St Rynagh's too strong for Shinrone

Despite some great play by Shinrone they were always chasing St Rynagh's in this intense encounter in St Brendan’s Park in Birr on Friday evening. The large crowd attending were anticipating a close match and despite the considerable difference in the end, a goal in the first half or early in the second half for Shinrone could have changed the result.

O'Meara Sliotars Under 16A Camogie Final

St Rynagh's 4-9

 Shinrone 0-9

Shinrone were the first to score with a free from Nicola Cleary and a lovely point from Louise O’Brien from play put Shinrone ahead by two points to no score. It was all Shinrone for those first few minutes but Rynagh's soon got into their stride.  It started with the speedy Aoife Byrne soloing through the Shinrone defence and passing to Niamh Sheedy who looked like she was on for a certain score but the number 14 was deemed to have been fouled.  She took the free herself to give Rynagh's their first score of the game.  Shortly after, again it was Aoife Byrne soloing through the defence with a fantastic individual display and she buried the sliotar in the back of the net. Rynagh's were in full flow now and Taylor Mahon from midfield showed great skill as she too went on a solo run before striking over the bar.  

Shinrone battled hard in the second part of the first half and looked certain to score a goal on a number of occasions but the Rynagh's defence stood firm thanks to some last ditch defending, some excellent hooking and blocking and great work by Kacey Delaney Spollan in goals.  To rub salt in the Shinrone wounds they were dealt a before half time courtesy of a thundering goal by Niamh Sheedy after some great passing between half back Hazel Kenny and Aoife Byrne to leave them leading 2-4 to 0-5 at half time. 

Shinrone made some changes at half time moving their top player Nicola Cleary from centre back to centre forward and this worked really well for them with Cleary running at the St Rynagh's half back line at every opportunity. However, with just three minutes gone in the second half Niamh Sheedy again hit the back of the Shinrone net after some great pressure on the ball by Sibeal McMahon. Shinrone responded with three excellent points all from play and with 10 minutes gone in the second half it seemed a Shinrone goal would have left it being anyone's game. 

Unfortunately for Shinrone however, St Rynagh’s goalkeeper Kacey Delaney Spollen had a solid day in goals pulling off some great saves.  St Rynagh's were now making some changes themselves and these changes seemed to spark a scoring spree. Niamh Sheedy was moved out to play in midfield and Taylor Mahon was moved into full forward and this turned the game around in the second half for St Rynaghs with Mahon hitting a great goal after a pass from Aoife Byrne.  But Nicola Cleary responded for Shinrone and hit three unanswered points, with one coming from play and the other two from placed balls. Taylor Mahon was on the scoreboard again for St Rynagh's with a point from play before Cleary replied in kind again for Shinrone.   A brace of points from Niamh Sheedy extended the St Rynagh's lead before Shinrone were presented with another goal opportunity only this time to be denied by the post.  Shinrone will look back on this game and reflect on those missed goal opportunities and what might have been.

While Shinrone may have struggled over the years to have a large panel at under age, they currently have some quality players on this team with Nicola Cleary dominant both on the scoreboard and all over the pitch.  She has plenty of help with Sarah Cahill, Kate Liffey, Saoirse Liffey, Grace Cleary and Katie Maloney in particular catching the eye.

St Rynagh's had a great team performance, Kacey Delaney Spollen was excellent in goals, Sophie James was as solid as always in defence, Laoise Regan had an excellent first half at centre back, Alex Leonard worked tirelessly in midfield.  Any three of Taylor Mahon, Niamh Sheedy or Aoife Byrne could have been named Player of the Match for At Rynaghs but in the end it was given deservedly to Niamh Sheedy.  She looked dangerous every time she had the ball and had the accuracy and pace in the first half to tip the scores in St Rynaghs favour.

Teams:  

St Rynagh's: Kacey Delaney Spollen, Meabh Nolan, Sophie James, Sarah Clancy, Hazel Kenny, Laoise Regan, Ali Wynne, Alex Leonard, Taylor Mahon, Lauren Kenny, Aoife Byrne, Allie Butler, Ciara Staunton, Niamh Sheedy, Sibeal McMahon. Subs:   Ella Flynn, Mary Curley, Jennifer Boylan, Dervla Naughton, Niamh Daly, Emma Deegan

Shinrone: Keileigh Brooks, Sarah Cahill, Sinead Gleeson, Srah Tierney, Kate Liffey, Nicola Cleary, Leah Landy, Grace Cleary, Keeva Davey, Saoirse Liffey, Katie Maloney, Siobhan Ryan, Fiona Gleeson, Louise O’Brien, Mary Kate Cleary. Subs:  Aleesha Brewer, Chloe Bevans, Roisin Brereton, Clodagh Cleare, Sophie Ormond, Leyla Holland, Sophia Hayes