Minors bridge sixteen year gap in famous win.
The third minor girls championship win in club history and their first in sixteen years can be filed for future reference under the title “‘Refuse to lose”.
The win for Dromintee in Pearse Og against a Clann Eireann side chasing their 5th minor title in a row and their 9th in eleven years was a triumph of , desire, feverish turnovers, composure and clinical finishing.
The Lurgan side entered the game as favourites and had a multitude of county players in their starting 15.
Notwithstanding this, it was Dromintee who settled first and opened a seven points to one lead within the first twelve minutes courtesy of a goal from Lily McBennett and 1:01 from Molly O’Neill who belied her age to turn in a mammoth performance both defensively and offensively. Together with her U14 teammate Éabha McCreesh the duo turned yesterdays defeat to the same opposition into a stunning victory in the U18 age group showing maturity and tenacity that mark them out as two of the best developing talents in the club.
Alanna O’Neill grabbed the first of her five point haul with a brace of frees and with Clann Eireann tied down offensively by Emer O’Neill, Sarah Murphy, Pippa Mooney & Sadhbh McKeever Dromintee exerted control.
After the ever industrious Caoimhe O’Rourke set up Lily for a strike her goal bound effort was saved by the Clann Eireann keeper only for Emma Toale to pounce with a vital strike to stretch the lead to 12-1.
Clann Eireann were always going to have a purple patch of possession but even allowing for scores from Aoife McDonald (2) and Cassie Henderson, Dromintee were able to reply with three of their own from Lily, Alanna and a crisp strike from Grace Conlon on one of her many forays forward.
A Clann Eireann breach offered Alanna O’Neill the final score of the half to give Dromintee a 16-5 half time wind assisted lead but equally a sense of belief that a shock was on the cards.
Clann Eireann introduced senior star Evie McCafferty at half time returning from injury which kept her out for six months and immediately set about reducing the deficit with an Abi McMahon brace and one from the boot of Armagh senior player Cassie Henderson. Henderson was the driving force for the resurgence including a fine two point score from long range.
A McMahon goal ten minutes in saw the deficit reduced to just two with momentum now swinging heavily in favour of the Lurgan side.
Alanna O’Neill steadied the ship with another free to make it 17-14. Dromintee then had the chance to extend their lead when a driving run from Caoimhe Byrne earned a penalty but they were unable to convert prompting frayed nerves among the travelling Dromintee faithful in the stands.
When Dromintee hit the crossbar a minute later though it looked like fortune may be favouring the defending champions but a further point from Lily McBennett again reinforced their resolve and pushed them closer to the winning post. 18-14 with eleven minutes to go.
Clann Eireann then hit three in a row to cut the deficit to just a point before Lily McBennett struck again to keep Dromintee noses two in front. With Henderson and McMahon driving the Lurgan side forward and McMahon precise in her free taking Clann Eireann drew level with five minutes to go at 19 a piece.
Momentum appeared to be squarely with CE but great composure on kickouts from Caitlin McCann and a mammoth workrate from Caitlin Carnegie, Sadhbh McKeever and Sinead O’Neill in particular meant Dromintee refused to buckle in the face of the Lurgan onslaught. The selfless role in containing Henderson for the greater team good by Sinead O’Neill and the unwavering bravery of Caitlin Carnegie in the heat of battle will go down as two of the defining components in this victory in the years to come.
If the decision to deploy O’Neill on Henderson was a brave one by James Daly and his management team then the tactical switch to draw Lily McBennett and Emma Toale out to play possession football in the last nervy minutes was a master stroke. McBennett hit her best score of the night with three minutes left on the clock to give Dromintee the slender lead of just a point. As the tension increased in the stands the best was yet to come for Dromintee as captain, leader, and now legend Caoimhe Byrne cut through Clann Eireann to smash the decisive score to the back of the net and stretch the lead to four.
Cool heads and brave hearts were now needed and Dromintee had both in abundance. Firstly Emer O’Neill, and then Sarah Murphy stifled threatening attacks before the warrior duo of Carnegie and McKeever forced two huge turnovers in the middle third to secure vital possessions. With that the referees whistle sparked joyous scenes as Dromintee etched 2026 alongside 2008 and 2010 on the championship roll of honour.
The post match formalities saw Caitlin Carnegie rightly awarded the Player of the Match trophy for her dynamic and resolute display while Caoimhe Byrne then raised the blue ribband championship trophy above her head amid jubilant scenes across three generations of Dromintee supporters.
Final score
Dromintee 4:11
Clann Eireann 1:16
Scorers : Lily McBennett 1:04, Alanna O’Neill 0:05, Molly O’Neill 1:01, Emma Toale 1:00, Caoimhe Byrne 1:00, Grace Conlon 0:01
Team
Caitlin McCann, Emer O’Neill, Sarah Murphy, Éabha McCreesh, Sinead O’Neill, Sadhbh McKeever, Molly O’Neill
Caitlin Carnegie, Alanna O’Neill, Caoimhe O’Rourke( Ava O’Neill) Lily McBennett, Pippa Mooney, Grace Conlon, Emma Toale, Caoimhe Byrne .
Subs : Grainne Laverty, Meabh Martin, Sinead Byrne, Nicole McNamee
Management : James Daly, Fiona O’Neill, Marian O’Rourke, Martin Murphy, Sean Carnegie
The third minor girls championship win in club history and their first in sixteen years can be filed for future reference under the title “‘Refuse to lose”.
