Ibane Ladies leave themselves too much work to do

LISGOOLD 2-7

IBANE LADIES 1-8

GER McCARTHY REPORTS

IBANE Ladies came up short in their bid to overcome Lisgoold in the recent Cork LGFA U21D county final at Bishopstown.

The Timoleague and Barryroe amalgamation put in a commendable effort before losing out to a Lisgoold team in which Lainey O’Sullivan’s brace of goals separated the sides at the end.

Ibane will reflect on the fact they were unable to capitalise on Lisgoold being reduced to 14 players on two separate occasions during the second period.

The West Cork side battled gamely throughout however, and outscored their opponents 1-3 to 0-2 in a low-scoring second half.

Alas, it wasn’t enough to prevent a two-point defeat against a Lisgoold team in which Cork senior Dara Kiniry played well, as did Cork minors Áine Hallihan and Lainey O’Sullivan.

The latter finished the game with 2-1 and her two first-half goals were of the highest order. O’Sullivan’s first green flag opened the scoring after two minutes. A missed Eilis Hegarty penalty, saved by Claire Dullea, saw Ciadhra McCarthy and Ciara Deasy (free) efforts reduce the deficit.

Three Molly Carroll frees restored Rockban’s advantage. Lainey O’Sullivan’s sublime second goal and a point made it 2-4 to 0-2. Ibane rallied with Ciara Deasy (two) and Ciara Collins scores leaving six points between the teams at the break following a late Chloe Collins point.

Áine Hallihan was injured during the opening half but returned to score Rockbán’s only two points of the second period. Ibane Ladies’ Aoibhinn McKeogh came off the bench to score three points and it was 2-7 to 0-8 heading towards full-time. Frustratingly, Ibane failed to take advantage of two separate Rockbán yellow cards. Ciara Deasy netted a late goal but Ibane Ladies were unable to add to their total leaving Lisgoold to hold on for victory.

Scorers - Lisgoold: L O’Sullivan 2-1; M Carroll 0-3 (3f); A Hallihan 0-2; C Collins 0-1. Ibane Ladies: C Deasy 1-3 (2f); A McKeogh 0-3; C McCarthy, C Collins 0-1 each.

Lisgoold: R Sheehan; R Barry, R Moynihan, L Murphy (captain); C Duggan, C Moynihan, S Kelleher; E Hegarty, D Kiniry; M Cullinane, M Carroll, L O’Sullivan; C Collins, A Hallahan, S Ahern. Subs: L Carroll for M Cullinane (16), G Collins for Á Hallihan (19, inj), Á Hallihan for L Carroll (ht), S Ahern for G Collins (52).

Ibane Ladies: C Dullea; S Walsh, A McCarthy, G Flynn; R Cahalane, S McCarthy, S Harrington; T Fleming, Ciardha McCarthy; E O’Riordan, K Dineen (captain), R Ní Bhuachalla; A Condon, C Collins, C Deasy. Subs: A McKeogh for R Cahalane (27), Aoibhinn McKeogh for C Collins (ht), A O’Leary for A McCarthy (45).

Referee: Conor McCarthy (Rosscarbery Ladies).