Glencar Manor finish strong to see off stubborn St Mary's in LGFA Div 1 Final

​Six points may suggest a comfortable Glencar Manorhamilton victory in Sunday’s LGFA Division 1 Final in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada but the north Leitrim women had to work very hard to see off a St Mary’s Kiltoghert team who will have plenty of regrets after this one.

A late scoring burst that saw Glencar Manorhamilton hit an unanswered 1-3 from the 56th minute onwards saw the north Leitrim side retain their League crown but the Carrick side will have a lot of regrets, particularly during a third quarter they dominated but failed to build on their lead while they also spurned two great goal chances in the first half.

Incredibly, Glencar Manorhamilton went a full 18 minutes into the second half without a score as St Mary’s turned a four point halftime deficit into a two point lead but when their need was greatest, county duo Muireann Devaney and Leah Fox led the way as they hauled themselves back into the game, the superb fitness and physicality of the Manorhamilton team eventually wearing down a battling St Mary’s.

Rather than the exploits of their scoring duo, the foundation of Glencar Manorhamilton’s victory was built on their obvious superiority in physicality - St Mary’s lost the ball repeatedly in challenges as Glencar Manor’s ability to strip the ball loose when the Carrick women were in promising positions a key feature of this engrossing if somewhat low-key encounter that never truly burst into life.

What will please Glencar Manorhamilton was the impact made by some of their younger players - Nessa Fox was my choice for player of the match with surging runs and non-stop workrate while corner-forward Sophie Devaney also made a big impression. But in truth, Glencar Manor’s experience and willingness to work themselves into the ground was the real foundation of this victory.

With Emma McLaughlin trying everything to restrict Michelle Guckian’s impact, Rebecca Rooney, Melissa Hewitt and Rebecca Rooney stood tall in defence as they held out a St Mary’s attack that they never truly allowed build up real momentum. At the other end of the field, there were two fascinating battles with Jasmine Maye’s battle with Muireann Devaney an outstanding feature of the game while Sara Crowe did well to limit the damage Leah Fox could inflict on her team.

The champions were without the considerable presence of Aoife Gilmartin but intriguingly, they didn’t make any substitutions during the contest while St Mary’s started running in quite a few young players who look to have a bright future on a very young side.

Quite what this means for the upcoming championship is difficult to know - some feel that Glencar Manorhamilton, going for a record equalling seventh Championship title in a row, are slightly vulnerable this year but as they showed on Sunday, they have the ability to win games even when under immense pressure and that quality, more than anything else, has seen them reach almost unprecedented heights over the past seven seasons and they definitely remain the team to beat.

St Mary’s will take quite a bit of heart from this performance - bar one or two veterans, they are incredibly young and have made huge progress over the past three years. They still have some work to and would dearly love to see the Bruen sisters back from Australia but they are progressing well.

St Mary’s were first off the mark, Eibhlin Guckian scoring after just 23 seconds after good work from Hannah Reynolds but Glencar Manorhamilton hit back immediately, Sophie Devaney seeing an effort hit the woodwork but Muireann Devaney drew on the ball first time, sending the rebound over the bar.

St Mary’s keeper Caroline Guckian made a good save to deny Dearbhla Rooney but a goal for the north Leitrim women wasn’t long in coming, four minutes on the clock when a pass through to centre-back Anna Devaney saw her lose control of the ball only to pull first time, sending the ball past a helpless Guckian.

Nessa Fox collected the ball and took off on arun to score on six minutes but Manor were now missing chances, a block on a Dearbhla Rooney shot and a Muireann Devaney wide. St Mary’s couldn’t believe it when they created a goal chance but Hannah Reynolds was unable to connect with the ball properly with only the keeper to beat.

Muireann Devaney stretched the lead to five points on 14 minutes but a good run from Mabel Keane ended with Lucie Maye Gazonnet firing over a point for St Mary’s a minute later. The Carrick women lost Maria Faughnan to injury with Michelle Guckian getting her first score on 20 minutes from a free.

Suddenly St Mary’s were creating chances and when they turned over the ball, Aisling Leahy tried to place the ball in the far corner but her shot went wide with Maye Gazonnet unmarked.

