Brolly's Knockmore book ticket to league final
Joe Brolly is coach of the Knockmore team that has reached the Mayo LGFA Division 1 final. Picture: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Knockmore’s ladies booked their place in the Division 1 league final following a deserved victory over Burrishoole on Sunday morning.
The pair are set to meet in the group stages of the senior championship later this summer but on a wet morning in Knockmore, the home side struck four first-half goals to leave Burrishoole with a mountain to climb.
The visitors will rue a key moment when they were awarded a penalty on 20 minutes, only to see former Mayo attacker Maria Cannon fire her effort at the goalkeeper. From the restart, Knockmore broke quickly and Amy O’Connor’s point attempt landed into the net, tuning what could have been a one-point game into a seven-point lead. A fourth goal on the stroke of half-time put Joe Brolly’s side in full control.
Indeed, the Knockmore head coach felt that Burrishoole’s tactics played into his side’s hand.
“Well, strategically what they did was they played with a full-time sweeper which I think is an error now,” he told the Western People. “That was okay whenever Jimmy McGuinness invented it, but to play with a full-time sweeper, it means that we were able to press them, push up on them, and they were never really able to get out of their own half for long periods of time.
“We’ve been doing an awful lot of work on goalscoring, they were rocked back. We got the lucky goal early on, but we had three or four very good goals, but that was because once you play with the sweeper and you’re not man-marking anymore, as soon as you come through that first line of their defence, it's wide open. There's free girls running everywhere.
“The thing is not to give the early ball,” Joe Brolly continued. “We made that mistake in the first-half but by half-time when we reset, then I thought we were very comfortable in the second.” The warning signs were there for Burrishoole inside two minutes when Roisin Flynn broke down the right side and almost found Emily Coleman, but the stretching corner-forward palmed inches wide. Two minutes later, Knockmore got a bit of good fortune when Ciara Durkan’s point attempt dropped short and bounced off this slick surface past Grainne McManamon for their opening major.
Coleman saw another goal chance fall her way soon after, which Grainne McManamon got down quickly to save, but the Burrishoole goalkeeper could only watch on helplessly as Hannan Reape’s point attempt looped over and into the net.
Maria Cannon got Burrishoole up and running with a pair of frees and a big chance fell their way when referee Declan Leonard awarded a penalty after Clodagh McManamon was fouled by Knockmore goalkeeper Grace Naughton, but Naughton made up for her error by saving Cannon’s spot kick. Less than sixty seconds later, the ball was in the Burrishoole net, with Lara Sweeney getting in on the act.
Sweeney, a free, and Hannah Sheehy traded efforts before Knockmore saved their best goal of the half for last as Cliodhna and Roisin Flynn began a flowing move that was fired home emphatically by O’Connor to make it 4-2 to 0-3.
Sweeney and Cannon exchanged frees at the start of the second-half before Burrishoole found the net on 35 minutes through Caoife Moran following a great run by Grace McDonnell.
A minute later, Knockmore extinguished all hope when they turned over Burrishoole and Amy O’Connor rifled home her second goal of the day.
Burrishoole battled valiantly and added points through Cannon (two frees) and Caoife Moran but Knockmore were always in control and two efforts from Lara Sweeney and one each from Sarah Mulvihill and Cliodhna Flynn rounded off a fine win.
But Joe Brolly is expecting a much different test against Westport, who they will meet in the league decider. The reigning Mayo senior champions ran out eleven-point winners when they met in the league last month and the Derry native is well aware of the task facing his side.
“Their juniors would easily compete at senior level. I mean, they're doing a massive amount of work.
“I spoke to Pat Holmes recently about their management and he speaks so highly of them, and Pat as you know is a terrific tactician. You can see what's happening with Westport there already in such a short period of time.
“The day we played in the league, I felt a bit like the day Mick O’Dwyer was managing Kildare against Galway and Galway ran all over them and Micko, the only thing he could do was go into their changing room afterwards and say it was an absolute pleasure to watch you out there.
“I mean their football, their aggression, their structure, their teamwork, that's what we're aiming for,” said Brolly, who also hopes that Nina McVann and Hannah Reape will be fit after both were withdrawn early on Sunday due to injury.
“We can't afford, we don't have the luxury that Westport have. We don't have a junior team; we've got 10 minors in the group. We have a group of 30, we have 10 minors and that's it. We don't have those sorts of numbers. If we have our strongest 15 out and we're a bit further down the road, then I think we will be very formidable.” Scorers – Knockmore: Amy O’Connor 2-1, Lara Sweeney 1-4 (0-3f), Ciara Durkan and Hannah Reape 1-0 each, Cliodhna Flynn and Sarah Mulvihill 0-1 each.
Burrishoole: Maria Cannon 0-5f, Caoife Moran 1-1, Hannah Sheehy 0-1.
Knockmore: Grace Naughton; Caitlin Bourke, Emily Hughes, Siofragh Kelly; Emily Reape, Roisin Flynn, Mia Traynor; Nina McVann, Sarah Mulvihill; Ciara Durkan, Lara Sweeney, Hannah Reape; Amy O’Connor, Clodagh Keane, Emily Coleman. Subs: Cliodhna Flynn (for McVann 27, inj), Marie Breslin (for Kelly 44), Fiona Cuffe (for H Reape 48, inj), Lauren Neary (for Emily Coleman 52), Emma Coleman (for E Reape 60).
Burrishoole: Grainne McManamon; Chloe Donnellan, Lucy Wallace, Carla Palasz; Louise Sheridan, Ciara McManamon, Alan McDonnell; Ava Kelly, Clodagh McManamon; Niamh O’Malley, Leona Ryder, Hannah Sheehy; Grace McDonnell, Maria Cannon, Cara O’Neill. Subs: Caoife Moran (for O’Neill 23, inj), Caragh Keane (for Sheridan ht), Alice Chambers (for Donnellan 45), Louise Conway (for O’Malley 58).
REF: Declan Leonard (Ballina Stephenites)
