LGFA Minor Semi Final

 AGB 4-15

Tinahealy 0-5

Ballymoney

Eoin Horkan

AGB made full use of home advantage on Sunday morning as they cruised to a convincing victory in the county semi-final.

Facing both the sun and a stiff breeze, the hosts settled quickly and stamped their authority on the contest. They struck four early points inside the opening ten minutes, with Lilly Sommers, Eireann  O’Reilly, Katie Nuzum and Laoise Mellon all finding the target and keeping the umpires busy.

Having already missed two goal chances, Aine McKerr made no mistake shortly after the ten-minute mark, breaking through the defence to smash the ball into the net. Less than a minute later, Aoibhe Cullen followed suit with another well-taken goal, before Mellon added a point to cap off a dominant first quarter.

Firmly in control, AGB continued to press on. Further scores from Mellon and Cullen pushed their advantage to thirteen points as the half entered its final stages.

The visitors finally enjoyed a spell of pressure, breaching AGB’s strong defensive setup with two points from Lilly Stapleton—one from a free and another an outstanding dead-ball effort from a difficult angle. But a final point from McKerr ensured the home side went into the interval with a comfortable and deserved lead.

When play resumed, the influential Stapleton—who had been the visitors’ main threat—added two more points to her tally, sandwiched around a well-taken effort from Sommers at the opposite end. Approaching the ten-minute mark of the half, Mellon showed sharp control before driving a superb shot to the net from a tight angle.

With the third quarter drawing to a close, AGB continued to assert their dominance as Niamh Kavanagh coolly slotted home another goal, ensuring that every one of the starting forwards had found the scoresheet.

As the game ticked into the closing stages, Cullen struck for a quick-fire brace, with McKerr matching her teammate moments later. Both sides emptied their benches in the final minutes, and one of AGB’s substitutes, Sophie Hurley, made an immediate impact by sending over a fine point.  This was cancelled out by a final Stapleton strike . It was then the turn of centre-back Kate Priest rounded off the scoring with a composed effort, sealing her side’s well-earned passage to the final.

AGB:Eve Fitzpatrick;Rebecca Cleary,Sadhbh Ward,Catherine Bourke;Aimee Fox,Katie Priest(0-1), Farinn Wolohan;Ava Wolohan,Lilly Sommers(0-2);Katie Nuzum(0-1),Niamh Kavanagh(1-0),Eireann O’Reilly(0-1);Laoise Mellon(1-3),Aine McKerr(1-3 1f)),Aoibhe Cullen(1-3)

Subs Used; Sophie Hurley(0-1) for Lilly Sommers,Katie Conway for Laoise Mellon,Nessa Clancy for Katie Nuzum.

Tinahely;Bea Clancy;Ella Nolan,Sophie Reilly,Sheila Murphy;Grace Sheehy,Áine McDonald,Saoirse Tyrell;Ava Stapleton,Nia Winterborn;Lilly Stapleton (0-5 4fs),Laura Gregan,Fia Doyle;Aoibheann Connolly,Sophie O’Loughlin,Rosie Fox.

Subs Used:Tiffany O’Toole for Rosie Fox.

Referee:Ian Culbert