2020 Bridie McMenamin Shield final: Creggan Kickham's (Antrim) 1-6 Magherafelt (Derry) 1-5
THE ladies from Creggan completed an unforgettable week for the south west Antrim club by lifting the Bridie McMenamin Shield on Saturday to add to the senior football title the men collected six days earlier in Corrigan Park.
In contrast to the two earlier games that both Magherafelt and Creggan had played in the competition, this final became a dogged affair with plenty of mistakes throughout.
Both goals were turning points.
Creggan had jumped into an early lead and were three points clear after 12 minutes following scores from Eavanne Martin (0-2) and Susan McElwee.
However, a superb individual goal from Bríd Corrigan settled the Magherafelt girls and levelled matters a minute later and Creggan’s early dominance was upset, probably summed up by the normally reliant Martin driving a penalty left of the goals in the 14th minute.
Magherafelt took advantage of the hesitancy. Sinéad Comer swapped points with Martin, before the home side broke clear, a neat Rochelle Rocks score and further Comer points seeing them take a 1-4 to 0-4 half-time lead.
The Rossa defence soaked up a lot of pressure in the second half with Orla McEvoy, Dervla McGuckin and Freya O'Neill all heroic and they were holding well until close on the second water break.
The first problem was Roseanna Mullan picking up a second yellow card on 43 minutes. Magherafelt were reduced to 14 players. Amid the chaos that ensued, Evanne Martin dropped a 45 on top of the Rossa goal. The sliotar deflected off a stray hurl and dropped to the net to edge the Antrim side in front.
It gave them the lead for the first time since the 12th minute of the game, and in a frenetic final quarter, they managed to keep Magherafelt at arm's length despite losing Susan McElwee, also to a second yellow in the 50th minute.
Sinéad Comer landed a late free, but the Kickham's rearguard held firm to secure the title, more than 14 months after they qualified for it by collecting the Antrim junior crown.
Creggan: F Maguire; K Mulholland, C McAuley, M Nelson; A McAuley, A McAteer, S Murray; M Darragh, E Martin (1-5, 1-4 frees); R O'Hara, RM Rice, E McAteer; C O'Neill, S McElwee (0-1), M Quinn
Magherafelt: A McGuckin; M O'Neill, S Mullan, N McGarry; F O'Neill, D McGuckin, E Smylie; R Mullan, O McEvoy; S McGuckin, D Walls, B Corrigan (1-0); N McGuckin, S Comer (0-4, 0-3 frees), R Rocks (0-1)
