Women's League set for Wednesday evening return
Dungarvan United Women's team will go in search of another Premier title as the season begins on Wednesday. Photo: Noel Browne
Dungarvan moved to joint leaders of the U12A League after a comfortable win over their western neighbours at St Laurence Hall. It was all one-way traffic for the Blues as they made it six wins from seven games to match Villa's record with both sides having three matches remaining.
Elsie May Shaw was once more the scorer in chief for the Old Borough outfit as she found the net four times, with Katie Sheridan notching a hat trick. Maddie Curran added a brace with Ella Gaffney also on the scoresheet.
A McGrath, L Hackett, E Falvey, S Moynihan, A O Sullivan, E Gleeson, K Connors, M Kenneally, F Veale Whelan, L Enright, C Halley, H Browne, R Fitzgerald, E Moore, S Daly, S Donnelly, C Queally, I Eisenmann, G Richardson, L O Neill.
L Radaley, L Cooney, S Ryan, M Curran, K Sheridan, L Connors, E Shaw, E Gaffney, E Qualter
Piltown joined Dungarvan United and Ballinroad at the top of the U14A table after upping the gears in the second half to pull away from a resilient Park Rangers outfit.
Piltown went into the game boasting the only unbeaten record in the Division but trailing the joint leaders by three points, and with a mid-week fixture in Kilrush Park against Dungarvan this week, they knew all three points were required. Piltown were quick to assert their control on the game and went quickly into a 2-0 lead through goals from Sophia Grace and Aoibhinn Stuart. Rangers, however, to their credit, recovered to strike back and halve the deficit through Darcy Doyle. The remainder of the half saw Rangers seeking the equaliser, but at the break, Piltown held their lead.
Having withstood the home side's pressure, Piltown reaffirmed their control in the second half as Sophia Grace scored a brace to complete her hat trick, with Stuart adding her second to put the game beyond the hosts. Elisa Frisby was also on target as her double strike completed the scoring.
S Boylan, D Doyle, E Lyons, A O Neill, A McKenna, A McCann, W O Connor, S Upton, M Gavin, Z Palmer, K Redmond, M Verwijs, E Fitzgerald, C O Leary, B Lynch, C Hobson, A Dunphy.
K O Shea, I White, L Dowely, V O Hora, M Gahan, A Norris, E Quirke, K Power, A Stuart, S Grace, E Frisby, L Cahill.
Tramore and Portlaw United played out a six-goal thriller at Graun Park on Tuesday night last. Tramore opened the scoring through Lauren Prendergast after she got on the end of a defence-splitting pass from Alicia Fontugne. Portlaw fought back to equalise, but Prendergast pounced for her second before half-time to restore Tramore's lead.
Portlaw bounced back in the second half to score two quick goals and put themselves ahead for the first time. However, it was the hosts' turn to fight back on this occasion as Aoife O'Gorman struck a spectacular long-range goal to give her side a share of the points.
Dungarvan United begin the defence of their title at Graun Park, where they will face Tramore, who return after withdrawing their team last campaign. Dungarvan will be hotly fancied to retain their title, having won the League, Cup, and Munster Junior Cup treble last season. It looks to be a tough beginning for the Seagulls, who have seen a lot of departures from their squad from last season.
Benfica will be anxious to put the heartache of last season behind them after they finished runners-up to Dungarvan in the League, Cup and Munster Cup Final. The city side has recruited to strengthen their squad, and they will travel to Tom Drohan Park to play Carrick United, who return to the senior set-up.
Mooncoin Celtic will be the favourites to begin their campaign in winning fashion as they face Villa at WorkLAB Connors Park on Wednesday evening. Having finished in third place last time out, the Suir Crescent outfit will be looking to push on and challenge the top two this season. Villa struggled last season, collecting just one point over their ten games, but will be eager to improve on that statistic this season.
Bohemians will begin their campaign with a home fixture against Park Rangers. Both sides will be hoping for a positive start with Bohs adding to their squad during pre-season.
The first round of fixtures is all set for Wednesday evening with 7pm kick-offs.
