Navan O’Mahony’s 3-09
Kildalkey 0-02
Navan O’Mahonys kept their unbeaten record in this year’s Division 4 adult camogie league intact with a hard-fought win over Kildalkey in Paddy O’Brien park last night. Although the final score would point towards a reasonably comfortable win for the Navan girls, they were made to work extremely hard for the victory by a young Kildalkey side that brought massive work rate and a real ferocity in the tackle.
The opening quarter was played at a frenetic pace, with the visitors obviously intent on not allowing O’Mahonys to build a commanding first half lead, as they had done in their two previous victories. Scores were at a premium and both sides found it difficult to move the ball such was the level of hooking and blocking around the middle. O’Mahonys midfielder Claire Mallon was the dominant player in this opening half and took possession from numerous rucks and sent good deliveries into her forward line. Mia McNally managed to engineer some space for herself on a couple of occasions to register much needed points. O’Mahonys were also delighted to have the ever-reliable Eva Stewart back in between the sticks and she was called into action on more than one occasion to snuff out dangerous Kildalkey attacks.
Defending the Brews Hill goals in the second half, O’Mahonys looked to press home their slight scoreboard advantage. Some positional switches in their forward line seemed to unsettle the Kildalkey defence and Aoibhin Kielty, Sarah Corcoran and their industrious midfielder Anna Gardiner all struck well worked points from play. With about 20 minutes to play, a long speculative shot from out the field was batted down by the Kildalkey net minder. Corner forward Aoife Potts reacted brilliantly with a deft flick to lift the ball into the net for the game’s decisive score. Kildalkey to their credit continued to put pressure on the O’Mahonys defence but with Kitty O’Rourke and Ellen Farrell in commanding form at the back, they were unable to get the scores they needed to get them back in the game. Another good win for the Hoops as they now turn their attention to Kiltale in the Division 3 league on Saturday. Special mention also to Hannah Snow who entered the fray for the final quarter to make her debut at adult camogie.
Eva Stewart, Moya Tansey, Amanda Feeney, Caitlin Ball, Kitty O’Rourke, Lauren Patterson, Ellen Farrell, Claire Mallon, Anna Gardiner, Ruth Stewart, Aoibhin Kielty, Grace Cahill, Mia McNally, Sarah Corcoran, Aoife Potts
Chloe Gallagher for Tansey, Rebecca Briggs for Cahill, Hannah Snow for Potts
