Ballinamere Durrow power past St Conleth’s in Leinster thriller

AIB Leinster LGFA Senior Club Championship 

Ballinamere Durrow 4-10

St Conleth’s 3-8 

ST Conleth’s saw their AIB Leinster Senior Ladies Club Championship campaign come to an end after a five-point defeat to Offaly champions Ballinamere Durrow in the preliminary round at Durrow GAA.

The Laois champions, who secured the county title just a week earlier with victory over St Joseph’s, pushed their hosts throughout but ultimately fell short as Ballinamere Durrow booked their place in the next round.

There was little between the sides in the opening exchanges, with Shifra Havill getting St Conleth’s off the mark before Amy Loughman replied for Ballinamere Durrow. Emma Hand added a free for the hosts, but St Conleth’s responded through Aoibhe Byron and Eva Galvin, who split the posts after Marie Byrne won the kick-out.

Byrne added another point for the visitors as they settled into the contest, but Ballinamere Durrow found a crucial breakthrough when Saorah Doyle delivered a diagonal ball into Loughman, who palmed it over Claire O’Connell to find the net.

Doyle followed up with three frees in succession as the Offaly champions began to establish control, with Una O’Brien adding another point to stretch their advantage to five with ten minutes remaining in the half.

St Conleth’s needed a response and found one through Byron. Claire Fox made an excellent run before finding Havill, whose effort was saved by Meadhbh Mealiff. A foul in the build-up allowed Byron to convert a free, and she added two more from placed balls to bring the visitors right back into contention.

Despite Ballinamere Durrow’s earlier dominance, St Conleth’s had reduced the deficit to just two points by the interval, with the home side leading 1-6 to 0-7.

The visitors made the perfect start to the second half when Emma Lawlor picked out Byron, whose initial effort was saved. Laura Carroll went for the rebound and was pulled down, allowing Byron to convert the resulting penalty and put St Conleth’s ahead in the contest.

Havill added another point, but Ballinamere Durrow responded emphatically. Jane Maher won possession and found Loughman, who finished to the net. The hosts struck again almost immediately, with Roisin Mealiff rattling the net after the kick-out to swing momentum firmly back in their favour.

O’Brien and Mealiff added points as Ballinamere Durrow continued to build their advantage, before Mary Cotter found the net for St Conleth’s to keep the visitors within reach.

Doyle replied with a point for the home side, and although Loughman’s subsequent effort was saved by O’Connell, O’Brien was on hand to collect the loose ball and send it over the bar.

Carroll then produced a superb individual run before hammering the ball into the top corner to give St Conleth’s renewed hope, but Ballinamere Durrow had the final say. Loughman turned provider, setting up O’Brien for another goal to put the result beyond doubt.

The Offaly champions held on to win by five points and advance to the next round of the Leinster competition, while St Conleth’s must turn their attention back to Laois for the 2027 campaign after their provincial journey came to an end.

SCORERS:

Ballinamere Durrow: Amy Loughman 2-1, Una O’Brien 1-3, Roisin Mealiff 1-1, Saorah Doyle 0-4 (0-3fs), Emma Hand 0-1 (f).

St Conleth’s: Aoibhe Byron 1-4 (1-0 pen, 0-3fs), Laura Carroll and Mary Cotter 1-0 each, Shifra Havill 0-2, Marie Byrne and Eva Galvin 0-1 each.

BALLINAMERE DURROW: Meadhbh Mealiff; Brooke McDermott, Shauna Slattery, Ava Grennan, Jane Maher, Roisin Mealiff, Faith McDermott; Niamh Galvin, Rachel Cunningham; Ella Ravenhill, Emma Hand, Niamh Bracken; Úna O’Brien, Saorah Doyle, Amy Loughman.

Subs: Ana Doyle for Ravenhill (45m), Meabh O’Brien for Bracken (54m).

ST CONLETH’S: Claire O’Connell; Becky Fenlon, Melissa Donnelly, Grainne Cotter; Aine Haberlin, Mary Cotter, Aoife Cummins; Claire Fox, Shifra Havill; Marie Byrne, Emma Lawlor, Naomi Luttrell; Niamh O’Halloran, Aoibhe Byron, Eva Galvin.

Subs: Laura Carroll for O’Halloran (ht), Roisin McCourt for Fenlon (ht), Kim Webster for Byron (46m), Sinead Coffey for Havill (46m).

Referee: Keith Sheerin (Meath)