Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown win Corn Eithne after dramatic late Aoife Blanchfield goal
Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown claim Corn Eithne
A goal from Aoife Blanchfield in the 59th minute of an intriguing Allianz Corn Eithne final in Banagher was the score that finally killed off an excellent Coláiste Muire Ennis side that was level with Coláiste Mhuire Johnstown with five minutes remaining.
It didn’t look good for the Clare school in the junior B decider of the All-Ireland PP schools’ competition when Johnstown opened with the first five points of the game. Taylor Corbett scored four of those five points, three from frees, with midfielder Leyla Ahern breaking the sequence.
However Croía Corcoran eventually pointed frees in the 14th and 15th minutes to give Ennis a foothold in the match. Over the second quarter there was just one further score for each team, Clea Whelan for Johnstown and Corcoran from another free for Ennis, to leave it 0-6 to 0-3 at the break.
Things livened up significantly on the restart with two quick points from Corcoran, including one from play. Olivia Marnell came back with a point for Johnstown, but Corcoran, with her sixth point, closed the gap to 0-7 to 0-6 with 40 minutes gone.
Over the next ten minutes, both freetakers pulled shots wide and Marnell and Katie Conlon swopped scores. Then Corbett found her range again only for Máiréad Queally and Corcoran, from a free, to tie the teams on 0-9 each.
With the excitement now at fever pitch, Johnstown dug in at half-back and midfield with Ciara Townsend cementing her player of the match award. Whelan edged them ahead with a point.
Then came the Blanchfield goal with three minutes playing time remaining. It looked as if the Leinster champions had over-cooked the hand-passes inside the Ennis 13 metres’ line, but when Blanchfield took possession there was just enough room to get the shot in off her left.
Apart from Townsend, Johnstown had super performers in Corbett, Ciara Joyce and captain Katie Dunphy in defence and the Ahern sisters. It took a while for Corcoran to get Ennis going and her frees kept them in contention with Conlon, Queally and Máiréad McNamara others to catch the eye as they came up marginally short in an excellent final.
T Corbett 0-5 (4fs); A Blanchfield 1-0; C Whelan, O Marnell 0-2 each; L Ahern 0-1.
C Corcoran 0-7 (6fs); K Conlon, M Queally 0-1 each.
A Dwyer, S Newman, C Joyce, S Lennon, A Lanigan, K Dunphy, M Downey; C Townsend, L Ahern; C Whelan, T Corbett, A Blanchfield, N Gleeson, O Marnell, E Ahern.
E Jones, M O’Malley, M McNamara, C McCarthy, B Hegarty, ES Daly, C Hegarty, A Kelly, H Earls, S McNamara, R Kerins, M Queally, K Conlon, E Frawley, C Corcoran.
C Murray for S McNamara.
Five-times All-Ireland senior hurling medallist with Limerick, Diarmaid Byrnes has guided his school team Laurel Hill Secondary to a first Corn Aoife camogie title with victory over St Wolstan’s College Celbridge in Johnstown.
Last year, their neighbouring school, Laurel Hill College brought the same title back to the Shannonsiders with victory over St Pius X Magherafelt.
Despite just a turnaround of six days since they beat Ulster champions St Killian’s on Sunday, Laurel Hill hit the ground running with a point from Clara Collins followed by a goal bundled over the line by Hannah Murphy before 70 seconds were gone.
St Wolstan’s hit back and dominated the next ten minutes with points from Sadhbh O’Reilly and Doireann Lanigan.
However, once Rosie McCaul ran 70 metres for a superb solo point, the momentum switched to the Munster champions and they emphasised that on the scoreboard with three more goals between the 19th and 25th minutes.
Laurel Hill had registered 1-4 when Murphy scored her second goal. Sophie O’Grady quickly added a third and a few minutes later Millie O’Sullivan added a fourth.
Doireann Lanigan arrested some of the momentum with her second point from a free, but St Woltan’s still trailed by 4-6 to 0-3 at the break.
The Celbridge girls worked hard during the third quarter. They held Laurel Hill scoreless for the opening 13 minutes, but crucially failed to score themselves.
