15/01/2018
Corn Uan Uladh final
Cross and Passion Ballycastle 0-8 St Louis Ballymena 1-3
Yesterday’s Ulster senior schools’ camogie final wasn’t meant to be as close as it was, but the intensity of the St Louis Ballymena challenge meant that Cross and Passion Ballycastle were hanging on to their provincial crown by the finger nails through to the 36th minute of the second half.
And it was something that Barry Kelly, joint manager with Elaine Dowds, picked up on at the end.
“We beat them quite comfortably early in the league around Halloween, but, given the quality of player they have, we expected a tough battle – maybe just not as tough as we got though.
“We didn’t play poorly, but just could not break clear of them. They were so intense in their tackling all over the pitch especially against our forwards.
“But we braved the storm by digging very deep and towards the end it was a matter of battening down the hatches and making it over the line.”
The Cross and Passion defence was just as intense as their opponents with Katie Lynn a tower of strength until a second booking in injury time led to her dismissal. Roisin McCormick, who was brilliantly marked by Kathryn Mullan throughout, dropped back to fill in and see the game out.
As Kelly suggested, his attackers worked hard but were closed out by the tackling, fitness and ferocity of a really focussed St Louis defence led by the excellent Amy Boyle, my Player of the Match, although Bridgit Delargy, Kathryn Mullan or Cameron McGaughey could also lay claims to the accolade.
The two defences contributed to keep the game very close throughout – and over the 65 plus minutes there were just three scores from open play, all incidentally taken by Cross and Passion.
The first of those arrived from Kirsty McKendry in the 4th minute when she was played into space and perhaps could have carried another 10 metres for an opening on goal.
The rest of the first half was brilliant defence punctuated with the odd score from placed balls. Roisin McCormick hit three in a row to put Ballycastle four up, two of them for fouls on Maeve Kelly when Kelly had just broken cover and, like McKendry earlier, had a goal chance.
Áine Devlin hit back with two frees for Ballymena and, although McCormick lofted over two in response before the break, St Louis looked to have a real opportunity at 0-6 to 0-2 down with the wind behind them in the second half.
Devlin pointed a free on the re-start and then, in the 39th minute, fired home a penalty after Kimberly Burke was taken down.
Significantly Anna Connolly pointed immediately for Ballycastle, not allowing Ballymena to build on the goal and there were 15 more scoreless but really intense minutes before Roisin McCormick hit her first point from play.
From then until the final whistle CPC were under the cosh; Katie Lynn seeing red after taking down Kimberly Burke, but Áine Devlin spurning the 30 metres’ free with her shot blocked out and cleared while another late free was shepherded over the end line.
Ballycastle will have benefitted from the close game as they enter the All-Ireland stages, while Antrim camogie has to the real winner.
Cross and Passion : A McGowan, C McCaughan, K Lynn, A O’Mullan, B McKeague, C McShane, F McVeigh, R McCormick 0-6, 0-5 frees, M Kelly, A Connolly 0-1, K McKendry 0-1, M McCormick, D McGill, C McCarry, M O’Neill.
Subs: C Laverty for D Magill (ht), C McGarry for A Connolly (57).
St Louis : A Graham, L McAleese, E Kearns, F Hills, Cameron McGaughey, A Boyle capt., B Delargy, K Mullan, M Downey, K Burke, C Crawford, A Devlin 1-3, 1-0 pen., 0-3 frees, S Darragh, K Edgar, M McKillen
Sub : E Traynor for C Crawford (55)
Referee : Owen Elliott (Ballymena)
By Séamas McAleenan
