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Go Ahead Ireland Dublin LGFA Junior H Club Championship Final
Raheny B 0-11 Fingallians C 2-04
By Nigel McCarthy
Three late points secured a one-point victory and the 2025 Go Ahead Ireland, Dublin LGFA Junior H Club Championship title for Raheny B after a tense battle against Fingallians C on Friday evening in O’Tooles GAA club.
Scores were at a premium in a tight first half, Raheny edged the possession and scoring chances, but wayward shooting and misplaced passes from both sides contributed to a low return of just four scores each.
But an excellent goal from full forward Lauryn Campbell just before the break gave Fingallians a two-point advantage at half-time on a scoreline of 1-03 to 0-04.
The sides were level inside the opening seven minutes of the second half thanks to two well taken points from Player of the Match, Cait Fanning.
Fanning proved a handful throughout the game, her energetic work-rate, ball carrying, ability to evade would-be tacklers and consistent availability to receive a pass caused the Fingallians defence a headache all game. Add in her points at crucial times in the final and Cait Fanning was rightly chosen as the standout player of the game.
Just past the midway point of the second half Fingallians were gifted a second goal, a shot by Lauryn Campbell at goal bounced off the fingertips of Raheny goalkeeper Emily Rheinisch, Eimear Shovlin won the battle for the loose ball and poked it past the keeper into the net to give Fingallians a four point lead.
Raheny though finished the game strongly and reeled off five unanswered points with the winning score, just before the full-time whistle, aptly coming from the boot of Cait Fanning to secure the title.
Raheny opened the scoring in the second minute with an Aoife Savage point after good play down the right wing.
The sides were level two minutes later, Megan Campbell played a long ball from defence to Amy Carter down the left hand side, Carter switched the ball centrally to Lauryn Campbell who offloaded to Eimear Shovlin to pop the ball over the bar.
The game then entered an eleven-minute barren spell with attacks from both side failing to yield any return due to a combination of good defending and wayward shooting.
That scoreless passage of play was finally broken at the midway point of the half when Nicola Cotter overturned the ball in midfield, broke down the right-hand side and switched the ball centrally to Caoilinn Hayden who powered past two Fingallians players and hit the ball over the bar.
That was quickly followed by a pointed free from Sinéad Dollard and Raheny led by two points. That lead almost became five with eight minutes left in the half, Kate McHugh arrowed a shot at goal, it rebounded back off goalkeeper Louise Courage and Aoife Savage gathered the rebound and was unlucky to see her effort just go past the outside of the post.
Fingallians finally ended a twenty-minute scoreless spell when Eimear Shovlin knocked over their third point of the game after good work down the right from Róisín Byrne and Vicky McCrae.
Three minutes to the break and the sides were level thanks to a converted Lauryn Campbell free.
The first goal of the final arrived two minutes later, Katie Bermingham overturned the ball in the centre of the park, offloaded the ball to Amy Carter down the right, Carter passed to the centre to Lauryn Campbell who went past two defenders and blasted the ball to the net to give Fingallians a three-point advantage.
Just before the half-time whistle Cait Fanning was on the end of some patient build-up play to grab her first point of the game to leave the score at the break 1-03 to 0-04.
Raheny midfielder Laura Kelly won the restart, popped the ball off to her midfield partner Caoilinn Hayden, Hayden moved the ball on to Sinéad Dollard and the corner forward spotted Cait Fanning cutting in from the left, hand passed into the path of Fanning and the energetic half-forward split the posts.
The sides were level once again in the thirty seventh minute, Niamh McCormack who became a big influence on proceedings in the second half picked up a loose ball just inside her own half, powered through the centre of the pitch, passed to Caoilinn Hayden, Hayden offloaded the ball to Sinéad O’Hanlon who hand passed to Cait Fanning running off her shoulder and once again Fanning stroked the ball over the bar.
A pointed free from Lauryn Campbell with twenty minutes to go regained the lead for Fingallians.
Disaster struck for Raheny in the forty sixth minute when a shot at goal from Lauryn Campbell rebounded off the fingertips of goalkeeper Emily Rheinisch, Eimear Shovlin was quick to react, gathered possession and toe poked the ball to the net past the despairing dive of Rheinisch and Fingallians led by four.
Unfortunately for the Swords outfit that was to be their last score of the game as Raheny dominated possession for the rest of the game.
The next few minutes seen a number of Raheny attacks come to nothing as they racked up the wide count and the hope from their supporters was that they weren’t going to regret those misses come the final whistle.
But as the game headed in the final ten minutes Lucy Cummins, after some very patient recycling of the ball in an effort to create an opening, popped the ball over the bar to leave just a goal separating the sides. Cummins repeated the trick to reduce the deficit to two.
Raheny were awarded a free just past midfield, Laura Kelly launched a high ball to the square as Raheny went looking for a goal to give them the lead, Cait Fanning picked up the loose ball, but her shot at goal was blocked, Caoilinn Hayden recovered the ball and struck it over the bar to leave the bare minimum between the sides.
It was all Raheny at this stage and a huge roar came from the sideline when Laura Kelly hit a fine point over the bar to level the scores with the full-time whistle fast approaching.
But there was just enough time left for one last attack, Aoife O’Sullivan won the resultant kick-out, took a couple of strides forward and offloaded the ball to Cait Fanning cutting through the middle and it was fitting that Fanning, after a standout performance secured the win and the Junior H title with a fine point.
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