Eventually Collins broke free from a ruck to hit the top corner and the Limerick side were back in business. McCaul added her fourth point of the game and then Orla Sheehan came off the bench to hit the Celbridge net within 30 seconds.
McCaul fired over another point before a consolation goal from Issey Kelly, but O’Grady responded immediately with another point for the winners.
S O’Grady 2-1; H Murphy, C Collins 1-2 each; R McCaul 0-5 (1f); M O’Sullivan 1-1; O Sheehan 1-0.
I Kelly 1-0; D Lanigan 0-2 (fs), S O’Reilly 0-1.
A Concannon; K Daly, E Gavin, C O’Donoghue; A Kennedy, E O’Donnell, M O’Grady; E Hickey, J McGrath; C Collins, R McCaul, S O’Grady; M Gardiner, M O’Sullivan, H Murphy. Subs: O Sheehan for M O’Sullivan (51); M O’Connell for M Gardiner (53); E Jordan for E Gavin (56); R Collins for E Hickey (56); C Nihill for A Kennedy (58); L Lohan for K Daly (58); A O ‘Connell for H Murphy (59)
C Lanigan; A Lynch, A Burke, É Browne; O Keville, S Quinn, L Wright; D Lanigan, A Maguire; I Kelly, J Henney, S O’Reilly; D Fortune, F Heffernan, S Sheehan. Subs: E Fox for É Browne (14); A Nichols for F Heffernan (35); A Rigney for S Quinn (44); A Smith for A Lynch (57).
Despite conceding two goals and three points over the last 20 minutes of this decider in Dicksboro, St Augustine’s Dungarvan were comfortable winners of Corn Úna against a Scoil Mhuire Clane side that refused to give up.
The Kildare side was 1-12 to 0-3 down early in the second half, but still chased the game with Hannah McBride, Bella Rose Gleeson, Éabha Reid, Megan Cribbin, Caoimhe Mullahy and Arwen Tennyson prominent.
But St Augustine’s had done the hard work in the early part of the game due mainly to the dominance of Laura Beresford and Doireann Power, who would share the Player of the Match award, while Sophie Carroll Lawler marshalled her defence well against the late pressure from Clane.
Caoimhe Mullahy was the only scorer for Clane up until a couple of minutes before the break, her point coming nine minutes into the game. By then, the Friary had taken charge with the opening four points, including two from Power.
Their reaction to Mullahy’s point was to push on and within five minutes, they had stretched the lead to 0-8 to 0-1 with two more scores from Power. By half-time that lead had moved to 0-12 to 0-3 with a couple of late scores from Mullahy and Anita Mazur.
Six minutes into the second half, Clodagh Lattimore struck for a goal for the Waterford side. But from then on, Scoil Mhuire were on the front foot and Mazur started the comeback with a point.
Although Power cancelled it in the next attack, a goal from Maria Kavannagh raised Clane. Sub Evie Enright followed it with a point and when Kavannagh found the net for the second time, the gap was down to five points.
Power settled Dungarvan nerves with a point, but they had to withstand some heavy pressure from Clane that produced only a point from Sophie Heffernan before the celebrations could begin.
D Power 0-7; L Beresford 0-3; C Lattimore 1-0; S Power 0-2; A Beresford, S Radley 0-1 each.
M Kavanagh 2-0; C Mullahy, A Mazur (fs) 0-2 each; E Enright, S Heffernan 0-1 each
M Phelan, E Power, SC Lawler, A Connolly, A Ryan, L Prendergast, C Beresford, S Radley, N Crotty, K Hennessey, L Beresford, D Power, C Lattimore, A Beresford, S Power
É Reid, A Tennyson, BR Gleeson, K Keena, H McBride, A Cross, B Keating, G Martin, M Cribbin, S Heffernan, M Kavannagh, A Mazur, C Mullahy, I O’Donovan, F Byrne. Subs: E Enright for I O’Donovan, K Ormsby for F Beirne, S Corbett for G Martin, L Fogarty for A Mazur.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
