Kildare GAA: Heartbreak for Raheens in belter of Leinster Championship semi-final

Ladies Leinster Club Junior semi-final

O’Dwyers 6-6

Raheens 4-11

O’Dwyers are through to the Ladies Leinster Club Junior final after the narrowest of victories over Raheens. The scoreline would imply a hectic and breathless game, and that is exactly what spectators saw on a wet Saturday afternoon in Tom Lawler Park.

6-5 of O’Dwyers total scores came from their three stars Shannon Richardson, Katie McCabe and Alana Kelly. But Elsa Kearney’s first and only point in the 59th minute would prove to be the winning score as the wing-forward got on the scoresheet with a superbly taken point.

Kearney’s score would put her side two points clear with just moments left and although Raheens would half the margin with a Leah Fleming point, time would run out for the Kildare side. 

This semi-final saw 10 goals in the 60 minutes of action and the first one came after just 30 seconds as Raheens laid down a marker. Leah McGovern’s effort would drop short and be palmed away by O’Dwyers keeper Niamh Kirby but Ciana O’Brien was on hand to slot home the rebound. 

Not to be outdone by their opponents, O’Dwyers would have a green flag of their own just two minutes later as Shannon Richardson took off on a powerful solo run. Richardson charged through the Raheens defence and rifled her effort into the top left corner.

A moment of magic that is rarely seen in big games but in truth it seemed to be just another day at the office for Richardson who repeated similar efforts for her next two goals. The O’Dwyers full-forward was unplayable at times in this game.

The early madness wasn’t finished there as Raheens got another goal when Sarah McGovern’s effort was deflected into the back of the net. 2-1 to 1-0 after five minutes.

The crowd were then given a few brief moments to catch their breath as the teams settled into this game and O’Dwyers held onto possession. Possession would soon turn to chances but the visitors were wasteful in the minutes that followed.

Katie McCabe, who lined out as corner-back for the Dublin side was playing much further up the pitch. McCabe was next to get in on the goalscoring act when she unleashed a long-range effort into the top corner. 

The quality of goals in this game had to be seen to be believed, the Raheens players and supporters could do nothing but shrug their shoulders at the sublime effort. There is often blame to be placed following the concession of a goal but sometimes you have to hold your hands up to a moment of excellence, and this goal was one of those.

As O’Dwyers continually looked for goals, Raheens were quietly amassing points down the other end. Their chief source of which was Anna O’Donovan who punished O’Dwyers ill-discipline, converting set-piece chances at almost every opportunity.

After well-taken set-pieces at either end it was time for Shannon Richardson to put her mark on this fixture once more as she broke through the Raheens defence again and finished expertly. Getting her sides total to an impressive yet peculiar 3-1 after 22 minutes. 

Raheens would add to their tally from this point, without reply from the goal-focused O’Dwyers as the sides entered the break at 2-7 to 3-1.

The second got underway and after a quiet opening few minutes, O’Dwyers broke onto the box and were awarded a penalty. Katie McCabe would shoulder the responsibility and she would make no mistake from the spot. McCabe slotted her effort past Anna Dunlea in the Raheens goal to draw the sides level.

The sides shared a point each in the following few minutes before what was undoubtedly one of the craziest 120 seconds of football this reporter has seen.

The insane spell would kick off as Raheens’ Ciana O’Brien set up Anna O’Donovan for a simple finish as she slapped home for a goal. But just as soon as the Raheens fans had finished revelling in the delight of their goal, O’Dwyers were headed down the other end with vicious intent.

The move would finish in the hands of midfielder Alana Kelly who beat her marker and keeper Anna Dunlea to score her side's fifth goal of the game. The sixth was soon to follow as Dunlea’s subsequent kick out was snatched by Shannon Richardson who punished the mistake to get her hattrick. 6-3 to 3-9 with plenty left on the clock. 

The final green flag raised in this game came from the boot of Raheens’ Sarah McGovern who drew the sides level with 10 minutes to go.

After countless tense exchanges late on, O’Dwyers would pull away from Raheens with points from Shannon Richardson and what would prove to be the game winner from Elsa Kearney. 

Raheens one score in reply would not be enough as O’Dwyers came out on top of a Leinster Championship game for the ages.

Scorers
O'Dwyers, Shannon Richardson 3-3, Katie McCabe 2-1 (0-1 frees), Alana Kelly 1-1, Elsa Kearney 0-1.

Raheens, Anna O'Donovan 1-6 (0-6 frees), Sarah McGovern 2-1 (0-1 frees), Ciana O'Brien 1-0, Emma Kielty 0-1, Leah McGovern 0-1, Sally Kielty 0-1, Leah Fleming 0-1.

Teams

O'DWYERS: Niamh Kirby; Katie McCabe, Lara Marrey, Jane Kehoe; Izzy McClean, Holly O'Rourke, Aoife Curran; Alana Kelly, Carla Munson; Elsa Kearney, Chloe Johnson, Amy Gibbons; Aoife Breathnach, Shannon Richardson, Leah Brady.

Subs: Ellen Dowling on for Carla Munson (53 minutes).

RAHEENS: Anna Dunlea; Emma Heneghan, Enya O'Brien, Grace Kielty; Claudia Gray, Laura Dunlea, Ciara Malone; Sarah McGovern, Joy Duggan; Sally Kielty, Emma Kielty, Leah Fleming; Ciana O'Brien, Anna O'Donovan, Leah McGovern.

Subs: Maeve Magner on for Emma Heneghan (60 minutes).

Referee: Paul O'Malley