U16 Camogs claim All Ireland

It was a glorious afternoon on Sunday as the Tyrone under 16s took to the field in Abbotstown National GAA Centre Dublin. Wicklow were the opponents in the All Ireland ‘Progress to Success’ Final. Tyrone had beaten Mayo, Donegal, Monaghan and Louth en route to the final.
Tyrone won the toss and decided to take the wind advantage in the first half. The Red hands settled into the game almost immediately and it wasn’t long before Niamh Forker took a free from 20 metres to open the scoring with a point. A fumble by the Wicklow goal keeper allowed Catherine Muldoon to poach a goal with five minutes gone. Forker extended the lead shortly after with a point and Casey Gallagher registered her first point from a long distance free. The next five minutes of play was intense and the passing was crisp from both sides. Forker added another point with fifteen minutes gone.
Wicklow to this stage had not moved out of their own half but soon were into their stride. They registered their first wide of the game and Tyrone goal keeper Aisling Begley made some outrageous stops and was at her brilliant best. It was on the seventh minute mark that Wicklow took their first point from open play. A point and a goal followed in two minutes and the one sided start to the game turned into a more even contest. Kira Donnelly ever present in the half forward line broke clear and added a point to the scoreboard. A skilled passage of play saw Forker pick out Muldoon and she slotted another point. From the resulting puck out Donnelly gathered the sliotar to extend her teams lead to five points. There was five minutes remaining when Forker broke clear from her marker and scored a goal sending the ball into the top right hand corner of the net. Wicklow still had time to press but they ended the half with a wide.
Half Time Tyrone 2-7 Wicklow 1-2
The second half started at a frenetic pace and a mirror image of the first period now saw Wicklow with all the possession and in the ascendancy. They could only manage a wide when a point looked certain but one followed with five minutes of the half gone. Begley again was on form as she made some brilliant saves. The pressure continued on the Tyrone backline and Wicklow added three points in ten minutes to narrow the game to four. The tackling was hard and the pace of the game increased somewhat. Muldoon settled Tyrone nerves with a close range point and Forker added another as she showed her marker a clean pair of heels. It was fiercely competitive all over the field and Wicklow narrowed the deficit with a point with twenty minutes to go. An impressive passage of play came when Forker ran down the line passed to Reagan Fay and she sent the ball into the back of the net to make it an eight point game with seven minutes remaining.
Wicklow refused to give in and they added another point with five minutes to go to the end. Tyrone hit the crossbar and a final point of the game from Forker ended a memorable inaugural final.
Full Time Tyrone 3-10 Wicklow 1-8
Tyrone Scorers N Forker 1-5 C Muldoon 1-2 R Fay 1-0 K Donnelly 0-2 C Gallagher 0-1
Catherine Neary, President of the Camogie Association, presented the winning shield to joint captains Casey Gallagher and Áine McNulty.