ERRIGAL Ciaran set up an Ulster Club Senior Ladies’ Football Championship semi-final meeting with All-Ireland champions Termon after a comfortable win over Glen yesterday.
The Tyrone champions made light work of their Derry counterparts in Maghera in a game that was over by half-time, the visitors leading 1-12 to no score – and it didn’t get any better for Glen after the resumption.
The gulf between Tyrone and Derry football was plain to see, but Glen’s cause was not helped by a number of key players carrying injuries and eight of their players having featured for the club’s senior camogie team in a battle with Banagher that went right down to the wire less than 24 hours earlier.
For Glen, a very young and developing team, this will be a difficult defeat to take and they know they are better than they showed yesterday afternoon.
They will have to regroup and lift themselves with their league final against Steelstown still to come. Had this been a closer game, Errigal could well have been left to rue their high number of wides, 12 alone in the first half.
They made a blistering start, getting off the mark with less than 20 seconds on the clock through an Aine Canavan point.
The first of their five goals came in the seventh minute through corner-forward Shannon Monaghan, who finished a sweeping team move that set the tone for the rest of the game.
Glen goalkeeper Breigeen Cassidy pulled off two great saves in as many minutes to keep her side in it, first denying Julia Mallon in the 16th minute and then Lycrecia Quinn with corner-back Fiona McCrory clearing the rebound off the line less than a minute later.
Centre half-forward Quinn made it 1-5 to no score in the 21st minute and with Glen reduced to 14 players in the 24th minute when Alicia Convery was sent to the sin-bin, the visitors tagged on another seven points, three of those from Monaghan to put the Tyrone champions firmly in the driving seat at the break, 1-12 to 0-0.
Second half goals from Ailise Gormley (two), Claire Campbell and Selena Oguz sealed Errigal Ciaran’s semi-final berth, much to the delight of Neilly McAleer, who manages the Ballygawley side along with Tiffy and Paudge Quinn.
McAleer admits he did not expect the game to be so one-sided but was happy with how the team performed.
“We are happy enough with the way it went and, to give the subs a run out, that’s vitally important for the whole panel and the team,” he said.
“We have a good bunch of girls, a good strong panel and coming from a strong minor team as well, but it is a combination of the older girls as well.
“The likes of Shannon Quinn and Gerardine McGinley in the middle of the field were very strong and our defence was strong as well.
“They talk about Errigal’s defensive thing, but we always like to counter-attack as well and our forwards showed how dangerous they are.”
He did acknowledge the high number of wides they registered and knows that, in a closer game, they could prove costly against the Donegal, Ulster and All-Ireland champions in a fortnight’s time.
McAleer continued: “We can’t really wait as a club, and for the ladies’ club as well, to bring the All-Ireland champions to our area.
“We will talk about the wides this week in training. In tougher games we need to be scoring them.
“The fact is, though, that we are getting into those positions and that’s more important to us, kicking the ball wide rather than kicking into the goalkeeper’s hands, which did happen today, but we will get over that.
“We will work on that this week.”
