GIRLS SOCCER

Our club recognises and is committed to the growth of girls soccer in Oranmore and Maree. We currently have girls sides at ages Under 6, Under 8, Under 10 and Under 12/13 with over 80 Girls participating. Wally Walsh was recently appointed Girls Football Officer to oversee the development of Girls Soccer within the Club.  

 Girls U-12 Irish Cup & Shield Finals - Dublin, October 02nd. 2011

The Girls Under 12 Squad travelled to Dublin for the All-Ireland Finals on Sunday October 02nd. 16 teams from four provinces converged on the AUL playing fields beside Dublin Airport. Darkness and rain prevailed throughout the day. Despite the early start, leaving Oranmore at 7am, the Girls gave a great account of themselves in the tournament.

Their opening game was against Wexford side Kilmore United. Early on, Kilmore's most talented player took the ball from right to left in front of goals before angling a diagonal shot into the corner of the net for the game's only goal. Maree Oranmore enjoyed as much possession as the Wexford girls, but despite hard work up front particularly from Rachael Hanniffy there was to be no reward. The closest we came to a second goal was when the Kilmore goalscorer rattled the angle of crossbar and post with a great shot following another mazy run. Gráinne Galvin did a great job in stopping the Wexford attacks getting into the danger zone.

Our second opposition was Limerick side Kilcornan. These girls too showed themselves to be full of powerful running and disappointingly (for us!) went into an early lead. However, our girls were starting to get to grips with the occasion and battled back with Alison Blayney and Molly McNevin working particularly hard in midfield and Eabha O'Rourke up front. Molly stepped up to a free kick and smashed it to the top corner to level matters before the break. Kilcornan started the second half as the first and again assumed the lead early on following a good move. To their credit Maree Oranmore clawed their way back into the tie again and Molly McNevin benefitted from a series of good passes down the right, before almost at the corner flag rifling in a terrific cross-cum-shot that was deflected into the Kilcornan net to level up again at 2-2. Both teams pressed for a winner but it was not to be. Katie Smyth did an excellent defending job for us in the second half, while Ailish Carr put in a typically committed performance in defence and in goals.

The final group game was against Illies Celtic from Donegal. Slow starting haunted us again as we went two goals down in the first half. Shortly before half time Molly McNevin again showed her appetitie for goal in reducing the arrears with a great goal. Maree Oranmore started the second half the brighter and buoyed up by the confidence of the goal before the break,went at their opponents with gusto. A series of corners built up good pressure on the Donegal girls and Rachel Burke shot for goal from an attempted clearance. This was parried by the defence, but Rachael Hanniffy reacted quickest and pounced to gleefully score from the breaking ball. We were completely on top at this point and pressing hard to finish the deal. Unfortunately a free-kick was awarded to Illies right at the death and they scored from it. Naturally our girls were very disappointed and as they pushed hard for a third equaliser, Illies broke away again to score a fourth with virtually the last kick of the game.

The outcome of the group games put us in a Plate quarter-final against one of the two teams representing Shelbourne, the Dublin club based in the vicinity of Croke Park. Maree Oranmore took the game to the Shels ladies from the start with Laoise Walsh defending well and Laura Ahearne keeping the Dublin defence busy. Emer Hannon put in an excellent second-half being first to the ball on every occasion. The breakthrough the girls deserved came following a midfield interception from Molly McNevin who set Rachael Hanniffy away down the left hand side, Rachael released Ciara Fogarty with a brilliant pass and Ciara bore down on goals with the 'keeper to beat. She calmly slotted the ball under the goalie's body for our best team goal of the day. Shelbourne responded by coming forward in droves and were a constant threat from free-kicks and corners. With time running out, they snatched an equaliser to force the game to extra-time. Although a 'golden-goal' rule was in place, neither team forced the breakthrough and so for the second time this season the girls faced the dreaded penalty shoot-out. Once again, the girls who took penalties showed great bravery. Only the 7 players on the pitch at the end of extra-time were allowed to take kicks. This meant that some of them had to face the ordeal of taking a second penalty. The little bit of good fortune needed to get over the line was not to be found and the Girls All-Ireland journey ended cruelly.

Their conquerors Shelbourne went on to win the Plate competition, while a team they drew with in the Connacht Finals (Gurteen Celtic from Sligo) reached the final of the Cup competition. Local rivals Salthill Devon with whom we drew twice this season also reached the Cup semi-final. This shows how competitive the day was and how slender the margin between victory and defeat.

The Girls made history by being the first group to represent the club in an All-Ireland Finals competition. They can be particularly proud of the spirit, attitude, bravery, committment and ability they showed at every stage of this tournament.

The coaches would like to acknowledge the fantastic suppport received from Club officers, fellow coaches, parents and the players themselves. The main officers of the club went out of their way to ensure the Girls were as well prepared as possible and looked after properly. We would also like to acknowledge the many good wishes received from other sporting codes in Maree and Oranmore including Oranmore Maree Camogie Club and Naomh Mhuire Ladies Gaelic Football club.

