Louth club LGFA | St Patrick’s seal place in Leinster SFC last four

St Patrick’s sealed their place in the last four of the Leinster Ladies Senior Club Championship with this surprise victory over Kildare champions Eadestown in Lordship on Sunday afternoon.

This result may be a shock for many, given Eadestown included three players from the Kildare ladies team who won the All Ireland Intermediate title in 2024, and seven of the Eadestown team that reached the Leinster Senior Ladies Club Championship final that same year.

But this result was far from a fluke as the Pats were full value for this win, from managing an opening half playing against an awkward breeze, to dominating the second half to seal a deserved victory.

The second half saw the Louth champions produce as many as 25 tackles in that half, and turn their opponents over 18 times in that half.

They also won 8 out of 13 on Eadestown’s kickout, making the most of playing with a huge wind advantage, with Maggie Holland, Aine Breen, and Shauna Grey to the fore here, while up front, Kate Flood’s free taking was once again key to sealing this four point triumph for the Louth Senior champions.

Flood’s shooting via placed kicks was vital for the Pats, despite being under the watchful eye of Eadestown defender, Áine Mernagh.

Maggie Holland who finished with 27 possessions, opened the scoring for the Pats, a point which was eventually awarded after referee Henri Clifford consulted with his umpires.

Eadestown who already had a win under their belt in this competition after swatting aside Meath champions Dunshaughlin & Royal Gaels last week, levelled through Misha Magee, following good work by Molly Lawlor. This was the first of four first half points Eadestown scored from turnovers.

The Pats were impressive on their own kickout, despite the breeze, winning 8 out of 10 of their own restarts in the first half, and one such move involving Shauna Grey, and Grace Treanor, saw Kate Flood denied at close range thanks to a wonderful tackle from Anne Marie Logue for Eadestown.

Flood dusted herself down to convert a close range free for the Pats moments later, trading efforts with Gráinne Kenneally (f) for Eadestown.

Ruth Sargent, one of the standout performers from that All Ireland Intermediate winning Kildare side from 2024, put Eadestown 0-3 to 0-2 ahead, in a move involving Laura Byrne and Jessica Harney.

Grace Clifford, who captained Kildare to that All Ireland success, set up Kenneally to score from play, as the visitors looked menacing with their effective support running, which saw them create several goal chances when moving through the hands, with Ruth Sargent, Grace Clifford and Hazel McLoughlin effective here.

Kate Flood converted another free for the Pats, before a slick Eadestown move saw Jessica Harney thwarted by a vital block by Pats’ custodian Rebecca Lambe Fagan.

The resultant 45 saw Grace Clifford kick over from play, and Eadestown were building up ahead of steam.

An Áine Mernagh turnover in her defence saw Eadestown launch another counter attack, with Jessica Harney finding Grace Clifford, whose shot kept out by Rebecca Lambe Fagan, with Eadestown continuing to look dangerous at this stage.

Gráinne Kenneally converted another free to leave Eadestown 0-6 to 0-3 ahead in the 23rd minute, before the Kildare side spurned another goal chance when Ruth Sargent drilled wide from close range, as Eadestown rued scoring 0-4 from 10 first half shots in open play with the elements in their favour.

Kate Flood pointed again after another foul on the hardworking Meg Woods, to give the Pats a sense of belief heading into the half time break, with just two points separating the sides at 0-6 to 0-4 in Eadestown’s favour.

Second Half:

This belief only grew amongst the home support, as the Pats outscored Eadestown by 0-6 to 0-1 to lead by three points by the end of the third quarter, as the home side began to turn the screw on Eadestown’s kickout.

Maggie Holland, Grace Treanor, and Tara O’Callaghan all combined for Niamh Holland to kick over via her left boot, two minutes after the restart.

Gráinne Keneally fired over the bar into the wind to restore that two point lead for Eadestown after 35 minutes.

But the Kildare side would not score again for another 13 minutes, as the Pats made that advantage count, with Aine Breen, Maggie Holland and Shauna Grey seeing more of the ball, while Meabh Butterly emerged with some impressive turnovers in that second half.

Grace Treanor (2), Kate Flood (2f) and Tara O’Callaghan all made clever use of the breeze to find the target, as the Pats led by 0-10 to 0-7 ahead by the end of the third quarter.

Eadestown would not go away, and two Kenneally frees left just the minimum between the sides approaching stoppage time. One of these frees also saw St Patrick’s Grace Treanor sent to the sin bin late on.

The Pats were guilty of some poor wides in this period too, but a sloppy breach from Eadestown at a crucial time saw Kate Flood land her sixth free of the day to restore that three point lead for the Pats and break any Eadestown momentum.

The tension was palpable with Pats supporters calling for the final whistle. Despite more wides, they eventually sealed the deal when Maggie Holland kicked over a superb two pointer to seal the deal for the Pats, as they now look forward to a semi final clash against four in a row Leinster Senior winners, Kilmacud Crokes.

St Patrick’s Scorers: Kate Flood (0-6) (6f), Maggie Holland (0-3) (1tp), Grace Treanor (0-2), Tara O’Callaghan & Niamh Holland (0-1 each).

Eadestown: Gráinne Kenneally (0-6) (4f), Ruth Sargent, Grace Clifford & Misha Magee (0-1 each).

St Patrick’s: Rebecca Lambe Fagan; Sophie Grey, Anna Whyte, Deirbhle O’Doherty; Shauna Grey, Saoirse Butterly, Meabh Butterly; Aine Breen, Maggie Holland; Tara O’Callaghan, Grace Treanor, Carrie Keenan; Meg Woods, Kate Flood, Niamh Holland.

Subs: Ella White for O’Callaghan (42), Tara O’Callaghan for Woods (57).

Eadestown: Emma Sargent; Anne Marie Logue, Áine Mernagh, Áine Ní Raghallaigh; Molly Lawlor, Ruth Sargent, Sophie Boyse; Laura Byrne, Hazel McLoughlin; Anna Hynes, Grace Clifford, Misha Magee; Kate Murphy, Gráinne Kenneally, Jessica Harney.

Subs: Abaigh Cahill for Murphy (39), Lily Harney for Lawlor (45), Denise Tierney for Logue (54).

Referee: Henri Clifford (Co Meath).