Downpatrick seal Intermediate title

20 October 2021

DOWNPATRICK RGU ladies were crowned Senior A Intermediate champions after defeating a resilient Kilcoo side at St Malachy’s Park in Castlewellan last Saturday.

Two quick-fire goals in the opening five minutes of the contest was enough to give Downpatrick a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, despite a second half surge from the Magpies in which they did everything but find that crucial second goal.

The Hoops signalled their intention from the initial passage of play, winning the throw-in through the experienced Kiera Turley, before a mazy, uninterrupted run released Orla Quinn to kick over the first point of the match.

Downpatrick solidified their victory through one crucial element of the game and that was winning the opposing kick-outs.

This was first displayed immediately after they had registered their opening point, when Caoimhe Mulholland rose high above the rest to collect Kilcoo ‘keeper Siobhan McEvoy’s punt upfield to double Downpatrick’s lead.

McEvoy managed to successfully find a pass at the second time of asking and it wasn’t long before team-mate Nicole Johnston saw her effort sail over the crossbar to half the deficit.

Johnston was a constant threat all day, with the Hoops backline consistently struggling to cope with her pace.

The first significant score of the tie came just a minute later when Downpatrick’s Mulholland found the back of the net in what was a confident and powerful finish.

The green and white outfit didn’t lose focus and overturned possession from the kick-out. This time it was Eilis Murphy who found her effort crossing the line after evading any resistance the Kilcoo defence had to offer.

However, it was not to be plain sailing for Downpatrick, as immediately the Magpies sought to get a foothold on the contest.

Kilcoo responded through a Caitriona Kane free, which was a reoccurring theme throughout the match. And one minute later, Kane once again converted from a free as her side began to enter the tie.

There was a notable battle between Downpatrick’s Turley and Kilcoo’s Laura Morgan, as the two tussled in what was a case of who wanted control of the possession more.

Some neat triangle passing allowed Hoops forward Aisling Flynn to notch her first point of the game, before Adair Trainor overturned possession to release Cara Tumelty, who added further to RGU’s tally.

Kilcoo displayed their class through Kane after an array of eye-catching passes found its way to the boot of the number 11, resulting in an applauded point.

The scoreline would have been much closer at this stage had it not been for the goalkeeping heroics of player-of-the-match Kirsty Carling, who saved magnificently to deny a certain Magpies goal.

Yet again Downpatrick did not allow themselves to be discouraged by the opposition, as Tumelty responded promptly with another point to close the scoring before the first water-break.

The Hoops picked up where they left off as Tumelty pointed from a free after the restart, although her next effort just went the wrong side of the posts.

Mulholland was in fine form as she dribbled past two opposing Kilcoo players to allow Tumelty to score a trio of unanswered points for her Downpatrick side.

With 25 minutes gone, Kilcoo began ramping up their attacks and were nearly rewarded when Ceallach McEvoy played a lovely weighted pass over the RGU backline to allow Johnston through on goal.

Showing the Downpatrick defence a clean pair of heels, Johnston seemed certain to put the ball in the back of the net. But, it was that woman Carling again who pulled off a terrific save from point-blank range to a keep daylight between the sides.

Mulholland pointed from a free at the other end of the pitch before Kilcoo’s Kane replied with the same to keep her team present in the contest.

The halftime whistle sounded to leave the scores 2-8 to 0-5 in favour of Downpatrick.

It was very much a game of two halves as the teams returned to the pitch after the interval with Kilcoo immediately winning the throw-in before setting off on the charge downfield.

Kane kicked over a point from range before Johnston secured another for the black and white outfit.

A couple of wides occurred for both sides within the next few minutes, although the weather did take a turn for the worse, with rainfall and windy conditions beginning to increase.

Kilcoo continued their onslaught with a Morgan point from open play, as Downpatrick’s Flynn saw her effort drift narrowly off the mark. But the

Magpies continued their pressure and were soon awarded with a free 30 metres from goal.

Dearbhla McGreevy’s effort ped just under the crossbar and was now causing all sorts of bother for Downpatrick’s Carling.

The Hoops’ number one watched the shot all of the way but could only slap the ball into the path of the onrushing Ceallach McEvoy, who bundled it over the line in the last piece of action before the second water-break.

A terrific 15 minutes for the Magpies meant that there was just a single goal separating the sides in the last quarter with the score 2-8 to 1-8 in favour of the Hoops.

There was now a tense atmosphere both from the players on the pitch and the surrounding supporters, who had turned out to watch the final.

Downpatrick goalscorer Murphy kicked over a point to finally get her side off the mark in the second half, although this was promptly answered with a fine solo point from the ever-present Johnston.

As the clock ticked down, the tie was still very much in the balance when Tumelty registered another point to add to her impressive personal tally.

With one last throw of the dice, Kilcoo charged down the pitch but was met with a plethora of green and white shirts who forced Kane to shoot from distance and settle for the point.

That signalled the last score of the game as the final whistle was blown to cue pandemonium from the Downpatrick outfit and their management team.

After the match, Downpatrick joint senior ladies’ manager J R Loudon reflected on his side’s performance and season as a whole.

“It’s unbelievable, we took these girls way back in February and this was their end goal,” he said. “They’re a great bunch and we have a panel of around 28 to 32 players. The feeling in the club as a whole at the minute is fantastic.

“Most of these girls are of minor age as we’ve lost a lot of our more experienced players to other commitments, so what they have achieved is remarkable.”

The manager added: “We knew Kilcoo were going to play using a sweeper, so we wanted to force their ‘keeper into a long kick out that we were confident we would win. That game was won on the training ground.”

Kilcoo: S McEvoy, L Devlin, C McEvoy, C McClean, C McEvoy, E McEvoy, M Rogan, L Morgan, D McGreevy, R Doherty, C Kane, S Fettes, E Doyle, K Laverty, N Johnston.

Subs: B McAneney, C McCrickard, C O’Rourke, C McEvoy Ireland, N O’Reilly, S McAneney, K Greenan, K McEvoy.

Downpatrick: K Carling, C McKervey, O Boyle, O Beattie, N Loudon, A Trainor, V Scullion, K Turley, P Smyth, O Quinn, C Mulholland, K Convie, E Murphy, A Flynn, C Tumelty.

Subs: M Shannon, R Trainor, A Doran, S Sloan, K McLeigh, G Scullion, N Madine, A Murphy, E McIlmurry, M Kelly, S Rice, K Trainor, M Ross.

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