For those interested, a file is attached here with all the results of the day in Dublin. The first sheet shows all the results. The second shows the group tables.

When 13 is a Lucky Number - 

The Under 12 Girls squad reached the Irish Cup finals with some great displays at the Connacht finals held in Castlebar on September 17th. On a showery day, they won four and drew one of six matches to top their group and advance to a trip to Dublin on October 02nd. The first clash was against Salthill Devon. It was an evenly contested game with nothing in it at half-time. Salthill made the breakthrough early in the second half when a speculative effort squirmed into our goals. Laoise Walsh came in to provide great cover for the defence as well as setting up a number of attacks for us. From one such attack we won a free-kick. Ciara Fogarty belted it into the Salthill net for a brilliant equalizer. But almost from the kick-off, Salthill advanced in numbers and despite Ailish Carr's parry, a Salthill girl reacted quickest to crash the winning goal to the roof of the net. Final Score Salthill Devon 2 - 1 Maree Oranmore.

The second match was against Gurteen from Sligo. This too was evenly contested and reached the mid-point scoreless. Ailish Carr then took possession just inside her own half and set off on a typically determined and meandering run before letting fly with a diagonal shot that nestled beautifully in the corner of the net. As the Sligo goalie was one of several excellent 'keepers to play on the day, it was going to take a special effort to beat her. Unfortunately, deja-vu struck as from the kick-off, Gurteen won a free-kick on the edge of our 'box, from which they scored.  At the final whistle, the Gurteen connections remarked to each other that they were fortunate to get a draw. We were not to know it at the time, but this was the last time our defence was breached and soon the team set off on a four match unbeaten run which secured their passage to the finals. Final Score Gurteen 1 - 1 Maree Oranmore

Match 3 was against Castlebar Town. By this stage the girls had warmed up to the challenge and began the first of four consecutive performances where they enjoyed most of the possession and always carried a scoring threat. Laura Ahearne and Eabha O'Rourke entered the fray and Eabha's proven predatory skills led to her making the breakthrough against the locals. This was followed up with an insurance score from Rachel Hanniffy, the first of many from her as it turned out. Katie Smyth used the ball and the space around her cleverly in this game as she had done in the first half of Game 1 against Salthill Devon. Final Score Maree Oranmore 2-0 Castlebar Town.

Game 4 saw us taking on the Headford ladies of Moyne Villa. Despite being on top throughout, we found it difficult to get through a resolute Moyne defence in which their 'keeper excelled. One of our supporters mentioned that it looked like being "one of those games". But Alison Blayney who grew in stature and stamina as the day wore on looped a terrific shot from the edge of the area over the stranded goalkeeper's head for a lead goal. Alison doubled her tally minutes later when she poked the ball over the line at the end of an excellent move involving Ciara Fogarty and Rachel Hanniffy. Final Score Maree Oranmore 2-0 Moyne Villa

The second last tussle of the day was against Killala from north Mayo. This club has produced a number of international players over the years so we were anticipating a stern test. It did not really materialize however as the girls were well on top throughout. Rachel Hanniffy bagged a brace and Eabha O'Rourke was once again on target from close range. Alison Blayney scored between Rachel Hanniffy's goals. This was a game where our best play came in a dominant opening half. A word again for the opposing goalkeeper who was as good as we have come up against and on whom the final score did not reflect fairly. Final Score Maree Oranmore 4 - 0 Killala

The final Match of the day was against Sligo side Yeats United. This team defeated us 1-0 at the same stage last year, but the result was convincingly reversed this time. Rachel Hanniffy was once again on hand for the early breakthrough goal, the first of two for her. Emer Hannon and Laura Ahearne both put in great displays before Laura gave way to injury. Ciara Fogarty and Alison Blayney weighed in with further scores as the girls finished the long and wintery day of football firing on all cylinders. Final Score Maree Oranmore 4 - 0 Yeats United.

In addition to those mentioned above, throughout all the matches there were sterling performances from Grainne Galvin in defence and Rachel Burke in midfield.

With all the football played, it was down to the man with the laptop to determine our fate and we trooped off to the Registration room not knowing if we were "in" or "out". The early indications were bleak, with us seemingly narrowly missing out on qualification. However in scenes reminiscent of an election recount, our results were double-checked and showed our 2-0 win over Moyne Villa had been recorded as a defeat. This amendment saw us reach the magic number of 13 points and top spot in the group. This was a just reward for a great day's football from a committed, energetic and skillful group of girls, who did not let the early setbacks distract them from coming to terms with the challenge and mounting a storming finish. They become the first group to represent the club in an All-Ireland setting and will undoubtedly wear the club colours with pride in Dublin.

Thanks to the parents who travelled, the club officers for their moral and practical support and to the two amigos who have traditionally made the trip with us (You know who you are :)) 

Apparently, the Castlebar venue where the matches were played is literally in our Taoiseach's back garden. For the girls who played so well, it was definitely a case of "Is feidir linn".

Under 12 Girls reach Irish Cup Finals