Donaghmoyne Championship winners 2022

Combilift Senior Championship Final

Donaghmoyne 3:14

Emyvale 1:6

"20 in a row, 20 in a row" was the chant in the celebration circle as Donaghamoyne acknowledged their historic feat and now look forward to another trip into the provincial championship. One would certainly have to feel for Emyvale as positioned in any other county and they well could be celebrating their own 20 in a row but as it stands their wait for a senior title continues.

Taking nothing for granted Donaghmoyne celebrated this title win as if it was their first such is their hunger for success and also the want to  reach such an historic milestone. In typical fashion the defending champions started the game at a lighting pace and were not going to allow Emyvale to build up any kind of confidence or rythmn. Straight from the throw in, Aoife Burns collected on a broken ball and run at the heart of the Emyvale defence to get the opening score but it was a start that was to prove costly for Donaghmoyne as Amanda Finnegan appeared to turn akwardly on her knee and seen her final end before it had begun with Danielle Collier coming in to replace her. While the break in play and the loss of your main midfilder may have disrupted the best of teams, it wasn't the case for the champions as Catriona Mc Connell fired over a free followed by a point from Amy Garland before a swift counter attack seen Cora Courtney bearing down on goal and she rounded Alannah O'Donoghue to finish to the net. 1:3 to no score inside the opening 7 minutes and already the red and white ladies had one hand on the Pauline Devlin cup.

Emyvale were not going to give up however. Therese Scott who finished with 1:4 got all her scores in the first half as she went toe to toe with Sharon Courtney and began to win the personal battle. Her opening score came after she turned inside the Donaghmoyne centre back and Aoife Burns replied almost immediately to put 7 between the sides again, Therese was making excellent runs behind the Donaghmoyne rear guard which were been picked out and a futher 2 points quickly arrived to leave it 1:5 to 0: 3. Danielle Collier put 6 between them again before another piece of individual brillance from the Emyvale full forward seen her raise the green flag. Again working on her own in the forward line she won the ball out in front and turned to face the goal almost 20 metres out. With still plenty of work to do the No 14 showed as if to pass the ball across to a supporting player and that was just enough to force goalkeepr  Linda Martin to adjust her body and she finished brillinatly underneath the former all star number 1 to put 3 between the sides. Cora Courtney did push it out to 4 again, but Scott was to have the final say of the first half as she again showed a clean pair of heels to Donaghmoyne rear guard and fired over from a difficult angle to leave it 1:4 to 1:7 at the break.

With the swirling conditions now appearing to favour the champions in they 2nd half they made it count on the scoreboard with Hazel Kingham and Cathriona Mc Connell raising white flags while Emyvale who found themselves camped inside their own 45 metre line also went down to 14 players as Sophie Corley seen yellow for a tangle with Amy Garland. Emyvale did pull a point back with Helen Mc Nally who came in for Edwina Mc Kenna finding her range but Donaghmoyne could sense they now had full control of the game and they made it count on the score board with Teeny punishing from placed ball while Rosemary Courtney fired over to long distance efforts with the aid of the wind to push it out to 1-12 to 1:5 before player of the match Lauren Garland got in on the act and registered a point before getting on the end of a great team move to finish to the net with the aid of the post. Holly Mc Quaid did raise a 2nd white flag of the 2nd half for Emyvale to complete their scoring at 1:6, but with them pushing up looking for scores Cathriona Mc Connell was able to captilised on a quick break and finished with a cheeky chip over Alannah O Dongohue to ensure the historic 20 in a row was complete. Both sides finished with 14 players as Cora Courtney and Grainne Mc Guinness seen their personal battle finish with both been shown yellow cards while Niamh Callan also spent 10 minutes in the 2nd bin during the 2nd half.

Donaghamoyne Team  :- Linda Martin, Joanne Geoghegan, Niamh  Callan (Capt), Fiona Courtney, Hazel Kingham, Sharon Courtney, Eimear Traynor, Amanda Finnegan, Eileen Mc Elroy, Amy Garland Cora Courtney, Rosemary Courtney, Cathriona Mc Connell, Lauren Garland, Aoife Burns

Subs used :- Danielle Collier for Roisin Finnegan Joanne Courtney

Emyvale Team  :- Alannah O'Donoghue, Melaine Hamill, Dervla Cawley, Edwina Mc Kenna, Amy Hamill, Brid Mc Nally, Sophie Corley, Holly Mc Quaid, Nicola Fahy, Eimear Mc Anespie, Grainne Mc Guinness, Aoife Mc Anespie, Rebecca Hughes, Therese Scott, Caroline Mc Aree.

Subs used :- Helen Mc Nally for Lucy Corley Aine Mc Quaid

Donaghamoyne scorers : Aoife Burns 0:2 Cathriona Mc Connell 1:3 Amy Garland 0:1 Cora Courtney 1:2 Danielle Collier 0:1 Hazel Kingham 0:1 Rosemary Courtney 0:2 Lauren Garland 1:2

Emyvale Scorers : Therese Scott 1:4 Helen Mc Nally 0:1 Holly Mc Quaid 0:1

Referee : Gerald Treanor