Sperrin Og book their place in the All Ireland Club Final
07 November 2011
As the hangovers clear in Greencastle today the Sperrin Óg ladies will be coming to terms with their historic All Ireland Final in under two weeks time.
Luck certainly played a part in the semi-final but it was Sperrin Óg’s outstanding workrate that allowed them to stay in front of a strong Claregalway team throughout the game.
A free awarded in the first minute of the game resulted in a goal when Niamh O’Neill’s kick fortunately dropped under the crossbar.
Both teams had opportunities to score in the next five minutes but Claregalway were more clinical and added two points to their tally to leave a single point between the teams.
Two goals in as many minutes from Kim McCullagh and Niamh O’Neill gave the home side a seven point lead and the game started to look as though it was over as a competition in the first ten minutes.
Nicola Glass and Amy McCullagh added two points to the scoreboard but it was the excellent defensive performances from Captain Maggie Gallagher, Laura Heagney and Eimear Teague with timely interceptions from the midfield pairing of Shauneen Ferrity and Laura Lee McCullagh that allowed Sperrin Óg to maintain their nine point lead at the interval.
HALF TIME SCORE: Sperrin Óg 3-2 Claregalway 0-2
Kim McCullagh added a point for the home side shortly after the throw-in but this was to be Sperrin Óg’s final score as Claregalway fought hard to rescue the game in the second half.
Claregalway scored 1-3 in the next 10 minutes and were unfortunate when a shot hit the cross bar and was cleared by Cathy Teague.
Both sides battled hard for the remainder of the game and when Claregalway reduced the margin to two points in the 27th minute, tensions were high among the Sperrin Óg supporters.
The ladies bravely hung on to win the game and the relief was obvious when the final whistle blew.
While Claregalway will regret their missed opportunities throughout the game, Sperrin Óg will be delighted with their result and will look back on the game as ideal preparation for their upcoming All Ireland appearance.
FULL TIME SCORE: Sperrin Óg 3-3 Claregalway 1-7
TIME OF GAME: 6th November 2011 2:00pm