Donegal Women’s League – Here’s a roundup from underage League Cup games

There have been goals galore in the Donegal Women’s League underage divisions, which are in the League Cup phase now.

Picture: Raphoe Town U16s who beat Swilly Rovers on Tuesday evening.

Under-12 Division 1

Mulroy Academy M 6 Kilmacrennan Celtic 0

In ideal weather conditions at Rabs Park, Kerrykeel, Mulroy M took on Kilmacrennan on Monday evening.

The two teams battled hard for the first 20 minutes, each side unable to outdo the other. Siobhan Cameron had some fine runs at goal but her attempts were foiled by good defending from Leah McLoughlin, Olivia Friel, Kate Mc Adoo and goalkeeper Hannah Gallagher.

Similarly at the other side of the pitch, ‘keeper Sarah Mc Fadden kept Mulroy’s attempts at bay. Alicia Gallagher and Lauren Doherty put in great performances for Kilmacrennan.

After 20 minutes, Clodagh Heron struck a fine shot into the back of the net, which she repeated less than two minutes later with another fine goal.

Mulroy M came out stronger in the second half displaying skilful footwork and passing. Emma Mc Grenaghan performed well throughout with Aoife Carr and Aoife McMullan also putting in good performances for Mulroy.

Eva Blaney scored 18 minutes in, followed by a goal from Rachel Friel which left the hosts in a comfortable position.

Hannah Gibbons came close to scoring twice and was successful on her third attempt after a superb pass in from the ever-reliable Megan McLoughlin.

Clodagh Heron completed her hat-trick in the closing minutes of the match ending the game on a high note for Mulroy

Under-12 Division 2

Gweedore United 5 Bonagee United 6

Bonagee made the long journey to Gweedore and edged an 11-goal thriller in an another cracking contest. In the first half Bonagee had a number of chances only for the Gweedore keeper making a number of good saves.

Trailing 2-0 at half time the Bonagee outfit came out with a bit of work to do in the second half and that they did, Grace Murphy bringing them back into the game.

However, the home team added a third goal soon after.

Murphy added two more goals and levelled it at 3-3.

Bonagee, with momentum on their side, added two more quick goals, one from Sienna Doherty and Murphy getting her fourth of the night.

There was a lot of action near the end of the game with Gweedore scoring to close the gap.

Caitlin Moore added Bonagee’s sixth and Gweedore finishing off with a last minute goal to finish the contest at 6-5 to Bonagee.

Lagan Harps 7 Swilly Rovers 0

Due to holidays and injuries numbers were down for both teams.

Lagan opened the scoring after 10 minutes when Orlaith Doherty crossed to Sine Ryan Harris who fired home from close range.

Lagan should have extended the lead shortly after when Tanya Gillen shot was blocked by Claire McCarron, with the ball falling to Orlaith Doherty, however Aine Connolly pulled of a good save.

Lagan keeper Amy Doherty was called into action minutes later when Keeva Allison broke clear but shot was tipped wide by Amy.

Shauna O’Donnell’s long ball send Orlaith Doherty on good run and she finished for an excellent score.

Caitlin Doherty linked up with Lorraine Stevenson, but her shot was blocked by Scarlet Keys. Mia Devenney and Sine Ryan Harris linked up to extend the lead for Lagan just before half time.

Orlaith Doherty scored two quick goals at start of second half to extend Lagan’s lead. Keely Boyle, Claire McCarron was under severe pressure but were defending well.

Aileen Sweeney scored twice more as the clock ran down.

The final action of the evening was a excellent save by Aine Connolly for a Amy Moore shot

Best for Lagan: Sine Ryan Harris and Scarlet Keys, with Aine Connolly and Keeva Allison impressing for Swilly

Under-14 Division 1

Raphoe Town 1Lagan Harps 1

A super second-half goal from Erin Doherty earned Lagan Harps a well-deserved share of the spoils in this closely fought game at Deele College on Friday night.

It was no less than the visitors deserved having dominated posession for long periods, but Raphoe, marshalled superbly by Shania McMonagle and Cora McBride, battled superbly throughout and always looked dangerous on the break.

The hard-working Ella McHugh led the line brilliantly for the home team, but it was her strike partner Cody Walsh who broke the deadlock, finishing with a brilliant goal following a magnificent through ball from Rebecca McColgan.

Lagan found the Raphoe defence in determined mood and Mollie McGroarty made some great stops, but the visitors pressed and pressed, forcing several corners and free-kicks in dangerous areas.

In the end neither side could find a winner and having shared the spoils earlier in the season had to be content with a draw once again on this occasion.

Illistrin FC 3 Mulroy Academy 0

The home team got of to a dream start when Marie Rushe forced the ball home after a dangerous inswinging corner from Ciara Molloy.

This early breakthrough settled the Illistrin girls into their passing game with Rushe and Jodie McFadden controlling the middle

of the midfield and Nicole McDaid and Kaitlyn Doherty impressive on the wings.  Young Leanne McGettigan was leading the line well as Illistrin forced the early pressure.

Mulroy grew into the game with Iseult Ni Mhauthuna making some good runs forward and was well supported by the lively Jessica Coll.

Illistrin’s defence was solid though with Aobha Harrigan, Darcey Kelly, Meabh Devenney, and Erika Gallagher in particular dealing well with the Mulroy attacks.

The home team increased the lead when another great corner, this time from Jodie McFadden, was turned home by Aobha Harrigan.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Illistrin on the attack but Mulroy breaking well.

Claire Gallagher made some great runs into the Mulroy half but the defence did well and keeper Meabh Duffy was sharp off her line.

