Laura Walsh inspires U16A ladies footballers to win over the Kingdom
Cork's Laura Walsh takes on Kerry's Grace Murphy, during their Munster U16A Ladies Football Championship clash at Cloughduv.
Laura Walsh was in top form for the Cork U16A ladies football team as she hit 1-7 in their win over Kerry in the Munster Championship.
Both sides were affected by the harsh weather conditions in Round 2 of the championship at Cloughduv, with the two teams finding it hard to hold onto possession in the opening minutes.
It was the Cork side that were quickest to adapt however, with cornerbacks Eimear Walsh and Aisling O'Sullivan sweeping up loose ball in the back line and showing good decision-making to bring it out of the Danger zone.
After finding their feet, Cork's Johanna Foskin saw a gap in the Kerry defence and punted the ball over the bar beautifully to open the scoring for her side. After both teams fought relentlessly to both gain and retain possession from each other, Kerry's Anna O'Sullivan answered Cork's score with a point of her own, settling the Kingdom and regaining their composure.
Kate McEntee and Keeva Riordan acted as vital playmakers for Cork and sent some excellent passes into the full forward line, which was no easy task in the damp conditions.
Laura Walsh wasn't long warming up in the Cork full forward line and once she started scoring she didn't let up for the entire match. Kerry did a fantastic job to protect keeper Kelly Fitzgerald from any easy goal chances, with Leona O Sullivan leading the defenders to block up the centre and make it difficult for Cork's forwards to burst through.
But after some excellent pressure applied by Cork's Ella Burns on the opponents kick out, the goalie struggled to find any free players and Cork turned over the ball resulting in score after score.
Laura Fitzgerald showed her class with an outstanding catch and an even better finish to give Cork their first goal of the match, while Kerry's full forward Lisa Slattery held her own down at her end and kicked some super scores.
It proved to not be enough however when Cork's Kate Carey provided a killer pass to Caoimhe Horgan and gained another goal for Cork.
We saw more sinister play in the second half, with Cork's Kate McEntree and Kerry's Mary Kate Smith each receiving a yellow card for separate harsh tackles. Cork showed no let up in their scoring as they collected point after point from the outstanding Laura Walsh and Caoimhe Horgan.
Kerry's Anna O'Sullivan regained a relief goal for her side, and drove her team on to close the gap on Cork.
Dervla Healy won some excellent turnovers for Kerry but any ball that was sent up to the Kerry forwards was swept up by Maisie McCrae who was dominant as centre-back.
As Cork drifted further and further away from their opponents, a last minute free from Kerry's Lisa Slattery dropped over the Cork keeper's head but did not make enough of a dent in the scoring difference.
Cork fought until the final whistle to bring an impressive win home for the Rebels.
L. Walsh 1-7 (5f), C. Horgan 1-2, E. Nagle 0-1, A. Leahy (1f), J Foskin 0-1 each.
A. O'Sullivan, L. Slattery (1-2f) 1-2 each, MK. Smith 0-1
A. Toye; E. Walsh, A. Tobin, A. O'Sullivan; R. Breen, M. McCrae, C. Kelleher; J. Foskin, K. McEntee; E. Nagle, C. Horgan, E. Burns; K. Carey, L. Walsh, S. O'Shea.
C. Murphy for S. O'Shea, R. Feehan for C. Kelleher, S. O Farrell for E. Burns, A. Sheehan for E. Nagle, A. O' Driscoll for K. Carey, O. Drummey for R. Breen, M. O Callaghan for C. Horgan, L. O' Shea for E. Walsh, A. Leahy for L. Walsh, M. Barrett for A. Tobin.
. Fitzgerald; S. Colleran, G. Murphy, J.L. O Connor; K. O' Sullivan, L. O'Sullivan, D. Healy; MK. Smith M. Mulvihill; K. Riordan, L. O'Connor, A. O'Sullivan; H. Nic Gearilt, L. Slattery, A. Collins.
M. Teehan for A. Collins, S. Fitzgerald for K. Riordan, M. Quirke for H. Nic Gearilt, E. Costelloe for D. Healy, M. Teehan for M. Mulvihill, E. O Brien for A. O'Sullivan.
John Murphy.
