LGF Div.1 Garrycastle 1-16 Mullingar Shamrocks 0-4

Mullingar Shamrocks LGF senior team travelled to Garrycastle early on Sunday morning for their fourth outingin the Division 1 LGFA league competition. The travelling squad was small but determined to put ina good performance. Last year's defeated county finalists, Garrycastle, fielded a large squad of players and it was clear that it was going to be a difficult task for the visitors. Captain Emma Morris won the toss and opted to play with the wind and hill. While Garrycastle had much of the early possession, they struggled to get scores against a determined Shamrocks defence. After 10 minutes they led by 0- 2 to 0-0 when Shamrocks Katie Kelly was denied a clear goal scoring opportunity. Emma Morris converted the resulting free to get Shamrocks on the scoreboard. The experience gained y the Garrycastle players in last year's campaign was evident in their ability to pick off points despite a strong defensive performance, 20 minutes in they led by 0-5 to 0- 1. Fullback Rachel Hannigan was instrumental in repelling the Garrycastle attack throughout the game. Emma Morris demonstrated her free taking skills and slotted over another point for Shamrocks to keep the visitors in contention. Garrycastle however continued to attack and the combined efforts of wing back Susanna Buckley and goalkeeper Isabelle Clinton prevented a certain goal, unfortunately Garrycastle won the clearance and launched another attack which this time found the net. Shamrocks continued to battle hard and were rewarded with a fine point by Katie Kelly. Forwards Carole Finch and Laura Culkin had a number of shots which just failed to find their target, at half time the visitors trailed by 1-7 to 0- 3. The second half was always going to be difficult but to their credit the Shamrocks Ladies continued to battle. On a bad day for football, fresh legs were always going to make a difference the home team were able to call on a large bench for the last quarter of the game. Shamrocks worked hard and were unlucky that good scoring efforts from Emma Morris, Laura Whitelaw, Sarah Geoghegan and Carla Gibney resulted in only a single point. Industrious defensive play from Melek Fagan and Liveta Lazauuskaite forced the home team to take points rather than penetrate the Shamrocks defence. With 5 minutes to go Susanna Buckley’s shot on goal was denied by a good save from the Garrycastle keeper. At the opposite end, Mullingar goalkeeper Isabelle Clinton made a number of good saves and this combined with her excellent distribution of the ball in the restarts helped to frustrate the Garrycastle attack. Centre back Michelle Buckley was a reliable presence under the high ball and instrumental in winning Shamrocks kick-outs throughout the game. While the final score of 1-16 to 0-4 it looks like comprehensive win for the home team, there were a number of big positives for Shamrocks, chiefly the fact that half of the team are minors. These young players demonstrated that they are well able to compete with a much more experienced opposition. Special mention must go to Mullingar Shamrocks and Westmeath under-16 player Máiread Newman, who in her first competitive game with the senior squad put in an excellent performance at corner back.

Mullingar Shamrocks: Isabelle Clinton, Carla Gibney, Rachel Hannigan, Máiread Newman, Melek Fagan, Michelle Buckley, Susanna Buckley, Laura Whitelaw, Liveta Lazauuskaite, Laura Culkin, Carole Finch, Sarah Geoghegan, Katie Kelly (0-1), Emma Morris (0-3).