The Laune Rangers Senior Women travelled to the picturesque Castlegregory on Sunday afternoon to face the home side, Annascaul/Castlegregory, in Round 7 of Division 3 of the Donal Curtin Cup. With stunning scenery, blazing sunshine and a hard pitch due to the week’s dry weather, the setting was idyllic yet posed a real challenge for what proved to be a fiercely contested encounter.
Laune Rangers started brightly, asserting early control with well taken points from Sarah Leslie and Ailbhe Clifford. They created several promising chances throughout the opening half but were repeatedly denied by the outstanding Ciara Butler between the posts for Annascaul/Castlegregory. Her string of crucial saves kept her side in contention during a tightly fought first period.
Despite Laune Rangers dominant start, Annascaul/Castlegregory soon found their rhythm. Eimear O’Donoghue opened the scoring for the home side, followed by well-earned points from Eabha Ní Laighin and Brenna O’Neill. As both teams exchanged scores, Sarah Patton made a fantastic run up from the backs and kicked over a great point, Shauna Finn then rattled the net for the hosts. Just before halftime, Annascaul/Castlegregory surged further ahead with two superb points from Ní Laighin and one from Finn, giving them a 1-06 to 0-06 lead at the break.
Laune Rangers emerged from the interval with renewed determination, notching three unanswered points to close the gap from Sarah O’Brien, Sophia Doherty and Nicole Moriarty. Their sharp attacking play and relentless energy set the tone for a thrilling second half. In a gripping passage of play, Áine Hassett added her name to the scoresheet with a fine point.
The game’s turning point came just before the final water break. Fodhla Houlihan surged forward and was deemed to have been fouled by referee which resulted in a superb goal for Laune Rangers by Fodhla bringing the sides level and setting up a dramatic final quarter.
With the scores even, Annascaul/Castlegregory responded by piling on the pressure. However, the Laune Rangers defence stood firm, led from the goal by Sarah O’Connor, Andrea Nolan at full back and Orla O’Brien and Ríadh O’Sullivan delivering heroic performances to repel wave after wave of attacks.
Still, it was the home side who found the decisive score. Finola Ní Chathasaigh slotted over a crucial point to edge Annascaul/Castlegregory ahead and it proved to be the winner.
Final Score: Annascaul/Castlegregory 1-11 – Laune Rangers 1-10
It was a heartbreaking result for Laune Rangers, who left everything on the field. From fierce defending to clever link play and moments of individual brilliance, it was a performance full of character and grit. While the result didn’t go their way, they can take immense pride in their display a narrow defeat in a game that truly could have gone either way.
Laune Rangers – Sarah O’Connor, Laura Patton, Andrea Nolan, Riadh O’Sullivan, Sarah O’Brien, Orla O’Brien, Jacquelyn Owens, Sophia Doherty, Kayleigh McGlashan, Saoirse O’Shea, Ailbhe Clifford, Aine Hassett, Nicole Moriarty, Fodhla Houlihan, Sara Leslie, Sally McGillycuddy, Sarah Patton, Megan Gillespie, Laura Leslie, Ciara Horgan.
Annascaul/Castlegregory – Ciara Butler, Jean Farrell, Siobhan Ni Laighin, Mae Griffin, Orlagh Clifford, Lauren Goodwin, Eabha Ni Laighin, Brenna O Neill, Eimear O’Donoghue, Finola Ni Chathasaigh, Maria Nix, Maeve Slattery, Shauna Finn, Miriam Sheehan