s first of the day, she set up Laura Fitzgerald for a palmed finish past the stranded Aisling Tarpey.
While beaten 2016 finalists Foxrock-Cabinteely responded with a superb Fiona Claffey goal of their own within a minute, TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year nominee and All Star Ciara O’Sullivan subsequently pointed to give Mourneabbey a commanding 1-12 to 1-3 interval lead.
Although the breeze was a significant factor during the opening period, Pat Ring’s metropolitan side – who were also searching for their first title – had their work cut out on the resumption. Without breaking loose in attack, Mourneabbey always remained in control of their own destiny.
Dublin star Sinead Goldrick reduced the gap with a neat point on the right-flank, but they breathed a sigh of relief when Eimear Harrington and Ciara O’Sullivan rattled the crossbar in quick succession.
Harrington also fired a 44th-minute penalty past the post, though the industrious half-forward eventually opened her account to move Mourneabbey nine points clear.
Foxrock-Cabinteely battled back with three points from skipper Amy Ring in the final-quarter, but it wasn’t enough to deny Mourneabbey a monumental triumph in north Dublin.
Mourneabbey had Foxrock-Cabinteely’s number in last year’s semi-final – and they were too good again on the biggest day of all to sweep away years of heartbreak.
Mourneabbey created a notable pierce of history on Saturday becoming the first club to win All-Ireland titles at junior, intermediate and senior levels. As many as nine of the squad on Saturday were involved in all three landmark successes.
Scorers: Mourneabbey: Doireann O’Sullivan 0-6, 3fs; Laura Fitzgerald 1-2; Ciara O’Sullivan, Ellie Jack 0-2 each; Eimear Harrington 0-1.
Foxrock-Cabinteely: Amy Ring 0-4, 4fs; Fiona Claffey 1-0; Amy Connolly free, Sinéad Goldrick, Hannah O’Neill 0-1 each.
Mourneabbey:
Meabh O’Sullivan; Eimear Meaney, Cathy Ann Stack, Aisling O’Sullivan; Sandra Conroy, Róisín O’Sullivan, Kathryn Coakley; Máire O’Callaghan, Bríd O’Sullivan (Captain); Eimear Harrington, Ciara O’Sullivan, Niamh O’Sullivan; Ellie Jack, Laura Fitzgerald, Doireann O’Sullivan.
Subs: Síle O’Callaghan for Ciara O’Sullivan (16-18, blood), Síle O’Callaghan for Laura Fitzgerald (42).
Foxrock-Cabinteely:
Aisling Tarpey; Aedin Murray, Sarah Quinn, Emma McDonagh; Sinéad Goldrick, Niamh Collins, Lorna Fusciardi; Tarah O’Sullivan, Ciara Ní Mhurchadh; Fiona Claffey, Amy Connolly, Laura Nerney; Amy Ring (Captain), Hannah O’Neill, Ciara O’Riordan.
Subs: Róisín McGovern for Ciara O’Riordan (HT), Laurie Ahern for Laura Nerney (40), Jodi Egan for Aedin Murray (51), Sinéad Delahunty for Lorna Fusciardi (53), Hazel Dennehy for Amy Connolly (58).
Referee: Brendan Rice, Down.
PLAYERS PEAKED ON
BIG OCCASION
Mourneabbey manager Shane Ronayne says his players finally peaked on the big occasion, and as a result the All-Ireland senior club title was inevitable at the fourth attempt.
Mourneabbey played with a strong breeze at their backs and were 1-12 to 1-3 ahead at half-time despite Fiona Claffey’s goal. And they only needed one point in the second half to secure their first Dolores Tyrrell Memorial Cup.
“They performed to their potential today. We said if we got a performance out of them we’d win. That’s what they focused on. We didn’t focus about winning, we didn’t think about the result. If we performed, we’d get the outcome we want,” said Ronayne.
“That was the big thing, they performed today. The previous finals we’ve sat back and we’ve been too defensive. Today they expressed themselves and they were outstanding.”
Mourneabbey were edged out by Carnacon in last year’s final and also lost the 2014 and ’15 finals, but they took an 0-8 to 0-1 lead early.
All-Star sisters Doireann and Ciara O’Sullivan tormented the Foxrock-Cabinteely defence and once Emma McDonagh was sent to the sin-bin in the fifth minute, the Munster champions took complete control.
“That was a big help to us but we did go after their kick-out and we had even before Emma went off,” said Ronayne.
“I was talking about maybe two points each after 15 minutes, and we were 0-8 to 0-1 up. We knew we were in a good place and at half-time we spoke about kicking on.
“We didn’t want to play defensive. The ball handling was just brilliant. They kept it simple and I think that was the key to it.”
Claffey hit back with a goal before half-time but the 2016 beaten finalists couldn’t recover in time. And Foxrock-Cabinteely manager Pat Ring believed Fitzgerald’s goal killed the game before his team got a foothold.
“We knew what was going to happen, but we just seemed to be at sixes and sevens for the first ten minutes until we sorted it out,” said Ring.
“Then they got a goal. We responded very well and got a goal back, but the damage was done. It was done too early. You can plan as best you can, but we have to execute it.
“We were beaten by a far better team. There’s no arguments there.”