Boardsmill make it two from two in Ladies SFC
Boardsmill remain on track to return to the Ladies SFC final for the second year in succession after Caroline Quinn's hat-trick of goals helped them secure a 3-12 to 1-5 win over Dee Rangers at Syddan on on Sunday.
Keen to make amends for last year's final loss to St Ultan's Boardsmill have started the 2017 campaign brightly with an opening round win over Oldcastle getting them off to a good start and Sunday's win ensuring they go into the exam break in a healtrhy position.
Boardsmill dominated from the off with Amy Troy denied a goal when she shot straight at Aoife Burke in the first minute, but five minutes later Paula Dorian opened the scoring from a free.
Quinn, Dorian and Rachel Troy added to that tally by the 12th minute and two minutes later Quinn had the ball in the net with a brilliant finish after she was expertly picked out by Dorian.
Lisa Young replied with Dee Rangers first score in the 15th minute, but Edel Guy responded with an excellent score to push Boardsmill 1-5 to 0-1 ahead at the end of the first quarter.
Points from Dorian and Quinn, either side of an Ellie Meade score, stretched Boardsmill's lead, but the closing minutes of the half belonged to the hosts as Samantha Martin (two) and Orlaith Sheehy pointed to close the deficit to 0-5 to 1-7 at the break.
Four minutes after the restart Boardsmill extended their lead to eight points when Quinn reacted first to Dorian's free, which broke inside the small square, and bundled the ball to the net.
Dee Rangers got back into contention 15 minutes later when Martin's long punt forward was deemed to have crossed the line by the Boardsmill umpire before Eimear Murray cleared and so the hosts were just 1-5 to 2-7 adrift. However they failed to score again.
Laura Griffin pointed 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute and from the resultant kickout Quinn intercepted Burke's pass to Grace Malone and shot first time to the net to make it 3-8 to 1-5.
That goal broke Dee Rangers' resolve as Boardsmill turned on the style with Quinn lofting over from distance before three points in a row from Dorian confirmed Vinny Guy's side as comfortable winners.
Boardsmill - Eimear Murray; Sarah Bagnall, Cliona Murray, Hannah Kealy; Emma Troy, Aideen Guy, Rachel Troy (0-1); Helen Regan, Susan Kealy; Amy Troy, Edel Guy (0-1), Paula Dorian (0-6 two frees); Laura Bagnall, Maeve Murray, Caroline Quinn (3-3). Subs - Laura Griffin (0-1) for M Murray, Katie Hackett for Kealy both 41 mins.
Dee Rangers - Aoife Burke; Tess Meade, Orlaith Duff, Anna Myles; Orlaith Sheehy (0-1), Sarah Halpenny, Grace Malone; Lisa Young (0-1), Briona Rowe; Emma Rafferty, Hannah Mulvaney, Emma Halpenny; Sinead Carolan, Samantha Martin (1-2), Ellie Meade (0-1). Subs - Aoife Conlon for Myles half-time, Ciara O'Connell for Rafferty 43 mins, Ellen Cassidy for E Meade 46m.
One of the biggest rivalries in Ladies GAA didn't disappoint on Sunday evening as visitors St Ultan's got the better of Seneschalstown by 1-17 to 3-8 in a thrilling Ladies SFC second round encounter.
Having defeated Royal Gaels in the opening round St Ultan's were favourites to get the better of a Seneschalstown side that lost to Simonstown last time out, but it was far from easy for the defending champions as Seneschalstown struck three second-half goals.
Leading 1-12 to 0-6 at the break courtesy of Ciara Murray's goal St Ultan's looked set for a comfortable evening, but they managed just five points at the break as Seneschalstown roared back. However the hosts recovery fell short as St Ultan's held on to maintain their unbeaten start.
St Ultan's - I Munnelly; S Monaghan, Y Bardon, M Costello; L Buchanan, M Coyne, K Healy; S Kerrigan (0-1), N Rispin; P Marley (0-1), E Duffy (0-3), K Yore (0-4); G Doherty (0-4), S Monaghan (0-2), C Murray (1-1). Sub - A Marley (0-1) for Doherty.
In the other SFC games Oldcastle bounced back from their opening round disappointment with a fine 3-14 to 1-6 win over Simonstown, while Royal Gaels pulled clear of Na Fianna to record their first win in senior, 2-12 to 0-8, since winning last year's IFC.
The only game played in the IFC saw Dunboyne comfortably defeat St Michael's by 5-15 to 0-11, while in the JFC Walterstown proved too strong for Moylagh 2-13 to 2-8. St Patrick's recorded their first win in the Junior B FC with a 3-12 to 4-7 victory against Simonstown, while Skryne also accounted for Wolfe Tones 2-12 to 1-5.