Davis ladies capture first piece of senior silverware

THERE were celebrations in Kiltipper after Thomas Davis ladies landed their maiden trophy at senior level, following a 3-15 to 3-9 victory over Ballyboden St Enda’s in the Division One Cup decider.

The local derby did not disappoint, with the two-evenly matched sides exchanging scores throughout until the home team got the break they were patiently searching for.

St Enda’s enjoyed the better start as 10-time All-Ireland winner with Cork, Valerie Mulcahy found the net.

Mulcahy, who is one of the most decorated Ladies footballers of all time, has served as a player-manager with the Firhouse Road club after moving from her home club Rockbán.

Despite retiring in 2016, she returned to adult football and her prowess in front of goal was clearly apparent in Kiltipper last Wednesday evening.

‘Boden established a five-point lead before Davis’ even registered a score when centre-forward Sinead Deegan zipped through on goal and side footed under the netminder to cut the deficit to two-points.

Still, the travelling outfit found a way to re-establish their five-point buffer before Dublin panellist Ciara McGuigan’s quick-thinking from a free kick resulted in Thomas Davis’ second goal in this encounter.

McGuigan clipped the ball over the defence to find an unmarked Lauren Young, who made no mistake from inside the 14-metre line.

After the interval, the Liam McGuigan managed side established a grip on proceedings thanks in no small measure to his daughters, Orlagh and Ciara.

The sisters were on free-taking duties, with right-footed Orlagh taking them from the left and Ciara from the opposite flank.

Between them, they managed 0-11 while Young and Deegan contributed 1-1 apiece.

One of the scores of the night was served up by Thomas Davis’ Jade Sweeney, who stormed from wing-back to fire over the bar.

A short-time after, Ciara McGuigan dropped deep to collect the ball and fed Rachel Newell, who filled in the gap at full-forward, to slot the ball into the corner.