Steelstown Ladies blitz Glen to secure FOURTH successive Derry senior title

Steelstown Brian Ogs 2-11, Glen 0-03

On the evening of Monday, September 4th in Watty Graham's Park, questions were being asked of Derry's reigning ladies football champions. Well, we have our answer: Steelstown are simply FOURmidable!

Thomas Cusack's team didn't just dispel any lingering doubts with their emphatic 14 point senior county final victory over Glen at Foreglen, they mocked the temerity to have even asked the question. They were sensational as they underlined, once again, their Oak Leaf dominance with a fourth straight Derry senior title; a fifth in seven years in what was their fifth successive senior county final. Remarkable consistency!

And this was probably their best performance of the five. Even before Emma Doherty's 13th minute penalty hit the back of the net, there was an air of inevitability about it. Glen had started well but what the opening 10 minutes illustrated was the Watty Graham's girls would be getting no joy from a Steelstown back line that defended with an incredible level of intensity over the 60 odds minutes. The Brian Ogs forwards will rightly receive the plaudits but this victory was built on the platform of collective defence.

And when that pressure won turnover ball, Steelstown were clinical at the other end with Orla McGeough in fantastic form from frees and general play. Her supporting cast weren't bad either though as Ciara McGurk, Emma Doherty and Niamh Gilmore knitted things together superbly. Indeed there wasn't a player in blue on less than eight out of 10!

For Glen, hindsight would suggest the worse thing they could have done was defeat the champions back in September. Mickey Moran's team had sent shockwaves through the county with that brilliant, and fully deserved victory. What it served to become however was the wake up call Steelstown used to take their game to another level. The surprise element had disappeared for the Watty's who never looked like scoring a second shock victory.

Ironically Glen enjoyed plenty of possession and played some decent football at times but an inability to penetrate Steelstown's 'blue line' meant the game was over as a contest by the break. Two goals in three minutes saw to that and changed the complexion of the final completely.

Glen had actually opened the scoring through a lovely Clare McGroggan point but two McGeough frees, one after McGeough herself won the turnover inside her own '45', had the city girls in front by the time the clock hit 13 minutes.

Then came the penalty, the game's critical score. Again McGeough was central, superbly winning Molly McBride's excellent kick-out before advancing and sending Aoife Collins clear to be brought down by Glen keeper Rachel Glasgow. The appeals were instant, Glen also claiming the Steelstown forward was charging, but referee Gregory McWilliams was in no doubt. And when you win a penalty in a county final who better to step up than a player seeking her fifth winners' medal? Emma Doherty didn't disappoint, rolling an accomplished finish to Glasgow's left for 1-02 to 0-1.

Three minutes later it got even better when a flowing Steelstown move saw Megan Devine and Collins swap passes for the former to pick out Ciara McGurk's perfectly timed run and she applied the finish, fisting into the net for a seven point lead.

And that was basically that. Glen did have the odd sniff of a goal chance, Sorcha Higgins seeing one scrambled effort go inches wide after the ball broke close to the Steelstown net while McBride had to be secure under a couple of high balls to the edge of her square but otherwise, the Steelstown net was largely untroubled.

By the break the lead was 2-05 to 0-2, McGeough (2f) and Devine on target for Brian Ogs and Annie Ni Lochlainn, Glen's best player, scoring for the Watty's.

Glen had a Steelstown sized mountain to climb second half and while they never stopped pushing and probing, they never looked like grabbing the goal that may have injected some hope into their efforts.

At the other end it was business as usual as a McGeough free and a Dara McKeever point extended the lead, McGeough in particular going through her full repertoire of two footed skills. A nasty injury to Glen sub Clodagh Curran saw the game held up for seven minutes but it only ever delayed Steelstown's coronation.

Once play resumed Devine fisted her second of the game before full back and joint captain Aoife McGough stormed forward to cap another brilliant display with a lovely point. It was fitting, however, that Steelstown's final score came via the boot of McGeough and following a lovely dummy. She was outstanding.

Glen's only score of the half arrived in injury time and with half-forward McGroggan in the sin bin but it was academic, this day was about Steelstown. Four in a row champions and getting better it seems. Impressive stuff!

Steelstown scorers: Orla McGeough (0-7, 5f), Emma Doherty (1-0, 1pen), Ciara McGurk (1-0), Megan Devine (0-2), Dara McKeever (0-1), Aoife McGough (0-1).

Glen scorers: Annie Ni Lochlainn (0-2, 2f), Clare McGroggan (0-1).

Steelstown Brian Ogs: Molly McBride, Orlaith McGough, Aoife McGough, Niamh Friel, Kathryn Canavan, Katy Holly, Leah Casey, Niamh Gilmore, Emma Doherty, Orla McGeough, Ciaran McGurk, Dara McKeever, Aoife Collins, Caoimhe O'Kane, Megan Devine. (Subs) Leah McGonagle for C O'Kane, 51mins; Eimear O'Doherty for D McKeever, 54mins; Tara Burns for N Gilmore, 55mins; Anna Boyle for N Friel, 64mins; Emma Connolly for A Collins, 64mins.

Glen: Rachel Glasgow, Aoife McGuckian, Aimee Glasgow, Sarah Darragh, Danielle Kivlehan, Caoimhe, Kirkpatrick, Lauren O'Loughlin, Leanne McCrystal, Ciara Mulholland, Clare McGrogan, Annie Ni Lochlainn, Sorcha Higgins, Bronagh McNicholl, Christina Kielt, Breena O'Loughlin. (Subs) Kathy Joyce for S Higgins, 35mins; Clodagh Curran for C Kielt, 35mins; Orla McCrystal for C Curran (inj), 43mins.

Referee: Gregory McWilliams