Final heartbreak for Limavady's Ladies

Limavady Ladies....1

Raphoe...................4

Fast forward to April and the ladies had turned it around and established a comfortable mid-table position in the league, and thanks to a fantastic run in the cup, found themselves in the Intermediate Cup Final this past Saturday.

Unfortunately there was no fairy tale ending for the girls in Lisnagarvey, despite showing glimpses of the great form that took them to the final, they were eventually overpowered by a Raphoe side which boasted a vast array of talent, including several Ulster Caps in their starting line-up.

At the Bully off the pitch was perfect, the weather was ideal, and the travelling contingent of Limavady supporters were in great voice.

Raphoe won possession and almost immediately began to exert pressure on the Roesiders backline, to their credit, the Limavady defenders dealt with the early pressure well.

However, despite defending resolutely, with Captain Rhonda McClelland in particular catching the eye, Limavady simply could not hold onto the ball for long in the early exchanges. Nonetheless, they soaked up the pressure and soon settled to test the Donegal defence.

First Denise Blair brought a smart save from the Raphoe the keeper and Emma McElwee came close, but her effort hit the side netting.

Raphoe's play was more fluent, accurate and slick passing meant that Limavady had to do a lot of chasing, but the end result was lacking for Raphoe and keeper Rosie Cowdry solidly blocked any goal ward efforts.

Limavady found it difficult to muster any sort of fluid play, tireless central midfielder Julie McCartney tried to get her team into the game but her options were limited and it looked as if some of her colleagues were perhaps overwhelmed with the occasion.

As the half progressed, Limavady became more confident in dealing with the pressure, however, Raphoe stretched them on a few quick breaks.

The resistance was finally broken after 28 minutes when after some slack marking Raphoe exposed a gap, and keeper Rosie Cowdry was exposed to a one on one, the Raphoe player neatly beat the keeper and broke the deadlock.

It was a blow to the ladies, but with half-time approaching one-nil down was far from a disater.

Unfortunately the goal saw Raphoe get the bit between their teeth, and a second goal followed shortly after when a Raphoe penalty corner ended up in the back of the net,sending the Ladies in at the break two goals down.

Raphoe's precision from penalty corners was of the highest order and three minutes into the restart another goal from

a penalty corner essentially ended Limavady's cup dream.

At three goals down and the game seemingly over, Limavady finally stepped up a gear.

They showed a resolve and pride, a desire to do themselves justice, almost as if the third goal lifted the pressure of playing in a final.

With nothing to lose, the Roe side threw of their shackles and started to pass the ball batter, putting Raphoe under pressure and showing the terrier attitude which got them to the Final.

Emma McElwee went through one on one with the Donegal keeper but a courageous save denied Limavady.

From a penalty corner, the Raphoe keeper parried another McElwee effort but Natasha Blair could not believe that her follow up drive grazed the wrong side of the post.

Seeing that they had created chances, Limavady became more adventurous, and this surprised the leaders.

Julie McCartney was sent free following a great through pass and with a free run through the heart of the Donegal defence, she brought out another good save from the Raphoe Keeper. The effort once again rebounded to Natasha Blair and for the second time in the match she sent her strike fractionally wide of the post.

Limavady desperately wanted to give those travelling fans something to cheer about, and in the 20th minute of the second half they got their just rewards.

Some strong midfield tackling from Julie McCartney saw her win the ball and fed it through to Denise Blair.

Blair then dispatched a quick ball to Emma McElwee who finished beautifully, pushing the ball under the advancing keeper.

Unfortunately it was too little to late in terms of the tie, and with three minutes left Raphoe restored their three goal advantage after another well worked penalty corner.

So disappointment for Limavady, but they can take away many positives from a decent performance against a top side.

Saturday sees Limavady's last home match of the season when they entertain Saintfield. This will be another tough

encounter but with nothing to lose, Limavady will be determined to sign off their home campaign with a win.

Limavady: Rosie Cowdry, Rhonda McClelland (Capt), Alison Thompson, Janice Miller, Gillian McElwee, Karen McMichael,

Julie McCartney, Chelsey Kealey, Natasha Blair, Denise Blair, Emma McElwee, Bronagh Bogues, Jenny Hunt, Stephanie Blair..