Tyrone camogs edge enthralling contest in final league tie

Tyrone 2-8  Kildare 1-10

TYRONE camogs finished their Division 3A campaign on a high note with a dramatic one-point victory against Kildare on the shores of Lough Neagh at Brocagh on Saturday afternoon.

It looked like the Red Hands were in position to fall short on the home straight when they coughed up a goal heading into the final ten minutes, but late points from Aine Cunningham and Cara Little swung the game back in Tyrone’s favour and they held on for another morale-boosting victory with the championship season coming into view.

Having narrowly lost their first three Division 3A encounters of the year – albeit not by much – Tyrone have now stringed together back-to-back victories, a more accurate representation of the quality of their performances over the course of the campaign.

They got off to a flying start on Saturday, Roisin McErlean having the sliotar in the back of the net in a matter of seconds, and they compounded their advantage not long after with a point from play on her home patch from joint-captain Siobhan Donnelly.

Kildare opened their account with a ‘45’ from Caoimhe Ní Bhuirceal, by far their most dangerous player, before Tyrone stitched together a high quality point, in-form midfielders Grainne Rafferty and Aisling Hagan setting up Aine Cunningham who made no mistake in front of the target.

Cunningham got another point from play though Kildare enjoyed a purple patch with their dangerous full-forward Ní Bhuirceal on target both from frees and open play.

McErlean knocked over a point for Tyrone and they received a major boost on the stroke of half-time when Siobhan Donnelly reacted quickest to an effort that came back off the post, unleashing a cracking shot to the corner of the net.

Tyrone held a 2-4 to 0-7 lead at the interval though the scores dried up for a prolonged spell. Kildare enjoyed most of the possession in the third quarter, but all they could muster in that spell was a pointed free between some wayward shooting and determined Tyrone defending.

Lilywhites captain Lea Sutton landed a long-range effort from play in the 47th minute before Tyrone belatedly got their first point of the second half via a McErlean ‘45’.

It was nerve-racking stuff and Kildare edged their noses in front when Ní Bhuirceal slammed home a goal with 10 minutes to play, though Tyrone were up for the challenge and McErlean landed her latest point after a superb pass from midfielder Hagan.

Ní Bhuirceal pushed Kildare back into a one-point lead in the 55th minute with a cracking score, but Tyrone kept on driving forward and found the leveller with Aine Cunningham’s third point from play of the afternoon.

Sub Cara Little found her range in the 57th minute in a frenetic closing spell, and even though there was time for Kildare to hit back, Tyrone held on for a hard-fought victory against an evenly matched team.

Scorers

Tyrone: Roisin McErlean (1-3, 1 45), Siobhan Donnelly (1-1), Aine Cunningham (0-3), Cara Little (0-1)

Kildare: Caoimhe NÍ Bhuirceal (1-8, 0-5f, 1 45), Sarah Lavin and Lea Sutton (0-1 each)

Teams

Tyrone: Eimear Colton, Grainne Cassidy, Nicola McKiver, Mairead Donnelly, Aoife McDonald, Meaghan Clarke, Bronagh Moohan, Grainne Rafferty, Aisling Hagan, Rachel O’Neill, Grainne McDonald, Aine Cunningham, Roisin O’Neill McKee, Roisin McErlean, Siobhan Donnelly. Subs: Reagan Fay for O’Neill McKee, Emer Cunnnigham for McDonald, Beth Jones for Donnelly, Cara Little for Moohan, Roise Kerr for McKiver

Kildare: Ellen Donovan, Aisling Connaughton, Sinead O’Brien, Mae Donovan, Caoimhe O’Sullivan, Aoife Newman, Shauna Mulligan, Rianna Cribbin, Ella O’Neill, Lea Sutton, Niamh Krahn, Liana Glynn, Sarah Lavin, Caoimhe NÍ Bhuirceal, Erin McEvoy

Referee: Paul O’Neill (Antrim)