Celbridge U16 Ladies defeat Sallins
Congratulations to Celbridge U16 Ladies football team who put on their best display of the season to end Sallins’ unbeaten league campaign. Sallins, playing with a breeze at their back got off to a strong start scoring two fine points while Aideen Stack got Celbridge’s first score off the game. Gradually Celbridge got on top in the half back line and in midfield and this domination of possession created opportunities for Celbridge’s dangerous forward line. The first goal came when Niamh Mortell ran at the Sallins defence and following an exchange of passes with Kate Gaffney, set up Ciara Gallagher who fired it into the net. Niamh Mortell’s strong running was a feature the game as was her finishing as she ended the half with three goals to her name. Having at one stage trailed by ten points Sallins rallied and scored 1-2 without reply to cut the deficit to five (4-2 to 1-6) at half-time.
Celbridge came out flying in the second half scoring (4-1) in blistering spell of football. The fluency of their movement, the accuracy of their passing and their calmness in front of goal was a pleasure to watch. The pick of the four goals came from Aideen Stack, who having fielded a long ball, curled the ball into top right hand corner off the net. This put Celbridge in a commanding position and they continued to play good football right to the final whistle ending up with final score of (10-5).
Sallins kept going right to the end and their efforts were rewarded with a late goal and point. The final play of the game saw Eva O’Hara make a fine save from the penalty spot. Sallins despite being second best on the day played some lovely football. There were stand-out performances from their fullback and captain in midfield and it is easy to see why they have had such a good season to date.
In the end this was Celbridge’s day. Niamh Mortell with five goals put on a match winning performance but there were also strong contributions from Emma Lynch, Caitlin Thomas and Grace Mimnagh in defence, the midfield duo of Megan Quinn and Maria Keating, and Aideen Stack and Ciara Gallagher in the forward line. The most impressive aspect of this win was the commitment, skill and contribution of the whole Celbridge squad and it was great to see a number of the players back from injury.
The game was played in a very sporting manner and we would like to thank the referee also for his handling of the game.
Well done to Tommy, Paul, Darren and Nicola for all the work they have put in over the season and good luck to the ladies for the rest of the league campaign.
Final Result:
Celbridge (10-5) V (4-7) Sallins
Celbridge Scorers:
Niamh Mortell (5-0); Ciara Gallagher (2-3); Aideen Stack (1-1); Erin Ruddy (1-0); Laura Stirblythe (1-0); Maria Keating (0-1)
Next Match: 2nd May 2017 vs Two Mile House (away)