Adamstown 6-1 Oylegate 1-1
They say that goals win games and this certainly was the case in this year’s Allianz Cumann na mBunscol Rackard League Roinn C Camogie Final.
Adamstown exploded out of the blocks with a goal in the first minute through Margaurite Furlong who soloed through several defenders and blasted a powerful shot off her left into the bottom corner of the Oylegate net. Oylegate almost had an equalising goal minutes later when Chloe Kavanagh volleyed on a high ball and seen her shot drift wide. Then for a large part of the half, the tenacious defending of Chloe Bradley, Oonagh Barden and Tara Doyle and their Oylegate rivals Shannon Burns, Tegan Frost and Sinéad Reck made scores very hard to come by.
With halftime approaching, Adamstown got the crucial scores that they needed. Kate Gaffney did well to set up Éadaoin Stafford who scored a goal with a quick ground strike. Oylegate responded through an Amy Fortune 45 but Adamstown were getting the big scores and two more of these came when Éadaoin Stafford clipped over a point and then Margaurite Furlong finished the half as she began by soloing the ball a great length and burying the ball into the net to bring the halftime scores to 3-1 to 0-1.
The second half was no less competitive and this time it was Oylegate who began better, Ava Kelly battled hard and won a free that Amy Fortune somehow managed to slip into the back of the Adamstown net from distance. This inspired Oylegate to push further and they nearly got right back into the game when Ava Kelly sent a dangerous ball across the goal.
Margaurite Furlong was to exert further influence on the game and she did so by scoring a fantastic goal from out the field to bring the gap between the teams back to three goals. Julie Furlong sealed the result when she tapped in a loose ball to score her first goal and then grabbed her second goal right at the end by squeezing the ball in from an acute angle. To be fair to Oylegate they keep fighting and were unlucky not to get a goal through Loren Doyle in the final minutes. Adamstown were thoroughly deserving of their win though and in a match that featured tough tackling throughout it was always going to take something a bit special to separate the sides and a brilliant Margaurite Furlong hatrick did just that.
~Seán Óg Whelan
Adamstown: Caitlín Mernagh, Émeir Mernagh, Rachel Power, Chloe Bradley, Jane Doyle, Oonagh Barden, Tara Doyle, Shauna Wickham, Margaurite Furlong, Zara Power, Kate Gaffney, Éadaoin Stafford, Julie Furlong, Grace Cloney, Róisín O’Neill, Muireann Stafford, Ellie Delaney, Thea English, Lilyanna Rice, Corah Purcell, Sharon Booth, Ciara Booth
Oylegate: Sarah Nolan, Sinéad Reck, Tegan Frost, Shannon Burns, Aoife Nolan, Hannah Kehoe, Amy Fortune, Chloe Kavanagh, Niamh O’Brien, Ava Kelly, Loren Doyle, Anna Nolan, Sarah Downes, Polly Frost, Hannah Mernagh