The win for Dromintee in Pearse Og against a Clann Eireann side chasing their 5th minor title in a row and their 9th in eleven years was a triumph of , desire, feverish turnovers, composure and clinical finishing.
The Lurgan side entered the game as favourites and had a multitude of county players in their starting 15.
Notwithstanding this, it was Dromintee who settled first and opened a seven points to one lead within the first twelve minutes courtesy of a goal from Lily McBennett and 1:01 from Molly O’Neill who belied her age to turn in a mammoth performance both defensively and offensively. Together with her U14 teammate Éabha McCreesh the duo turned yesterdays defeat to the same opposition into a stunning victory in the U18 age group showing maturity and tenacity that mark them out as two of the best developing talents in the club.
Alanna O’Neill grabbed the first of her five point haul with a brace of frees and with Clann Eireann tied down offensively by Emer O’Neill, Sarah Murphy, Pippa Mooney & Sadhbh McKeever Dromintee exerted control.
After the ever industrious Caoimhe O’Rourke set up Lily for a strike her goal bound effort was saved by the Clann Eireann keeper only for Emma Toale to pounce with a vital strike to stretch the lead to 12-1.
Clann Eireann were always going to have a purple patch of possession but even allowing for scores from Aoife McDonald (2) and Cassie Henderson, Dromintee were able to reply with three of their own from Lily, Alanna and a crisp strike from Grace Conlon on one of her many forays forward.
A Clann Eireann breach offered Alanna O’Neill the final score of the half to give Dromintee a 16-5 half time wind assisted lead but equally a sense of belief that a shock was on the cards.
Clann Eireann introduced senior star Evie McCafferty at half time returning from injury which kept her out for six months and immediately set about reducing the deficit with an Abi McMahon brace and one from the boot of Armagh senior player Cassie Henderson. Henderson was the driving force for the resurgence including a fine two point score from long range.
A McMahon goal ten minutes in saw the deficit reduced to just two with momentum now swinging heavily in favour of the Lurgan side.
Alanna O’Neill steadied the ship with another free to make it 17-14. Dromintee then had the chance to extend their lead when a driving run from Caoimhe Byrne earned a penalty but they were unable to convert prompting frayed nerves among the travelling Dromintee faithful in the stands.
When Dromintee hit the crossbar a minute later though it looked like fortune may be favouring the defending champions but a further point from Lily McBennett again reinforced their resolve and pushed them closer to the winning post. 18-14 with eleven minutes to go.
Clann Eireann then hit three in a row to cut the deficit to just a point before Lily McBennett struck again to keep Dromintee noses two in front. With Henderson and McMahon driving the Lurgan side forward and McMahon precise in her free taking Clann Eireann drew level with five minutes to go at 19 a piece.
Momentum appeared to be squarely with CE but great composure on kickouts from Caitlin McCann and a mammoth workrate from Caitlin Carnegie, Sadhbh McKeever and Sinead O’Neill in particular meant Dromintee refused to buckle in the face of the Lurgan onslaught. The selfless role in containing Henderson for the greater team good by Sinead O’Neill and the unwavering bravery of Caitlin Carnegie in the heat of battle will go down as two of the defining components in this victory in the years to come.
If the decision to deploy O’Neill on Henderson was a brave one by James Daly and his management team then the tactical switch to draw Lily McBennett and Emma Toale out to play possession football in the last nervy minutes was a master stroke. McBennett hit her best score of the night with three minutes left on the clock to give Dromintee the slender lead of just a point. As the tension increased in the stands the best was yet to come for Dromintee as captain, leader, and now legend Caoimhe Byrne cut through Clann Eireann to smash the decisive score to the back of the net and stretch the lead to four.
Cool heads and brave hearts were now needed and Dromintee had both in abundance. Firstly Emer O’Neill, and then Sarah Murphy stifled threatening attacks before the warrior duo of Carnegie and McKeever forced two huge turnovers in the middle third to secure vital possessions. With that the referees whistle sparked joyous scenes as Dromintee etched 2026 alongside 2008 and 2010 on the championship roll of honour.
The post match formalities saw Caitlin Carnegie rightly awarded the Player of the Match trophy for her dynamic and resolute display while Caoimhe Byrne then raised the blue ribband championship trophy above her head amid jubilant scenes across three generations of Dromintee supporters.
Final score
Dromintee 4:11
Clann Eireann 1:16
Scorers : Lily McBennett 1:04, Alanna O’Neill 0:05, Molly O’Neill 1:01, Emma Toale 1:00, Caoimhe Byrne 1:00, Grace Conlon 0:01
Team
Caitlin McCann, Emer O’Neill, Sarah Murphy, Éabha McCreesh, Sinead O’Neill, Sadhbh McKeever, Molly O’Neill
Caitlin Carnegie, Alanna O’Neill, Caoimhe O’Rourke( Ava O’Neill) Lily McBennett, Pippa Mooney, Grace Conlon, Emma Toale, Caoimhe Byrne .
Subs : Grainne Laverty, Meabh Martin, Sinead Byrne, Nicole McNamee
Management : James Daly, Fiona O’Neill, Marian O’Rourke, Martin Murphy, Sean Carnegie
