Junior Championship Final
Clan na Gael 4-15 Naomh Labhaoise 2-8
Clan na Gael were crowned Armagh Junior Champions in Tir na nOg on Saturday evening with a convincing win over Naomh Labhaoise. Three first half goals set the tone for the Lurgan side and the margin at the interval was too big for Naomh Labhaoise to pull back, although they did get it back to six at one stage.
The Clonmore ladies stuck to the challenge well in the first 13 minutes, trailing 1-1 to 0-3 with Clan na Gael hitting the net for the first time after eight minutes of play. The Clans began to pull away however and two goals in as many minutes saw them take a dominating nine point lead which they held at the interval, 3-4 to 0-4.
Clans got the opening two points of the second period which were followed by three Naomh Labhaoise points on the trot to bring the sides closer together. A goal for Naomh Labhaoise in the final quarter brought the margin to 10 but any hope of a revival was stifled with Clan na Gael’s fourth and final goal.
The victors tagged on a further four points to see the game out strongly but the final piece of play came from Naomh Labhaoise who raised their second green flag of the evening but it wasn’t enough to affect the outcome of the game with Clan na Gael comfortably ahead by the time the final whistle sounds.
Clan na Gael Scorers: Ella Reid (0-9), Roisin O’Hagan (2-2), Lara Marsden (1-1), Naomh Beattie (1-0), Aoife Reid (0-2), Evie McGill (0-1).
Naomh Labhaoise Scorers: Sarah Quigley (0-6), Riona Cunningham (1-0), Tara Conlon (1-0), Aoife Forker (0-1), Niamh Forker (0-1).
Intermediate Championship
Granemore 8-18 Mullaghbawn 2-3
Granemore showed fantastic goal scoring ability throughout the 2019 championship and the final was no different. Eight goals tells a story in itself and the game was essentially over a couple of minutes into the second half after Mullaghbawn had done brilliantly well to drag themselves back into the contest just before the break.
Granemore’s forward unit was outstanding, led by centre half forward Edel Hagney who set the tone, hitting 1-3 of Granemore’s 1-5 in the opening quarter with Orlaith Gorman and Corrina Doyle adding points as well. Ciara Hill sparked into life in the 15th minute with a brilliant goal followed by a point while Gorman and Jordan Carr also raised white flags.
Mullaghbawn finally opened their account in the 24th minute with a left footed effort from Danielle Rafferty while she struck the net moments later after good play from Niamh Murphy. Rafferty was again on target with her second point before Granemore steadied the ship with points from Orlaith Gorman and Corrina Doyle.
Mullaghbawn pulled themselves back into the game just before the short whistle when Caroline O’Hare’s shot fell short only for the onrushing Niamh Murphy to punch the ball to the net, cutting Granemore’s lead to eight points with the score board now reading Granemore 2-10 Mullaghbawn 2-2.
Granemore were in no mood to allow Mullaghbawn back into the contest and Orlaith Gorman’s goal inside the opening five minutes of the second half demonstrated this. Points from Gorman, Hagney (2) and Ciara Hill followed before Mullaghbawn struck their first and only point of the second half with Granemore up 3-14 to 2-3.
Corrina Doyle hit 1-1 in the next two attacks while Orlaith Gorman fired home her second goal. Corrina Doyle hit the net once again in the 23rd minute while midfielder Jordan Carr hit the roof of the net with a powerful shot. Doyle and Hill raised white flags before Orlaith Gorman completed her hat trick to leave her side stylish winners after 60 minutes of action.
Granemore Scorers: Orlaith Gorman (3-4), Corrina Doyle (2-4), Edel Hagney (1-6), Ciara Hill (1-3), Jordan Carr (1-1).
Mullaghbawn Scorers: Danielle Rafferty (1-2), Niamh Murphy (1-0), Caroline O’Hare (0-1).
Senior Championship
Armagh Harps 1-8 Clann Eireann 2-12
Clann Eireann were the better team on the night and were deservingly crowd Senior Champions for 2019. They held the Harps to just 1-2 during the opening half and controlled the tempo of the contest extremely well on the night while Aoibhinn Henderson top scored, hitting 1-5 over the duration of the game.
The sides were evenly matched during the opening exchanges with Fionnuala McKenna’s opening score cancelled out by Aoibhinn Henderson. Dearbhla Coleman, Sarah Henderson and Maebh Moriarty gave Clann Eireann some breathing space before the Harps went in front with a Siobhan Feeney point followed by an Aoife Lennon goal.
Clann Eireann dominated the last 10 minutes of the first half, reeling off the next six scores with Henderson (2), Dearbhla Coleman, Tiarna Grimes, Sionainn McConville and Sarah Henderson all raising white flags to give their side a seven point lead at the break with the score now 1-2 to 1-9.
Kelly Mallon got her first score within two minutes of the restart but Clann Eireann’s momentum couldn’t be halted as Tiarna Grimes smashed the ball into the net before Aoibhinn Henderson kicked a further two points. Kelly Mallon continued to battle hard for the Harps with two points in as quick succession.
The Harps finished the game out with the final three scores, Fionnuala McKenna, Aoife Lennon and Kelly Mallon all hitting the target but the result was out of the question by this stage and Clann Eireann ran out seven point winners in the end, Armagh Harps 1-8 Clann Eireann 2-12.
Armagh Harps Scorers: Kelly Mallon (0-4), Aoife Lennon (1-1), Fionnuala McKenna (0-2), Siobhan Feeney (0-1).
Clann Eireann Scorers: Aoibhinn Henderson (1-5), Tiarna Grimes (1-1), Sarah Henderson (0-2), Dearbhla Coleman (0-2), Sionainn McConville (0-1), Maebh Moriarty (0-1).
