St Brigid's rue missed chances and slow start as clinical Claremorris edge thriller

They fought with their trademark defiance and resilience but when St Brigid’s look back on Sunday’s Connacht LGFA Junior Club Championship Final, they’ll do so with regret as missed chances and a blistering Claremorris start in Boyle’s Abbey Park proved decisive after an entertaining contest.

That the Mayo side were the most clinical and cohesive side and, it must be said, deserving winners doesn’t negate the fact that St Brigid’s will feel this was a game that got away from them in the first half as Claremorris built up a nine point lead at one stage.

The bare scoring stats would suggest Claremorris blew St Brigid’s apart in the first 20 minutes and while the Mayo women threatened destruction in almost every attack, St Brigid’s will look back on six wides in this period and wonder what might have been.

Heartbreak for St Brigid's as Claremorris claim Connacht title - GALLERY

Heartbreak for St Brigid's as a clinical Claremorris denied them their dreams of Connacht LGFA Junior Club glory on Sunday in Abbey Park Boyle with the Mayo side prevailing 2-13 to 2-8. Observer photographer Willie Donnellan was there with his camera, capturing some great shots of both sets of fans enjoying an enthralling encounter ..... see who you can spot!

It got worse in the second half as Siomha Quinn crashed a penalty off the Claremorris keeper, a score that might have infused their challenge with the energy for a late push but the reality was that Claremorris had negated many of St Brigid’s strong points in the second half.

Truth be told, luck had shone on Brigid’s in the first half when Eimhin Quinn’s long range effort was split into the net by the Claremorris keeper but it is the memory of missed frees and bad wides in front of the posts that will cause Brigid’s the most distress when they analyse this game.

The Leitrim champions dragged themselves back into contention late in the first half but Claremorris reshuffled the deck in the second half and restricted the impact of the excellent Aisling Quinn who was Brigid’s driving force in the first half.

Mary McKeon’s goal briefly inspired hope with just over six minutes to go that a miracle might be on but Claremorris, displaying plenty of their own resilience and character, shut up shop, closed down the dangerous Siomha & Eimhin Quinn and then picked off the Leitrim team on the break.

Lung bursting runs from deep from Alana Fitzpatrick and a forward line where everyone got on the scoresheet meant that Claremorris carried a threat from every sector, something a battling St Brigid’s were unable to emulate.

Disappointing though the result is, St Brigid’s will take a lot from this game and while they will rightly have regrets, they put an impressive Claremorris to the pin of their collars in an entertaining contest.

Claremorris got what can be accurately described as a dream start when they cut through the centre before feeding Nina Wallace for a goal just 40 seconds into the contest, a start made even better by Rebecca Keane’s point within a minute.

St Brigid’s tried to hit back but Siomha Quinn put a free wide before she saw a shot blocked but the Leitrim champions got a large slice of look when Eimhin Quinn’s long range shot was spilled by Claremorris keeper Claire Keane with the ball spinning back across the line as the Mayo woman may have been blinded by the sun.

Cianna Stringer hit a wide but Claremorris hit back in style - a long ball to Rebecca Kearns saw the Player of the match off-load deftly to a charging Bree Hession, a quick handpass later and Laura Kelly was driving the ball past a helpless Maeve Quinn.

St Brigid’s reacted well and were soon camped in the Claremorris half but crucially, they couldn’t land the scores they needed. Dearbhla Gunn had a wide and Mary McKeon did score but was penalised for over-carrying.

Josephine Maguire made a great block on a Harrison shot while Ashleagh Sammon saw her goal chance 12 minutes in drift just wide as Claremorris looked dangerous every time they attacked.

Now it was Claremorris’ turn to dominate and they spun over five unanswered points in a five minute spell. Harrison scored from distance before Stringer and Siomha Quinn had costly wides. Wallace, Hession, Keane and Kelly all landed points as St Brigid’s simply couldn’t clear their lines.

