League honours for Kilmaley

Kilmaley 4-12   Newmarket-on-Fergus 1-11

KILMALEY were crowned Division 1 League champions at Wolfe Tones camogie pitch on Saturday when they proved too strong for Newmarket. Four first-half goals from Aisling O’Halloran, Shonagh Enright and Ailish Considine (2) left Newmarket with too much to do, even with wind assistance in the second half.

Kilmaley were first out of the blocks with a Shonagh Enright point two minutes into the game after good work by Aida Griffey. Newmarket responded with the equaliser from an Áine O’Brien free on six minutes. A purple patch for Kilmaley saw them score 2-5 without reply.

A good delivery from Claire McMahon led to Lauren McGuane firing over a fine point, closely followed by another from Emma O’Driscoll. Kilmaley continued to pile on the pressure and were rewarded with a 45’ on 10 minutes, which Claire McMahon duly converted.

Kilmaley’s first goal came in the 12th minute when a fine move, involving Niamh O’Dea, Shonagh Enright and Emma O’Driscoll, ended with Aisling O’Halloran shooting to the net. Points followed from Claire McMahon and Ailish Considine before Shonagh Enright had a goal to put her side eleven points clear at the end of the first quarter.

The Kaiser sisters, Ruth and Nikki, had points for Newmarket but the winners had like scores from Emma O’Driscoll and Claire McMahon. Ailish Considine then hit two goals in quick succession as the champions led 4-9 to 0-4 at half time.

Newmarket struck for the first two points of the second half through Nikki Kaiser and Róisín McMahon. Áine O’Brien’s delivery slipped through the hand of Denise Lynch for a Newmarket goal and they followed with a further four points before the end of the third quarter.

Kilmaley regÁined the upper hand, however and confined Newmarket to just one point in the remaining time.
It was fitting that Kilmaley captain Claire McMahon had the final score of the game from a 21 yard free.

Overall, Kilmaley were the better-balanced team and made most use of the wind. They had outstanding performances from Lorna Higgins, Denise Lynch, Katie Cahill, Eimear Considine, Niamh O’Dea, Emma O’Driscoll, Claire McMahon, Ailish Considine and Shonagh Enright. Newmarket were best served by Aimee McInerney, Áine O’Brien, Carol O’Leary and the McMahon and Kaiser sisters.

After the game, the Division 1 Trophy was presented to Claire McMahon by Joe Robbins, vice-chairman of Clare Camogie Board.

Kilmaley: Edel Griffey; Lorna Higgins, Denise Lynch (0-1), Lisa Kennedy; Niamh Cahill, Katie Cahill, Eimear Considine; Aida Griffey, Niamh O’Dea; Aisling O’Halloran (1-0), Emma O’Driscoll (0-2), Claire McMahon (0-6); Lauren McGuane (0-1), Ailish Considine (2-1), Shonagh Enright (1-1).
Subs: Sinéad O’Halloran for Niamh Cahill, Ashling Cahill for Lauren McGuane, Sinéad O’Keeffe for Aida Griffey, Leighanne McMahon for Shonagh Enright.
Newmarket-on-Fergus: Aislinn Keogh; Aoife Griffin, Laura McMahon, Jane O’Leary; Aimee McInerney, Joanne Walsh, Bríd Enright; Ruth Kaiser (0-1), Carol Kaiser; Carol O’Leary, Nikki Kaiser (0-7), Áine O’Brien (1-2); Ann Marie Hayes, Róisín McMahon (0-1), Jenny Kelly.
Referee: Aidan Ryan.