Senior 3: DLHC 1XI 6-0 Antrim
In the first match back after the Christmas break, Donaghadee welcomed newcomers to Senior 3, Antrim Ladies to BGS. In what turned out to be the only Senior 3 match not to be postponed due to frozen pitches, Donaghadee got off to a flying start with the midfield trio of Helen Herron, Kerry Kennedy and Jess Moore driving forward and causing lots of trouble for the visitors.

Despite some great work – especially in the wide areas with a number of balls fired across the circle from both sides, Antrim’s goalkeeper was largely untroubled early on.

With Donaghadee now firmly in the groove, a driving move down the right saw Kerry and Jess swapping passes before the ball was injected into the circle again. The keeper thought it was going wide of the back post but as it came back off the upright Carolyn Scott reacted the quickest to sneak a reverse stick dink beyond the scrambling keeper to give Donaghadee the lead.

Antrim countered well however, quickly putting together some good interchanges to mount a couple of threatening attacks of their own. Despite some good blocking by Rachel McClatchey, the visitors won themselves a penalty corner; the shot was on target but Nicola Patton was on her toes to repel the initial shot and Antrim were unable to follow up, leaving the quarter to finish 1-0 to Donaghadee.

The early stages of quarter two started in much the same vein but there was better success in front of goal for Donaghadee as any lingering Christmas rustiness melted away in the low afternoon sun. 

The Dee midfield were able to push forward and support the attack as they searched for their second goal. Kerrie Turtle went agonisingly close when she made a super run across the circle to collect a straight pass forward, but the ball just evaded her outstretched stick before she could get the final killer touch.

A few moments later, a lovely sequence of passes between Catherine Armstrong and Kerry bamboozled the defence with Kerry finishing the move to beat the keeper from just inside the right hand side of the circle to make it 2-0 after 25 minutes.

With Jess back on to freshen the front line, she got herself on the scoresheet five minutes later when her shot from the left looped up and over the Antrim keeper to give the Dee a comfortable 3-0 lead at half time.

Right from the restart it was very much one way traffic; all over the pitch the Dee players closed down the opposition to ensure possession and retention was very much in Donaghadee’s favour, with the Dee racing towards the visitors’ goal at every opportunity. 

One move down Donaghadee’s left started with Row Moore feeding Helen who went on one of her mazy midfield runs to win another penalty corner. Donaghadee kept the visiting defence guessing with their routine and Jess got her second of the day to make it 4-0.

Then with 44 on the clock Carolyn picked up the ball following a great ball fed in by Jan Morrow on the right to fire it home for number five.

Antrim tried to push forward – and enjoyed probably their best spell of the match – but both Kathryn Cunningham and Jordan McWilliams were on top form when required and they restricted the visitors to only two circle penetrations; both of which were cleared before they could cause any damage.

Into the final quarter and it started with a bang as Carolyn completed her hat trick – a lovely snap shot from the top of the circle fired just inside the keeper’s left hand post a fitting goal to round off the scoring!

The pace started to tell as the match headed for the final whistle and Antrim were finally able to reach Donaghadee’s circle but two resulting shots and a penalty corner were off target, leaving Donaghadee with a well deserved 6-0 win to start the year.

Coach Willie McAdam was very pleased with the result, saying “It was very much a story of excellent finishing with eight shots on target, five of which came from open play, and everyone played their part in what was a super start to 2024!”

The 1XI travel to Parkview on Saturday, pass back 1pm.

Junior 9A: Owls 0-0 Donaghadee
After a long five week winter break, the Dee 2nd XI restarted their season away to Owls 4s on a very cold Friday night at Roughfort. But there was no sign of Christmas malaise as the game was high energy and end to end right from the start. 

Defensive pairing Claire Horne and Vicky O’Neill were called into early action, and keeper Faith McMillen proved she was well refreshed from her break with a series of good saves. At the other end of the pitch, Katie and Molly McKee forced the Owls keeper to work equally hard, but both sides were frustrated as it was scoreless at the quarter end.

With Natalie Jamison on in her centre half role, Vicky was able to push forward at the start of Q2, and the Dee enjoyed more possession, with Floss Patton and Lisa Higgins providing support to Caroline Davison in midfield. 

The home side managed to get through on goal once, but Faith was again equal to the task. Up front, Molly’s mazy runs were causing the opposition lots of problems, but despite a penalty corner forcing a save from the keeper, it remained scoreless at halftime.

There was more of the same to come throughout the second half. With Johneena Brown showing fierce determination to support the front line and Anna Aitken, on her Dee debut, now playing a higher position, the team started to create more opportunities.

 The home team defended fiercely and Dee struggled to hit the target. Still goalless at the end of the third quarter, and in a blow to Dee’s defence, a recurrence of a foot injury ended Floss’ game, and possibly her season. Vicky’s versatility came to the fore once more as she slotted in to cover, with Lauren Niblock adding her tenacity to the midfield.

The final quarter was just as frantic, with no let up in intensity. The defence worked well and largely kept Owls at bay.  At the other end another storming run from Molly, cutting in towards the circle, saw her slip a great pass through the defence but it was just beyond Katie’s reach. 

The final minute arrived with the score still 0-0. A great ball from Emily Morris, who had been her usual all-action self, saw the Dee win a PC with just seconds remaining; Natalie fired off a great shot but it was saved onto a foot and another chance! This time the ball was switched right, with a difficult chance falling to Lauren, but again the Owls defence held firm and the whistle blew on what was possibly the most exciting 0-0 you will see!

Thanks go to Nicola Patton for umpiring a rare dry match – long may that continue! Joint Star Players this week go to Anna for a great debut and Vicky for her many roles. The Seconds are at home next Saturday with a 1pm start against Dromore, and all support is welcome, as ever.