Ladies Gaelic Football
Rostrevor V Ballymartin
(by Rostrevorgaa)
Rostrevor 2-10 Ballymartin 4-07
The Reds have had three fantastic wins on the trot and it was only a matter of time before the wheels came off the wagon and the girls brought back down to reality.
There has been a lot of history between the two sides and the Reds arrived at Ballymartin with the sun shinning and the “Whites” ready for action.
Ballymartin are a fast and energetic team, who if allowed to play will cut through any defence and go straight for goal. This is exactly what happened within the first 10 minutes of the game where Ballymartin found themsevles 1-03 to 0-1 up, and looked like they were not going to stop.
The Red’s never give up attitude was kicked into force and the ladies began to claw back the deficit with Aideen Clerkin, who has returned after a long illness, being a force to be reckoned with along the back line. She was backed up by her nippy sister-in law Sara Clerkin, who displays characteristics of an energiser bunny, making crucial interceptions and bursts through the mid-field laying off balls to the forward line.
Over the last 15 minutes of the first half the ladies managed to close the gap and went in 1 point up at half time.1-03 to 0-7 – Que the second half!!
You could nearly write the script for Rostrevor. First ten minutes in the second half the team seem to disappear (some might even say they have fallen asleep or lost their focus!) This is where teams tend to do damage, and that’s what Ballymartin did.
The introduction of County player Lauren Cunningham seemed to have given the Whites the boost they needed as she scored within seconds of starting. Ballymartin continued to dominate for the next 10 minutes and racked up 2 more goals, nearly putting Rostrevor out of sight…..I say nearly!
Once again the Reds, dug deep and kept their composure and started to play the attacking football they do so well to pull the game back to a draw with 5 minutes to go, with Tracey Rice getting a crucial goal at the right time.
Unfortunately, a Brenda Russell show stopping save towards the end of the match wasn’t enough to save the Reds on this occasion as Ballymartin tore down the field, after an interception, to score a goal with 3 minutes to go, winning the game by 3 points.
The team knew there would be game where they would suffer from 16 wides, and Saturday night was that. As the saying goes, C’est La Vie. Shooting can be improved during training, determination, character and belief can not, and this is where The Red’s exhibit their strength!
Next up for the Ladies are Mayobridge 21st May, at home.
#superreds
