Cavan 3-11
Mayo 2-5
Report by Oisín McGovern
A devastating opening fifteen minutes was the key to Cavan retaining the All-Ireland U-16 A title at Mayo’s expense at Duggan Park in Ballinasloe.
The Breffni girls shot 3-6 in the opening quarter, leaving far too big of a gap for Mayo to recover from, despite their best efforts.
A superb display from Cavan captain Emilia Mussi and an effective defence were among the hallmarks of a solid winning display in a contest that was won in the first half.
The game could not have started any better for Cavan, who had the ball in the Mayo net in the first minute through Katie McGahern after Mussi charged through and saw her shot rebound off the post.
Mayo conceded 2-4 in the next five minutes from four different scorers, with Cavan centre-forward Abby Reilly putting her side ten points up when she finished to the net after a clever hand-pass from McGahern.
Emma Stagg eventually opened the scoring for Mayo with a twelfth-minute free. However, the Connacht champions were knocked back when McGahern once again teed up Reilly to fire a shot in the Mayo net, putting the Ulster champions fourteen points up.
With a relentless attacking energy and athleticism, Cavan kept attacking down the middle at the heart of the Mayo defence, forcing two saves from Mayo goalkeeper Kayla Hughes.
The Connacht girls slowly gained momentum, adding points from Katie Hughes and Lily Hession (a free) before Hughes directed a long ball into full-forward Stagg, who shook the Cavan net with a fine finish.
Mayo ended the half on a high with a point from Aoibhinn McNamara, but were still 3-7 to 1-4 adrift on a warm day in Ballinasloe.
Cavan missed the chance to go further ahead when Kayla Hughes made a superb double-save from a Reilly penalty in the 36th minute.
Cavan added three more from Sarah McAvinney (2) and Reilly before Mayo struck a nearly identical goal to their first when Stagg received a long ball from Katie Hughes and drove into the net off the crossbar.
This still left the chasers nine points adrift, and ultimately it was Cavan that won out, despite only scoring four points in the second half.
Scorers - Cavan: A Reilly 2-3, K McGahern 1-0, N McCaffrey 0-3 (1 free), S McAvinney 0-2, E Mussi, J Hetherton, C Crowe 0-1 each.
Mayo: E Stagg 2-1 (0-1f), A McNamara, Katie Hughes, L Hession (free), E Duffy 0-1 each.
CAVAN:F Higgins; K McSeain, A Crowe, H Forde Peat; K Comaskey, C Crowe, G McCabe; E Mussi (capt.), E Gannon; B Quaile, A Reilly, S McAvinney; N McCaffrey, M Smith, K McGahern. Subs: J Hetherton for Smith (27), C Brennan for Comaskey (39), S Farrelly for Quaile (58), K O’Reilly for McCaffrey (58), L Matthews for Gannon (62).
MAYO:Kayla Hughes; C Dowling, I Basquille, C Cullen; A Doherty, E Higgins (capt.), S Tieran; S Dempsey, L Hession; A McNamara, L McHale, S McGuinness; K Byrne, E Stagg, Katie Hughes. Subs: E Duffy for McHale (39), G Bailey for McNamara (39), D Guilfoyle for Tiernan (49), A Ferguson for Dempsey (51), A Lynn for K Hughes (51)
Referee: Anthony Marren (Monaghan).
Armagh 4-12
Waterford 4-6
Report by Deniese O’Flaherty
Armagh claimed the LGFA All-Ireland U16 B title for the first time with a hard fought win over Waterford in an entertaining encounter in Kinnegad.
Six points was the difference in the end, but entering stoppage time Armagh were ahead by just two points after Waterford staged a brave comeback.
The Orchard County made the perfect start to the game. Within the opening six minutes they’d built up a six point lead. Lily McBennett opened the scoring inside the first minute.
Alannah O’Neill followed up with a point before Caoimhe Gollogly found the back of the net in the fifth minute.
Bennett then kicked over a free to put six between the sides. Waterford were back in the game in the eighth minute through a Clodagh Power goal. Armagh responded with points from O’Neill and Gollogly. Míde McCusker got a point for the Deise in the 12th minute.
Waterford had chances but took wrong options while Armagh made their possession count; they played good football and in the 18th minute they got their second goal through McBennett.
Treasa Ní Chrotaigh got a point for Waterford in the 25th minute. A terrific move in the 28th minute ended with a fine point for McBennett and just before the break O’Neill scored her third point of the game to give her side a 2-8 to 1-2 interval lead.
Points were traded between Ní Chrotaigh and Gollogly (‘45) in the early minutes of the second half. Armagh were dealt a blow in the 38th minute when Aoife McDonald was sin-binned.
Waterford kicked over two points before Gollogly put away a penalty in the 42nd minute to extend Armagh’s lead to 11 points. Waterford weren’t out of the game despite the gap and great credit to them for their fightback.
Substitute Siún Mernin got a goal in the 45th minute. Then two quick fire goals from Power saw the gap cut to just three points in the 56th minute. She pointed a free minutes later to leave just two between the sides.
Ruby Browne saw her shot go wide as the Deise went in search of another goal. Armagh didn’t panic. A pointed free from McBennett edged them ahead by three points and substitute Cassie Henderson sealed the win with a goal near the end.
Scorers - Armagh: C Gollogly 2-3 (1-0 pen, 0-1f), L McBennett 1-5 (0-2f), A O’Neill 0-3, C Henderson 1-0, E Hart 0-1.
Waterford: C Power 3-1 (0-1f), T Ní Chrotaigh 0-3 (1f), S Mernin 1-0, M McCusker, A Kirwan 0-1 each.
ARMAGH: C Havern; A Hagan, M McGrane, E Owens; B Carragher, E Melanophy, A Lavery; E McCafferty, E Hart; L McBennett, A McDonald, E Meabh Duffy; R Murphy, A O’Neill, C Gollogly. Subs: C Henderson for Murphy (33), A McGeown for Hagan (43), J McCreesh for Lavery (46), O Campbell for Carragher (51).
WATERFORD: G Corcoran; R Power, C Cullinan, E Campbell; A McHugh, J Whelan, K Winkle; R Browne, A Tobin; S Peters, T Ní Chrotaigh, A Power; C Power, M McCusker, E Power. Subs: A Kirwan for E Power and S Connolly for Tobin (ht), S Mernin for McCusker (43), R Shankey for McHugh (54).
Referee: Ger Canny (Mayo).