Muireann Devaney finished off a good move, a goal possibly on, before another Mabel Keane run ended with Michelle Guckian firing over. Caroline Guckian’s steady hands saw her field Muireann Devaney’s long range shot but ferocious Glencar Manor pressure saw the ball turned over with Sophie Devaney pointing after a quickly taken Nessa Fox free.

St Mary’s were playing with more confidence with a Guckian free and a Gazonnet Maye point, that could have been a goal after a Michelle Guckian pass created the chance, closed the gap to two points but Glencar Manorhamilton finished the half with a Muireann Devaney free and a good Grace Devaney point in added time.

That left Glencar Manorhamilton 1-7 to 0-6 ahead at the break but incredibly, they would go 18 minutes without a score as St Mary’s started to take over. Michelle Guckian held off a defender to fire over a 35 yard point inside the opening minute as both sides kicked wides shortly after.

Clever passing after an indirect free for St Mary’s saw Aisling Leahy fire over a good point and despite an Eibhlin Guckian wide, the Carrick women were taking control when Anna Devaney was sin-binned for a late challenge on Hannah Reynolds and from the subsequent free, Michelle Guckian’s long ball evaded everyone and ended up in the net on 43 minutes.

The drama and pace of the game was hotting up - Muireann Devaney crashed a powerful shot off the St Mary’s crossbar before Caroline Guckian made a flying save to prevent Aoife Boylan from sending the rebound to the net. St Mary’s went straight down the field with Aisling Leahy seeing her shot come off the Manor crossbar.

Sarah Reynolds set up Enya McWeeney for a fine point as Glencar Manor saw Grace Devaney and Dearbhla Rooney leave shots short, Caroline Guckian shooting wide while Michelle Guckian put a 50 yard St Mary’s free wide.

Muireann Devaney ended Manor’s drought with a free on 48 minutes and three minutes later, she released Leah Fox for the equalising point. From the kickout, Manor won a sideline and worked the ball to Leah Fox for her second point inside 60 seconds and the lead for St Mary’s.

Aoife Boylan and Muireann Devaney both shot wides before St Mary’s produced a good move, Mabel Keane finishing with an equalising point but despite Nessa Fox leaving an effort short, Glencar Manor were moving with more energy and Sophie Devaney collected a pass from Muireann Devaney to score.

The killer score came with less than three minutes of normal time left, Glencar Manor intercepting Mary's kickout and a great Anna Devaney pass, back on the field after her sin-bin ended, saw Aoife Boylan round the keeper for an easy goal.

Credit St Mary’s, they tried to fight back and almost got a goal when Michelle Guckian got her fist to a high ball into the area, the ball going out for a fifty and with that, their chance was gone as a clinical Manor slowed the pace down and injury time points from Muireann Devaney and Leah Fox confirmed a slightly flattering six point victory.

GLENCAR MANORHAMILTON

Scorers: Muireann Devaney 0-6, 2f; Leah Fox 0-3; Aoife Boylan & Anna Devaney 1-0 each; Sophie Devaney 0-2; Nessa Fox & Grace Devaney 0-1 each

Team: Niamh Loughlin, Lauren Devaney, Melissa Hewitt, Aine McLaughlin, Rebecca Rooney, Anna Devaney, Emma McLaughlin, Dearbhla Rooney, Chloe Rooney, Grace Devaney, Leah Fox, Nessa Fox, Aoife Boylan, Muireann Devaney, Sophie Devaney

ST MARY’S KILTOGHERT

Scorers: Michelle Guckian 1-4, 1-2f; Lucie Maye Gazonnet 0-2; Enya McWeeney, Mable Keane, Eibhlin Guckian & Aisling Leahy 0-1 each

Team: Caroline Guckian, Jasmine Maye, Emily Reynolds, Isabelle Chandler, Elodie Maye Gazzonet, Sara Crowe, Maria Faughnan, Enya McWeeney, Eibhlin Guckian, Sarah Reynolds, Michelle Guckian, Mabel Keane, Hannah Reynolds, Aisling Leahy, Lucie Maye Gazonnet. Subs: Beibhinn Flynn for Faughnan (17); Katie O’Brien for L Maye Gazonnet (36); Caragh Guckian for H Reynolds (53), Blaithin McCrann for E McWeeney (56), Edie Keane for E Maye Gazonnet (61)

Referee: Kieran Moran