February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The reigning champions have ruled the roost in the Sean Faherty Championship Final, but Mayo have come closest to upsetting their dominance, annexing the title away from Cavan in 2001 and 2002.
There was no hint of an upset in 2004, though, as Cavan captain Sue Bennett led from the front with pinpoint shooting from frees and open play despite seeming to carry an ankle injury.
Bennett played the whole game with her left ankle strapped and was limping throughout, yet she opened Cavan?s scoring with a point and went on to score four more in the first half as the blues opened up a 1-7 to 0-4 halftime lead.
Mayo had started brightly enough with corner forward Denise Dunnion causing problems. She replied to Bennett’s opening point was a constant thorn in Cavan’s side as she and center-forward Joanne McKenna kept the green and red in touch with the champions over the early stages of the match.
At 0-3 each, Dunnion carved out a great goal-scoring chance before losing her handling and having to settle for a point from a wider position.
Cavan never really lost control from that point as Bennett, aided by the powerful midfield kicking of Grainne Nulty, gradually edged ahead. Mayo were also guilty of pumping high balls under the posts, which were meat and drink to the assured Cavan goalkeeper Sharon Levins.
At the other end, Cavan ensured they went in at the break with a healthy advantage when the impressive Deidre O’Reilly sent a right-foot shot across Mayo keeper Patti McGrail and into the net for a goal.
The three-pointer seemed to rattle Mayo, who finished the half with three missed frees and a mountain to climb after the break.
The cliff face got even steeper in the seconds following the restart when O’Reilly’s skills following the throw-in took her from the 45 to the edge of the square from where she rifled home another goal.
Cavan were at it again with the next attack, first hitting a post before Ger Mahon screwed her shot wide from in front of goal. The ball found Bennett wide of the posts. She collected, turned and fired home for a goal from a tight angle as McGrail lay stricken. The Mayo keeper needed plenty of medical attention before she was eventually led from the field but Cavan showed no let up.
Nulty sent over a free and from her next free saw the ball creep under the bar for a goal to compound Mayo’s woes.
Lynda Donnelly showed some fight with a run from deep to add Mayo’s first point of the half and there were subsequent points from McKenna, Louise McMahon and Dunnion.
But the day belonged to Cavan, driven by the midfield duo of O’Reilly and Nulty and the sharpshooting captain Bennett.
Cavan: Sharon Levins; Katie Pennell, Mary Maguire, Olive Lynch; Eilish Doherty, Lousie McKeever, Alison Traynor; Deirdre O’Reilly, Grainne Nulty; Carol McNicholas, Sue Bennett, Justine Clifford; Nuala Carroll, Rosie O’Reilly, Ger Mahon.
Mayo: Patti McGrail; Elaine O’Donovan, Eleanor Fox, Lousie Fox; Fiona Ward, Niamh Keane, Joanne Monaghan; Ellen McGrail, Louise McMahon; Imelda Mularkey, Lynda Donnelly, Karen Henry; Denise Dunnion, Joanne McKenna, Emma Kilduff.