LEINSTER CLUB INTERMEDIATE FINAL - The Harps seal five in a row
The Harps reinforced their status in camogie folklore on Sunday afternoon by capturing their fifth consecutive Leinster championship after an enthralling encounter with Kilkenny side Lisdowney.
The Harps 0-12
Lisdowney 1-7
Enjoying home advantage and a fantastic crowd who showed up in support, The Harps raced into an early lead, registering three points without reply. Left half forward Elaine Mahony went down injured not long after the start of the game, but showed great resilience to get back up and point Harps' first score. Right half forward Aine Mahony then converted a close range free before the third sister, Louise rounded off a great start with a well struck '45.
During the same period Lisdowney spurned 1-2. Corner forward Aoife Murphy looked very lively in the opening exchanges but her tamely struck effort on goal six minutes in was easily dealt with by Helen Keane in the Harps goal. Lisdowney's Claire Phelan put in a great performance throughout the match at centre back, but in reflection of the final score line her two missed frees from relatively simple positions early on will be a hard pill to swallow.
It was Phelan who pointed Lisdowney's first after 14 minutes from a placed ball, that was followed by another point from half forward Kate Holland to point the minimum between the sides.
A fantastic battle had developed between Harps centre back Catriona Phelan and her marker Sandra Gleeson in the first half with both women competing ferociously for every ball in a fair manner. Lisdowney grabbed the only goal of the game in the fifteenth minute when Gleeson's fluffed point attempt deceived the Harps' goalie and dropped into the net, although the home side will feel aggrieved that a dangerous tackle on captain Elaine Cuddy went unnoticed in the build up to the goal.
Despite the goal, The Harps never panicked and continued about their business as usual, another long range free from Louise Mahony an ideal response to conceding that goal. Louise grabbed her third point of the game moments later after a great run and offload from Aine Mahony. Lisdowney's Aoife Murphy continued to look dangerous, and showed superior agility when shaking off two Harps defenders and pointing late on in the half.
Aine Mahony converted a close range free after taking a very late challenge out near the sideline before midfielder Joanne Prior's superbly drilled strike gave the Harps a 0-7 to 1-3 lead at half time.
Within seconds of the restart Elaine Mahony tested Noelle Murphy with a fierce strike but the Lisdowney keeper proved equal to the shot. Angela Hanlon grabbed the first score of the half for the home side, a well worked sideline routine culminated with the centre forward applying a neat strike off her left hand side. Lisdowney's Sandra Gleeson's witch to corner forward in the second half proved a smart move after she pointed the visitors' first score after the break.
From the 40th to the 50th minute, the Harps applied huge pressure on the Lisdowney backs, taking great scores but failing to raise a green flag thanks again to Noelle Murphy. Aine Mahony got the ball rolling with a close range free, before full forward Aisling Phelan underlined her growing influence on the game with two fantastic points in succession, the second of which came from a great long range pass from Catriona Phelan.
Elaine Cuddy showed great leadership in the 51st minute to denying an almost certain goal for Lisdowney, throwing herself in the way of Kate Holland's shot and inspiring heroic defending in the closing stages. At the other end Elaine Mahony powered through several defenders before pointing from an almost impossible angle to put four points between the sides, and despite two late points from Lisdowney, The Harps held on to claim an amazing fifth consecutive Leinster title.
SCORERS - Harps: Aine Mahony 0-3 (all frees), Louise Mahony 0-3 (two frees), Elaine Mahony and Aisling Phelan 0-2 each, Joanne Prior and Angela Hanlon 0-1 each; Lisdowney: Claire Phelan 0-4 (three frees), Sandra Gleeson 1-1, Kate Holland and Aoife Murphy 0-1 each.
THE HARPS: Helen Keane, Elaine Cuddy (c), Denise Quigley, Patricia Dunphy, Michelle Fitzpatrick, Catriona Phelan, Claire Walsh, Louise Mahony, Joanne Prior, Aine Mahony, Angela Hanlon, Elaine Mahony, Laura Saunders, Aisling Phelan, Joan Dollard. Subs Maria Ftzpatrick for Laura Saunders 47mins.
LISDOWNEY: Noelle Murphy, Claire Dunne, Tracey Brennan, Julia Mackey, Kathleen Dowling, Claire Phelan, Sarah Staunton, Eimear Mulhall, Siobhan Holland, Kate Holland, Sandra Gleeson, Maeve Gannon, Janette Boran, Emma Brophy, Aoife Murphy.
Referee: Aidan O'Brien (Wexford)
In Brief..
Player of the Match - Catriona Phelan (The Harps)
The Harps had plenty of contenders for this accolade. Elaine Mahony stood out in attack. Denise Quigley and Elaine Cuddy were fantastic in defence, while Louise Mahony and Joanne Prior controlled the middle and struck countless ball. But Phelan gets it for coming out tops in two marvellous battles on the field, first with Sandra Gleeson and then with Claire Phelan, arguably Lisdowney's two top performers in the championship up until then. For the Kilkenny side, goalkeeper Noelle Murphy was faultless, while Siobhan Holland did an awful amount of work.
Ref watch
Wexford's Aidan O'Brien took control of this tie, and although appreciating the difficulty of refereeing any final, it was hard not to be completely baffled at some of the decisions he made. Lisdowney will argue that they didn't receive enough frees, but they also got away with some very dangerous challenges, most notably against Aine Mahony and Elaine Cuddy in the first half.
Score of the game
The Harps full forward Aisling Phelan hit a purple patch at the start of the second half causing many problems for her marker. In the 41st minute she fielded a long free played out of defence by Catriona Phelan, before showing the composure to first create space for herself and split the posts with a controlled strike.
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Friday 18 May 2012
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