New York LGAA Roundup Sullivan saves day for Cavan

Cavan dashed Mayo’s hopes of getting back into the finals of the Annie Kearney Cup in what turned out to be a highly charged affair at Gaelic Park.

It was generally considered that the faceoff between last year’s finalists was always going to be a tough one to predict. Mayo has been closing in on the heels of Cavan but just don’t seem to have the finishing touch to put them away. This game was more proof with Mayo falling away in the second half and only managing to register one additional point on the score line.

It was Cavan who scored first with a point from a free by Deirdre

Feeney but it was Mayo who surprised Cavan with a couple of quick

points by Joanne McKenna and Ellen McGrail that gave their side the

early lead.

Cavan, struggling to settle down, finally got their stride with a great goal coming from Catherine McAteer who seemed to run

right through the Mayo defense.

With the McKenna twins on target, it was Cathy McKenna who put Mayo ahead once again with a great score coming off the left post.

Some solid defense by Louise Fox and Olive Wilson kept Cavan in the game and they were unlucky not to have scored two more goals when the ball found the crossbar on two occasions from O’Reilly and Shalvey. Likewise, some pressure around the Cavan goals saw a missed opportunity by Camie O’Shea to put the ball in the back of the net with the ball narrowly going over the top for a point.

Before the half, Mayo stretched their lead to three and looked like pulling of a major upset.

The resumption saw Cavan make a number of changes to try and

strengthen up the back line that was under constant pressure.

With Caroline O’Sullivan now playing at centerhalf back, it’s safe to say that she was the changing of the game. Her excellent defense put

the Mayo forwards on alert that the second half was going to be no

walk in the park.

Up front the addition of Gillian Bennett to the forward line teamed up well with O’Reilly and McAteer to put Cavan back in the driver’s seat and tied once again with Mayo.

Bennett edged Cavan into the lead in the 25th minute with a long range point coming off her favorite left foot.

With Mayo now under constant pressure, a tough tackle by goalkeeper Pattie McGrail on Roise O’Reilly resulted in a penalty and a yellow card for O’Reilly.

The penalty, which resulted in a goal by Bennett, was erased when the Mayo sideline protested what seemed to be an improper placement of the ball. Bennett’s second attempt went wide of the right post and left Cavan now up by a narrow margin of one point.

Just when it looked like we might be in for a nail biting finish Bennett and O’Reilly scored again putting the game beyond all reasonable doubt.

For Cavan Louise Fox, Olive Wilson and star of the game Caroline

O’Sullivan were excellent in defense while Deirdre Feeney executed

nice balls into the forwards and Justine Clifford despite the height

match up on McGrail made some fine catches in mid air.

Up front it was Bennett who was most impressive with great assistance from McAteer and O’Reilly.

Mayo put up a great performance but once again fell short in the

second half. Mary Toolan proved that fitness is what counts playing

an excellent game in defense and marking three different players. She got some fine assistance from newcomer Helen Raferty playing at

cornerback.

Up front Joanne and Cathy McKenna were most likely to get the scores.

And, finally, goalkeeper Pattie McGrail was solid when she replaced the injured Brenda McElduff. Cavan: Deirdre Feeney 0-2, Catherine McAteer 1-1, Rosie

O’Reilly 0-3, Gillian Bennett 0-3. Player of the Game: Deirdre Feeney

Mayo: Joanne McKenna 0-4, Ellen McGrail 0-1, Cathy McKenna 0-2, Camie O’Shea 0-1, Teresa O’Malley 0-2.

Fixtures

Schedule of upcoming games in Paddy Field: Sunday June 20: 12:30 p.m., Leitrim vs. Na Fianna; 1:15 p.m., camogie, Young Irelands (NY) vs. Eire Og (Boston); 3 p.m., Cavan vs. Rockland; 4:15 p.m., camogie, Breffin Blues (NY) vs. Emeralds Isle (Boston).