The damp weather and dull skies did nothing to detract from the excellent camogie on show on Saturday in Cavan. The Tyrone under 14’s travelled the long journey to PJ Duke Park in Stradone to play Cavan in the Ulster shield final. Tyrone were buoyed by the dominant win over Donegal last week and Cavan were on a high from the Ulster blitz win a few weeks ago beating the red hands by a narrow margin.
The game started at a blistering pace and all the action was around the Cavan goal mouth and there was some frantic defending by the home side. It took five minutes before Tyrone’s forward Amy Barrett was able to break down the Cavan defensive wall and score a sublime goal. It wasn’t long though before Cavan went straight up the field and scored an exceptional point from long range. Tyrone captain Leanne Donnelly was dominant in the middle of the park and at times she was a cut above the rest.
The defence for Tyrone was outstanding and goal keeper Niamh McNulty made some heroic goal line stops. Aisling McLaughlin and Oisin Grogan held the defensive line as Cavan pressed but were unable to penetrate the back line. Tyrone broke free again and a Donnelly free found Barrett again to extend the Tyrone lead. There then followed a few goal line clearances that had the supporters gasping but Cavan managed to scramble the ball over the line for a goal of their own. Cavan then had their own passage of play but they were pressurised into a series of wide’s before they took two points from open play. There was ten minutes between the two scored and Tyrone had one last chance before the whistle sounded when Orla Donnelly won the ball and passed to Donnelly who made a pin point accurate pass to Catherine Donnely and she fired home to give Tyrone another goal. The half time ended Cavan 1-3 Tyrone 3-0.
The second half started the same as the first with both teams going in hard for every ball. Cavan were able to immediately capitalise on the chances they made at half time and they scored a goal within two minutes. The play was end to end and any mistakes were punished by both sides. The rain had retreated somewhat and it took some excellent defending from Orla Coyle and Niamh Donnelly to set up a breakaway that gave Tyrone another goal in the game from Catherine Donnelly. Cavan battled again and scored another two points as the play was fierce and intense.
There was six minutes on the clock when Cavan launched the ball into the Tyrone goal and it looped over the back line into the net and they had taken the lead for the first time in the match. McNulty again was under constant pressure but was able to clear her lines.
Tyrone fought their way up the field and they were awarded a free and Catherine Muldoon’s effort sailed into the goal. The score meant Tyrone led by a point when Muldoon again took another free and did exactly the same thing scoring a wonder goal.
Cavan replied instantly and they scored an excellent goal of their own to narrow the game to a point. The following three minutes saw some explosive tackles as both teams defended with great vigour. In the end Tyrone lifted the title with a score-line Cavan 4-5 Tyrone 6-0.
It was without doubt a nail biting experience for all the travelling supporters as the game ebbed and flowed. A big thank you to all the players, supporters and especially managers Fionnuala McGrath and Gareth Fox for all their hard work throughout the summer. Cavan were gracious in defeat and Tyrone camogie would like to thank PJ Duke Park club for their kind hospitality.
The team will now travel to Dublin next week for the All Ireland Blitz.
