Casey strikes late for big Charlestown win
Kellee Crean was in action for Charlestown as the east Mayo side defeated Castlebar Mitchels.
When Ava Casey stood over a free in the dying seconds in Josie Munnelly Park on Sunday morning, nobody could quite believe what they had witnessed.
A game that Charlestown had led for the majority of the contest, was turned on its head when Castlebar Mitchels came with a late surge, overcoming a five-point deficit in the last ten minutes.
With the game level, substitute Casey stepped up and kicked an outstanding free kick that won the game for her side.
Charlestown were the better side for most of the game and had standout performances from Leah O’Grady and Nicole McLoughlin in what was a controlled performance from Sinead Halligan’s troops.
Castlebar Mitchels, to their credit, were hardworking throughout, with Suzanne Tuohy, Danielle Caldwell and their trio of substitutes Karagh Neary, Laura Bourke and Helen Murrihy all changed the game once introduced.
Charlestown settled the better of the two sides and opened their account with a penalty from Nicole McLoughlin after Chelsea Doherty was fouled inside the penalty area. Charlestown added a quick score through Leah O’Grady, and although operating against a stiff breeze, the girls in green were comfortably in control of the half.
Mitchels were struggling to create chances up front but steadied the ship with scores from Sarah Conlon and Niamh Hughes.
In what was a pulsating opening ten minutes, Charlestown grabbed their second goal in outstanding fashion, with McLoughlin’s speculative effort from outside of the 21 nestling into the top corner of the net.
Both sides traded a point a piece in the remaining 20 minutes of the half, with conditions tricky, with O’Grady for Charlestown and Hughes for Castlebar splitting the posts as Charlestown led 2-2 to 0-3 at the break.
The second half began by Charlestown extending their lead to seven in the opening minutes of the second half, with further points from Doherty and O’Grady.
A quickfire double from Laura Bourke brought the gap back to five, but Charlestown were still on top and a free from McLoughlin had the gap at six with fifteen to play.
The aforementioned Mitchels substitutes were beginning to have a huge impact on the game however, with Bourke adding her third of the day off the bench, before Helen Murrihy finished a superb goal to narrow the gap to two points with ten to play.
Bourke continued her excellent scoring off the bench to leave just the one point in it, but a Shona Mahon point gave them a two-point lead entering down into the last five minutes.
Castlebar to their credit were working extremely hard, with the breeze at their backs, and after Lucy Molloy’s clever point, a free from Grainne Flynn equalised the game with an excellent free kick.
Charlestown were shown two sinbins to Ella Brennan and Chelsea Doherty, while Kathryn Sullivan saw yellow in a game that was beginning to ramp up in intensity.
The game was to be decided by Ava Casey, who showed huge courage and quality to kick a free of the highest quality with time expiring, and secure the victory for her side.
Scorers – Charlestown: Nicole McLoughlin 2-1 (0-1f), Leah O'Grady 0-3, Chelsea Doherty, Shona Mahon and Ava Casey (f) 0-1 each.
Castlebar Mitchels: Laura Bourke 0-4 (1f), Helen Murrihy 1-0, Niamh Hughes 0-2 (1f), Sarah Conlon, Lucy Molloy and Grainne Flynn (f) 0-1 each.
Charlestown: Julia Gawalkiewicz; Mary Peig Horkan, Caoimhe Halligan, Keira Durkin; Mia Durkin, Ella Brennan, Abby Conway; Cailin Durkan, Katie Gavin; Leasha McHale, Nicole McLoughlin, Kellee Crean; Shona Mahon, Chelsea Doherty, Leah O’Grady. Subs: Clodagh Murphy (for Brennan ht), Laoise Harkin (for O’Grady 38), Emily Cassidy and Ava Casey (for Conway and McHale 43), E Brennan (for McLoughlin 49).
Castlebar Mitchels: Ava Murray; Rebecca Lawless, Tanya Flynn, Megan Pattinson; Emma Gallagher, Danielle Caldwell, Grace Filan; Sarah Conlon, Lucy Molloy; Sinead O’Boyle, Suzanne Tuohy, Grainne Flynn; Niamh Hughes, Maia Ludden, Kathryn Sullivan. Subs: Karagh Neary and Laura Bourke (for O’Boyle and Ludden 37), Helen Murrihy (for Conlon 47).
REF: Declan Corcoran (Islandeady).
