Drumragh U14 girls opened the club’s season on Sunday morning away to Aghyaran, and despite a very good second-half performance, they came up short after an entertaining game.
The home side played with a strong wind in the first half, and made good use of it, building up an early lead. Aghyaran applied a lot of pressure throughout the opening 15 minutes, but Amy Cox, Niamh Colton and Lana Gormley dealt well with it, making a number of important interceptions and blocks.
Alanna Murray got Drumragh on the board with an excellent point after a quick exchange of passes between Lottie Gallagher and Emeli Cox. And Drumragh were unfortunate not to add to their total with Emelia Lowry, Lily Keys and Alanna doing well to create chances.
Aghyaran added a few more scores before the break to increase their lead.
Drumragh captain Niamh Colton with the referee and Aghyaran captain before the start of the game
Drumragh came out for the second half in a determined mood, and made nothing easy for their opponents. A couple of early dangerous Aghyaran attacks were cleared thanks to strong defending from Amy Cox, Carrie Dillon and Leah Kelly in the full-back line.
The first score of the second half came via Lily Keys, who scored a goal after Dearbhaille McLaughlin and Niamh Colton had created the opportunity. Lily won the kickout that followed and fired over an excellent point as Drumragh continued their impressive start to the half.
Midfielders Jennifer Barrett and Dearbhaille McLaughlin started a lot of Drumragh attacks with important turnovers, and with half-backs Hollie Sloan and Chloe Colton getting forward to good effect, Drumragh were creating a lot of opportunities. Twice they were denied by good saves from the Aghyaran goalkeeper, although Chloe McGale did kick a great point after taking the ball past a few defenders. Niamh Colton then converted a free after she herself had been fouled. Aghayran responded with their first score of the half, a goal.
A highlight of the second half came not long after when Drumragh goalkeeper Myah Dillon made a stunning save to stop Aghyaran scoring a goal. An attacker had made it through one-on-one, but Myah came out bravely to make a wonderful save, with Myah’s sister Carrie on hand to complete the clearance.
Aghyaran tagged on two points, but Drumragh, helped by the introduction of subs Mia McGale, Lily McAleer, Naomi Given, Beth Darcy and Chloe McSwiggan, finished the game on the front foot. A strong run and clever pass from Dearbhaille McLaughlin allowed Chloe McGale to score Drumragh’s second goal off the game, and Chloe followed that up with a point.
That concluded the scoring, and Drumragh can take a lot of positives from a battling display.
SCORERS: Chloe McGale 1-2, Lily Keys 1-1, Alanna Murray 0-1, Niamh Colton 0-1
TEAM: Myah Dillon, Amy Cox, Carrie Dillon, Lana Gormley, Chloe Colton, Niamh Colton, Hollie Sloan, Jennifer Barrett, Dearbhaille McLaughlin, Alanna Murray, Lily Keys, Emeli Cox, Emelia Lowry, Chloe McGale, Lottie Gallagher
SUBS: Lily McAleer, Leah Kelly, Naomi Given, Mia McGale, Beth Darcy, Chloe McSwiggan
Drumragh’s Emili Cox gathers possession during the game against Aghyaran
