An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 31 Now settled in as a team, with play- ers knowing each other and their play, the DF travelled to Westmanstown in November for the restored annual fixture against An Garda Siochána. The DF thought this would be the toughest match of the year and they were right. Weather conditions were poor and it was a very physical game, unlike the previous two games that had ran with fluidity. The gardaí opened the scoring but it wasn't long before the DF settled and at half time were narrowly ahead. The second half remained extremely tight with both teams becoming frus- trated with decisions going against them. Grainne Kenneally led by example throughout, covering and shadowing while engaging in perfectly timed tackles. Sinéad Taylor proved to be a handful for the Garda defence, secur- ing some well-taken scores despite the effort of the gardaí to curtail her. As the full-time whistle was blown the DF team and management rejoiced in a sweet, hard-earned victory. This year looked like it was going to be a challenging one for the DF ladies, having lost seven of the 2014 panel and a coach to overseas service. However, last month the team opened their 2015 campaign as they left off in November. After an un- beaten run in 2014 we knew we needed to raise the standard of opponent in order to keep progressing. Following a training camp in the DFTC, the ladies travelled to Mountmellick in Laois to take on Sarsfields senior ladies (who have contested three senior Club All-Ireland semi-finals in recent years). It had been a week of headaches for me getting the squad together. Key players Aoife Herbert and Siobhan O'Sullivan had to pull out at the last minute due to a fractured wrist and ankle surgery respectively and we lost corporals Kim Turner and Sinéad Taylor to other commitments. However, a panel of 16 travelled to Laois and despite the low numbers and loss of key players, we knew we still had an excellent team to field. The game opened at a ferocious pace that was maintained through to the final whistle. With plenty of opportunities for both teams and very little going wide, the scoreboard at half time read 2-4 to 1-7 in the DF ladies' favour, with Lynn Ryan netting twice. Sarsfields opened the second half with a goal but it did little to shake the DF. Rebecca Coogan, Pte Lorraine O'Connor and Pte Stacy Keogh continued the DF accuracy with excellent points and consistent support play from all positions. Pte Shellie Keogh calmly netted a third goal low into the corner for the DF as Sars- fields continued the pressure. Team captain Grainne Keneally put in an outstanding, player-of-the-match performance, causing headaches for the opposition as she drove forward from her commanding centre-half- back position, while Laois star Ciamh Dollard was solid in maintaining the backbone of the defence. An excellent team performance, which displayed all elements of the DF ethos 'Defend, Protect, Support'...and score!!! The full-time score was 3.12 to 2.11 to the DF. It is hard to motivate a team that is not involved in a com- petitive competition and faced with challenges such as player loss to unit and overseas commitments. However, it seems that these girls are rising to the challenges head on and are going from strength to strength. The future of ladies football in the DF is once again looking bright. Manager: Capt Padraig Murphy. Coaches: Capt Ross Glavin, Lt Gary White and Sgt Trevor Howard (o/seas); team Lo: Capt Claire Mortimer. DF Ladies Team All in for the team talk Capt Padraig Murphy (Manager) Capt Ross Glavin (Coach)

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