Honours shared in local derby
Portlaoise U/12 girls who drew 1-1 with their Mountmellick counterparts
Mountmellick 1
Portlaoise 1
PORTLAOISE and Mountmellick faced off in Conor Davis Park with similar records coming into this game. Within the first few minutes you could see why.
Both teams started well with Mountmellick having a couple of efforts from distance which either went wide or were well dealt with by Portlaoise keeper, Sophie Leonard.
Portlaoise grew into the game and began creating chances through Aoibhinn Forde and Emma O’Sullivan. The majority of them fell to Freya Ryan who shot from angles most players wouldn't even contemplate but not Freya, who has unbelievable confidence and technique.
Serena Mullin and Lauren Farrell were getting through a mountain of work in midfield while the backline of Emma Griffin, Olivia Brophy and Sophia Johnston were almost impossible to get past.
When it looked like the game would get to half time at 0-0 up stepped Ryan. Fantastic determination in midfield by Mullin saw her win a ball she had no right to before slotting it through the Mountmellick defence. Ryan was first to react and cooly slotted the ball down the side of the onrushing keeper, a lovely finish.
As a result Portlaoise went into the break with a one goal lead.
As always Portlaoise rang the changes for the second half. In came Mia Morawska, Danielle Brown, Sophie Delmer, Aoife Gleeson, Allanah Harkin and Leah Kane.
They all picked up where their team mates left off, moving the ball really well, closing down Mountmellick defenders and defending like their lives depended on it.
Sophie Delmer’s link up play was excellent and her work off the ball was fantastic to see. Olivia Brophy’s distribution from the back was exemplary all game while Aoibhinn Forde put in an unbelievable shift both going forward and defensively.
Mountmellick kept pressing and eventually got the goal their performance probably deserved despite the best efforts of Ryan who was now doing her stint in goals.
The game was so good to watch, so entertaining with both teams putting in a really impressive shift and played in great spirits. They'll both take more from this game than most games they'll play this season.
An impromptu penalty shoot-out was a nice finish to the game to give them a taste of what to expect if one comes their way this season. Some brilliant goalkeeping and finishing on show.
PORTLAOISE SQUAD: Sophie Leonard, Emma Griffin, Olivia Brophy, Sophia Johnston, Lauren Farrell, Serina Mullin, Aoibhinn Forde, Freya Ryan, Emma O Sullivan, Mia Morawska, Danielle Brown, Aoife Gleeson, Sophie Delmer, Leah Kane, Allanah Harkin.