Aobhin Randles in the Illistrin goal was in top form too as she dealt with some long range efforts into the Illistrin box.

Caitlin Heraghty was doing well in midfield for Mulroy while Sarah McGinley was working hard up the wing for Illistrin.

Illistrin extended their lead with 10 minutes to go when a fine through ball released Leanne McGettigan and she sidestepped the Mulroy defender before finishing superbly.

Erika Gallagher was superb at the heart of the Illistrin defence.

Under-14 Division 2

Bonagee United 1 Gweedore Celtic 1

Bonagee United and Gweedore Celtic U14s played out an exciting draw at Dry Arch Park on a very hot Friday evening.

It was end-to-end stuff as the two teams battled from start to finish with neither able to sneak a winning goal.

Bonagee’s Amy Callaghan went close in the first half when she shot just over the bar from long range and Grace Murphy was narrowly wide with another good chance for the home team.

It was Murphy who put Bonagee in front when she raced clear and slotted home late in the half.

With Eva Harvey putting in a solid shift at right-back and Alyesia Alcorn battling hard, Bonagee were on top and had the lead at half-time.

Gweedore Celtic got back on level terms when Lauren O’Donnell broke clear and slotted home.

Bonagee ‘keeper Emma Doherty made a brilliant save with her leg to prevent another Gweedore goal.

But at the other end, Bonagee laid siege on the Gweedore goal.

With a few regular bodies missing, Bonagee gave an Under-14 debut to 10-year-old Ginny Diver, whose excellent performance made light of her young age. Diver contributed well to the Bonagee attacks in the second half.

Alcorn shot wide and Caitlin Hume – always a threat from set pieces – caused panic when she came up. Hume shot wide with one effort and Gweedore ‘keeper Molly Kelly did well to save another stinging drive from Hume.

Bonagee pressed hard through Murphy, Anna Hannigan, Diver and Chloe Creevy, but the teams had to settle for a share of the spoils.

Kilmacrennan Celtic 3 Finn Valley 2

The opening goal was scored by Ciara Laine midway through the first half.

Katherine Black equalised from close range.

It was a very tightly fought have and two more goals, one for each side (Ava Dunnion for Finn Valley and Sophie Curran for Kilmac) left it 2-2 at half time.

It was all to play for in the second half. Kilmac got the breakthrough through a brilliant individual goal from Siobhan Cameron, running from within her own half and burying it in the back of the net.

Overall a great performance from both teams, with Kilmac just edging it on the night

Under-16

IllistrinFC 0  Lagan Harps 1

Conditions were pleasant for this league cup game between two well matched teams. Both teams were missing a few regulars and indeed had to call in a number of their U14 team.

The away team started the brighter with Emma Gribben and Gabby O’Donnell doing well out wide.

Erika Gallagher was covering well for Illistrin.

Most of their play was orchestrated by Aislinn Coll as she released Ciara Doherty and Jade Stewart on numerous occasions but the back three of Lucy Canning, Shannon Cunningham, and Casey Barrett were very solid.

There went too many chances in the first half as both teams cancelled each other out for long periods.

For Lagan, Shannon Cunningham had a few long range free kicks which Aoibhin Randles in the Illistrin goals dealt with comfortably.

Niamh Sweeney was a constant threat up front and almost got in before half time with a great dribble.

For Illistrin, Aislinn Coll made a great run but was smothered out by the Lagan defence and then her through ball almost put the lively Nicole McDaid in but Lagan’s keeper Courtney Gallagher raced out to clear the danger.

The second half continued in the same pattern with Holly Canning and Erin Doherty controlling the midfield for Lagan.

Marie Rushe was making some great runs for Illistrin and combined well with Aobha Harrigan and Kaitlyn Doherty. Megan McDaid, Rebekah McGlinchey, and Zoe McFadden were defending very  well for Illistrin.

Lagan looked dangerous from set plays and indeed the only goal of the game resulted from a corner. Erin Doherty’s well struck corner was met at the far post by Gabby O’Donnell and found the back of the net with only 10 minutes remaining.

Despite Illistrin’s efforts they couldn’t break down the Lagan defence with Shannon Cunningham outstanding at the heart of it and Holly Canning doing well in midfield.

For Illistrin Erika Gallagher did well in defence and Nicole McDaid did well out wide. Sean O’Donnell had a fine game as ref.

A very sporting game with Lagan deserving all three points after an impressive performance.

Raphoe Town 4 Swilly Rovers 2

Raphoe captain Alannah Kee signed off in emphatic style ahead of her transfer to the U17 National League with a hat-trick and an inspired performance that helped the Raphoe girls to a hard-fought 4-2 win over Swilly Rovers.

The visitors who had Chloe Moore and Anna McFadden in fine form, tested Raphoe early on but were denied by a fine save from Abbey Lee Bell who pushed a long distance drive onto the crossbar.

Danielle Hynd gave Swilly the lead mid way through the half, but it was short-lived and Alannah Kee fired in from distance to level the tie.

With Shania McMonagle outstanding in the centre of defence for Raphoe, Swilly found it difficult to create clear chances and Alannah Kee put Raphoe ahead just before the break.

Swilly pressed at the start of the second half, but another super strike from Alannah Kee saw her complete her hat-trick before a fantastic goal from Abigail Temple-Asokuh made it 4-1 to Raphoe.

Swilly saw the ball come back off the post after that and Danielle Hynd grabbed her second with 5 minutes to go, but the Raphoe girls held on to take the points in a well-contested game.