The St Brigid's team who were defeated by Claremorris in the Connacht LGFA Junior Club Final Picture: Willie Donnellan

St Brigid’s lifted the siege with a Eimhin Quinn free after a foul on Stringer on 21 minutes and that suddenly breathed life in their challenge. Siomha Quinn showed greatly handling and nifty footwork to engineer a fine point from play a minute later.

Eimhin Quinn would add two more frees but crucially, St Brigid’s also left two frees short or wide and Claremorris almost made them pay when the lively Ashleagh Sammon burst through in the left hand corner, her powerful shot flying past Maeve Quinn but thankfully rebounding off the far post to safety in a real let-off.

That left St Brigid’s trailing 2-6 to 1-5 at the break but the Leitrim champions would have been relatively happy that they weren’t far off the pace despite missing so many good chances in the first half.

Claremorris again started brighter, Keane and Sammon both firing over points in the first five minutes to stretch their lead to six points. Aisling Quinn fired over a good point for Brigid’s but they were thankful that Sammon blasted a goal chance high over the bar as she charged through the Brigid’s defence.

Eimhin Quinn and Rebecca Kearns swapped frees as Claremorris looked comfortable but then St Brigid’s got a sliver of hope when referee Aaron Clogher awarded a penalty after a foul on Tara Fitzpatrick, Eimhin Quinn robbing a Claremorris defender before working the opportunity.

Siomha Quinn, who had hit the post in the Leitrim Intermediate Final from the spot, placed her ball beyond the reach of the Claremorris keeper but unfortunately, the ball hit the post and Claremorris cleared the danger.

Despite a bad wide from sub Joanne Regan, Claremorris increased the lead when Laura Kelly pointed with some ease but St Brigid’s never give up and they ignited the game once more when sub Rachel Dolan lobbed a good pass into Mary McKeon. The long serving McKeon did extremely well to hold off the defender before turning and burying the ball in the Claremorris net with just over six minutes left to play.

St Brigid’s tails were up but Dearbhla Gunn drove a good chance wide and Claremorris made them pay with Keane, sub Derbhile Horkan and Hession combining to set up Sammon for her third point from play.

St Brigid’s kept putting pressure on the Claremorris defence but with Eimhin Quinn hitting a free wide and Ciara Gaffney seeing yellow in the final minute, their chances were fading. Mary McKeon did fire over a point but almost instantly, Claremorris hit back with a well worked Marina Cawley point.

St Brigid’s kept fighting, looking for an unlikely goal and even though the impressive Alana Fitzpatrick ended the game in the sin-bin after a yellow card, the Leitrim side never got close to grabbing the goal they needed, leaving Claremorris to celebrate when the final whistle sounded.

Heartbreak for Leitrim clubs in Connacht Minor Semi-Finals

ST BRIGIDS

Scorers: Eimhin Quinn 1-5, 5f; Mary McKeon 1-1; Siomha Quinn & Aisling Quinn 0-1 each

Team: Maeve Quinn, Edel Shanley, Josephine Maguire, Niamh McNifee, Niamh Donegan, Ciara Gaffney, Dearbhla Gunn, Aisling Quinn, Lauren Donohoe, Tara Fitzpatrick, Siomha Quinn, Cianna Stringer, Caoimhe Gaffney, Eimhin Quinn, Mary McKeon. Subs: Rachel Dolan for Donohue (HT); Sinead Quinn & Caoimhe Prior for Caoimhe Gaffney & Fitzpatrick (56)

CLAREMORRIS

Scorers: Laura Kelly 1-2; Rebecca Keane 0-4, 2f; Nina Wallace 1-1; Ashleagh Sammon 0-3; Bree Hession 0-2; Marina Cawley 0-1

Team: Claire Keane, Sarah Dee, Ellie Maguire, Aisling Cummins, Amy Cummins, Siomha McNulty, Sile Hughes, Alana Fitzpatrick, Kayleigh O’Brien, Marina Cawley, Rebecca Keane, Bree Hession, Ashleagh Sammon, Nina Wallace, Laura Kelly. Subs: Deirbhle Horkan for O’Brien (HT); Jeanne Regan for Wallace (39); Sienna Kelly for Dee (48)

Referee: Aaron Clogher (Roscommon)