Senior 3: Kilkeel 7-2 DLHC 1XI

The top two in Senior League 3 met at Kilkeel High School in the late pass back on Saturday with the home side determined to close the four point gap at the top.

Right from the first whistle Kilkeel were racing forward and threatening Donaghadee’s goal and almost before Donaghadee had time to warm their sticks, a burst from a Kilkeel forward into the top of the circle saw an unstoppable shot crashing past Dee keeper Faith McMillen and against the backboard to give Kilkeel the lead. With Donaghadee struggling to find their rhythm, just three minutes later Kilkeel doubled the lead with an almost identical goal.

Finally the Dee started to settle into their stride and some better play in the middle of the pitch saw the ball switching quickly through Hannah Younge and Kerry Kennedy as they worked to get Donaghadee on the attack but the home defence snuffed out any threats before Donaghadee could carve out any real chances.

Into quarter two and finally Donaghadee started to show the form that had taken them to the top of table, with forwards Leanna McGimpsey-Young and Carolyn Scott both going close as Donaghadee started to build some decent possession. Then a quick counter-attack from the home team ten minutes into the quarter saw a direct run in on goal and another goal added – much against the run of play.

Unfortunately for Donaghadee this was quickly followed up by two more goals in the next five minutes and Kilkeel were five up as half time approached. Donaghadee refused to let their heads drop however and a great run down the left from Kerry saw the ball cross goal and Leanna was on hand to scoop it up and over the keeper to pull one back as the half closed. 

With no subs to call on, a half-time regroup and a rousing team talk from Captain Jodie Ingham saw Donaghadee making a much better fist of things in the early stages of the second half, and play was much more even between the sides: end to end but with neither side looking like threatening the other goal. The reshuffle in defence saw Row Moore and Kathy Sinnamon switching berths, with the latter moving to the left for the first time in Dee colours and she combined well with Chloe Ferguson to get the ball forward but overall clearcut chances were few and far between.

Donaghadee’s endeavours looked like they were starting to pay off, with three penalty corners in quick succession but they just couldn’t find the killer touch to reduce the deficit. Kilkeel then clicked back in to gear and a fast counter-attack through the centre saw another goal for the home team.

Into the final quarter and most of the game was between the 23s with neither side making any great inroads into the circle. Then ten minutes in a Donaghadee attack saw Vicky O’Neill feeding Jordan McWilliams, with Jordan driving into the circle but the attempt was blocked. A quick counterattack from Kilkeel again split Donaghadee’s defence with the attacker sliding the ball round Faith and into the goal to make it seven goals from nine shots on target.

Donaghadee weren’t quite done yet and a last minute attack down the right saw Leanna get in along the baseline and as she fired it across the face of goal Carolyn got her stick on it for a super deflection past the keeper and into the far side of the net to add a second to Donaghadee’s tally in what turned out to be the last action of the match.

The final score was 7-2 to Kilkeel; a well deserved win with a clinical performance in front of goal for the home side, but overall the match was a lot closer than the score suggested with both sides showing why they are at the top of the league. Thanks to Mike Smyth for umpiring duties.

Donaghadee remain top of Senior 3, a point ahead of Kilkeel, a lead they will look to maintain when they welcome Ballynahinch to BGS on Friday night, pass back 7.30pm in what is the final action of the year before the Christmas break.

Junior League 10: DLHC 2XI 0-1 Ballynahinch

Christmas Spirit was the theme of the 2XI’s home match on Saturday against Ballynahinch. With the team spending much of the week thinking they were starting with 10 players and in need of an umpire, Saturday dawned with a Christmas miracle: not only 13 players were able to play but also an umpire becoming available was an even better present! 

At the match however, it was Ballynahinch who arrived with only 10 players and no umpire. Therefore when they asked if Donaghadee could provide a player to umpire, we said yes as it would have be Rud-olf the Dee to say no.

Christmas puns aside, the first half was dominated by Donaghadee with a good number of shots on target. Three penalty corners were awarded to the Donaghadee girls for a variety of offences by Ballynahinch, from an unintentional dangerous ball & a couple of feet fouls in the circle, but the Hinch defence and keeper were on form, clearing the chances to safety. 

A big positive note of the first half was some good passes round the back by the Donaghadee defence to switch to the more open side of the pitch as Donaghadee tried to find space to attack, but frustratingly it was 0-0 at half time.

Ballynahinch settled into their structure and had no intention of giving up the fight, despite their shortage in numbers. A penalty corner awarded to the visitors gave them an opportunity but thankfully the direct strike was stalled by stout Donaghadee defending. 

Unfortunately despite Donaghadee dominating much of the match, five minutes before the final whistle there was some confusion in the defensive circle and Ballynahinch managed to get a shot on target and over the line.

In this season of giving, Donaghadee ended up giving away 3 points with a final score of 0-1 to Ballynahinch, but it would have felt particularly mean-spirited to make Hinch sacrifice another player to umpire, when they were already short. We have no doubt every member of the 2s will most definitely be on the Nice list next week for their sporting spirit! 

Many thanks to Laura Logan for umpiring, congratulations to Ruth Coulter for her star player performance and thanks to Elevate Storage Solutions for sponsoring the match ball this week. 

Merry Christmas to all our supporters and we look forward to getting back to match action in the new year.

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