AIB All-Ireland Junior B final: Lacken (Cavan) 5-12 Delvin (Westmeath) 3-2
RÓISÍN O’Keeffe helped herself to a hat-trick of goals as Lacken took the AIB All-Ireland Camogie Club Junior B title in Donaghmore Ashbourne on Sunday and became the first Cavan side to collect the title.
Lacken, buoyed from their semi-final display against British champions Fr Murphy’s last week, proved much too strong overall for Leinster champions Delvin from Westmeath who had played in four weeks.
Delvin had the wind in the first half and Caoimhe Gaffney got them off to a nice start with a point after 48 seconds. However their lead was short-lived as Joanne Moore equalised quickly and the Cavan side had a goal in the fourth minute, when Eimear Brady’s free hit the post. O’Keeffe gathered the re-bound and sent a bullet to the net from close range.
Delvin had a couple of chances to get back into the game, but the Lacken defence kept them out and added further points through Alannah O’Brien and a free from Eimear Brady.
Delvin needed a score and got a goal in the 22nd minute goal when Niamh Horan flashed a ground shot to the net.
However O’Keeffe grabbed her second goal in reply and the Cavan club led by 2-6 to 1-1 at the break.
Again Delvin began the half well with a point from Denise McGrath but Lucy Crowe then set up O’Keeffe to complete her hat-trick.
McGrath hit back with a goal from a free and then substitute Kate Gaffney rifled another major in the 42nd minute and the margin was down to six.
However the last quarter belonged to Lacken. Róisín Galligan and Joanne Moore both hit the net during that period as the Ulster champions pulled away.
Hat-trick heroine O’Keefe was happy to deflect the praise on to her team-mates.
“I suppose I scored but I didn’t do all the hard work. The girls absolutely fought like dogs out the field and I’d the easy job to do. I’m just so grateful for everyone that we pulled together and won this.
“This is probably the pinnacle of my career. To win with your club, with girls I went to primary school with, have played in primary school with, have gone through so much with. We’ve had such good times, we’ve had such bad times together.
“We went off, some of us have played county, some have played colleges, but you always come back to your club and the girls are always just like family.”
LACKEN: M Ellis, Áine Crowe, N McInerney, N Murray, Aoife Crowe, R Crowe-McKeever (0-1), C O’Reilly, R Galligan (1-0), L Crowe, L Murtagh, J Moore (1-2), A O’Brien (0-1), R O’Keeffe (3-1), T Hogan (0-1), E Brady (0-6, 5 frees).
Subs: K Gilligan for O’Brien (ht), T Carr for Murtagh (58)
DELVIN: C Carroll, M McQuillan, O Kelleghan, R Fitzsimons, D Ryan, Karen Gaffney, E Farrelly, A Newman, C Higgins, C Gaffney (0-1), L Kenny, D Barry, D McGrath (1-1, frees), N Horan (1-0), L Clune.
Subs: Kate Gaffney (1-0) for Barry, E Leavy for Higgins (both ht); S Smith for Clune (52), D Ryan for Horan, H Kelleghan for C Gaffney (both 54)
REFEREE: Mike Ryan (Tipperary)
