DESMOND 15s INTO BOWL FINAL

U15 Gaynor Bowl Semi Final
Limerick Desmond (5) 5 (Katie Lawlee 2, Donna Kenny 2, Chloe O’Keeffe)
Kerry (0) 0

After the fantastic result in Dublin for the Gaynor 13s attention turned to Mick Hanley Park where the 15s faced the Kingdom for a place in the Gaynor Final next weekend in UL. So, no pressure then. Limerick Desmond started well with the two wide players, Donna Kenny and Katie Lawlee putting the Kerry defence under early pressure and this pressure paid off with an early goal for the hosts. Katie Lawlee opened the scoring after two minutes when Katie Lawlee cut in from the left wing and shot from outside the box that the keeper spilled the ball into her own net.

The game settled down after this with a lot of the play in the middle third but soon again the girls got back in the ascendancy. A cross from Amy Tierney in to Poppy Giltenane yielded a corner which Katie took but was headed clear by Orla Barrett. On thirteen minutes great skill by Katie out on the left saw her peel away from her marker and go down the wing and crossed the ball but support was slow in coming and the ball rolled wide. Seven minutes later on the other flank Donna went down the inside right channel to the edge of the area but a tame shot didn’t trouble Kerry.

Then a three goal burst in the space of six minutes effectively put the game out of Kerrys reach. The second goal came when Poppy picked out Katie behind the Kerry defence and placed the ball over the advancing keeper from just inside the area. Two minutes later Donna made it three with a header at the back post after a cross near the end line by Amy following a short corner by Katie. Another two minutes, another goal when Donna cut through from midfield before shooting low past the keeper. At four nil the game was beyond Kerry and it got worse a minute from half time when captain Chloe O’Keeffe headed home a corner from the left by Katie. Half time 5-0.

Not surprisingly the second half was a real anti-climax with both sides bringing on their subs for some game time. Poppy tested the keeper with a curling shot from inside the left edge of the box that the keeper did well to hold on to. Aoife Russell also tested the keeper from a somewhat similar position with the outcome the same. Left back Aisling Enright brought a similar save from the busy Kerry keeper after attacking down the wing. That was about the sum total of the second half action with the outcome well and truly in the bag by half time.

Next weekend the girls will be heading in to UL to play the Gaynor Bowl Final and more of the same will give them a decent chance of a positive outcome.

Limerick Desmond – Maedbh Nolan, Ellie May O’Sullivan, Aisling Enright, Chloe O’Keeffe, Sophie Burke, Amy Tierney, Donna Kenny, Ciara Curtin, Aine Nolan, Poppy Giltenane, Katie Lawlee. Subs Cameron Moloney, Lucy McInnes, Aoife Geary, Laura Browne, Aoife Russell.

Kerry – Lucy O’Connor, Emma O’Brien, Amber McIndoe, Orla Barrett, Clodagh Moriarty, Eabha Lyne, Izzy McGrath, Lucy O’Sullivan, Molly Duggan, Eve Culhane, Suzi O’Connor. Subs Roisin Fogarty, Ellie Doohan, Katie Foster, Faye Neill, Hannah Ni Gearailt, Lilly Nowah.
Referee: Mike Murphy