Conlon and Reilly dominate as Killanena upset odds

Killanena 2-10   Feakle 1-3

LEAGUE finalists Feakle, who were expected to account for neighbours Killanena in the opening round of the Junior Championship, suffered a 10-point reversal in Feakle on Saturday evening.

 

Killanena, who amalgamated with Whitegate, had won a Munster League title recently and accumulated a lot of game time over the summer. Nonetheless, Feakle were still fancied to win the tie on their home ground.

Conditions were very warm as Killanena started brightly with the opening scores from Evelyn Glynn and Pauline McNamara, before Sinéad Reilly struck for the winners’ first goal after 10 minutes.

Despite determined play from the home side, the Killanena defence did not concede scores lightly and further efforts from Glynn and Amy McArthur left Killanena 1-5 to 0-2 ahead after 24 minutes. Five minutes of solid effort by Feakle resulted in a goal for the home side to leave Killanena 1-5 to 1-2.

Killanena struck quickly in the second half with a point from Glynn before Pauline McNamara struck for a well-taken goal in the 35th minute. From that moment on, the winners were secure in their position, allowing Feakle only a solitary second-half point as Claire Taaffe, Marie O’Donnell, Glynn and McNamara added last-quarter points to seal a shock but deserved win.

Best for the winners were Aoife Conlon and Sinéad Reilly, who were aided well by Pauline McNamara, Amy McArthur, Ciara McNamara, Aoife Collins and Lorraine Canny.

Killanena: Anne McNamara; Aoife Conlon, Claire Taaffe (0-1); Lorraine Canny, Gráinne McNamara, Aoife Collins; Ciara McNamara, Amy McArthur (0-1); Evelyn Glynn (0-5), Pauline McNamara (1-2), Sinéad Reilly (1-0); Laura Flaherty, Edel Broderick.
Subs: Marie O’Donnell (0-1) for Flaherty, Catherine McMahon for Broderick.
Feakle: Muirna Donellan; Siobhán Nelson, Siobhán Tuohy; Áine Hogan, Sarah McGuinness, Lisa McGrath; Catriona Naughton, Clodagh McDonnell; Ciara Minogue, Mary Kate Moloney (0-3f), Louise O’Halloran; Lauren Guilfoyle, Collette Purcell (1-0).
Referee: Seanie McMahon, Newmarket.

Ballyea 4-6   Kilmaley 2-8

KILMALEY opened the scoring with a pointed free from Lauren McGuane in the fourth minute. Ballyea replied with a point from play from Alison Carrig two minutes later and from here to the break, the sides went score for score to leave the half-time tally at 1-4 each.
A tough battle continued at the start of the second half but goals by Rebecca Culligan and Vivian Kearney put Ballyea ahead. Kilmaley  could have been closer but for a couple of good saves by Ballyea goalie Aine O’Shea.
Ballyea captain Suzy O’Shea was outstanding at centre-back with great support from Edel Hehir, Sally Carrig and Ellen Keane. Ballyea midfielders Louise Griffin and Alison Carrig were strong in the centre of the field, while Rebecca Culligan and Vivian Kearney had the firepower up front.

Bodyke 2-9   Ruan 1-1

BODYKE had a convincing win on home turf against Ruan. The home side got off to a good start with an early point by Rachel Grogan followed by a goal and point from corner-forward Aideen Wiley within the first 10 minutes.
Bodyke kept on the pressure with more scores from Clara Malone and Sinéad Doyle. Ruan broke the Bodyke defence in 20 minutes to score a goal but Bodyke held strong for the remainder of the half with great work from Una Kavanagh and Ann-Marie Fitzgerald, leaving the half-time score at 1-6 to 1-0.
Bodyke started strong again in the second half playing against the breeze with scores from Sinéad Doyle, Edel O’Grady and a well-struck goal from Aideen Wiley. Ruan managed to pull a point back and put Bodyke under pressure in the closing stages of the game but with time against them, it was the home side who ran out victors.