| |
Stuart Reid On Scots’ Dublin Success | |
20 July 2017 Scotland Ladies Head Coach Stuart Reid reflected on his side’s 19-10 win over Dublin County Ladies Select in their latest Shinty / Camogie clash; a 2pm throw up at Na Fianna, Dublin on Saturday 15 July 2017. A squad of 18 Scotland players travelled to Dublin the previous day, hoping to avenge last October's defeat in Inverness in the second of a three match series with Dublin Camogie. Reid said, “We were hosted by the Na Fianna club, in particular Ann and Tom Ryan who have been huge supporters of Shinty / Camogie and indeed Shinty / Hurling for a number of years. Tom was a tour guide at Croke Park so the squad were given lunch and a VIP tour of the stadium on Friday before a light training session at Na Fianna in the afternoon. “The game itself was a great match, played at a very high tempo throughout and watched by a great crowd in lovely sunshine, and there were plenty of Saltire flags waving as the match started.” Dublin scored a point from open play early on before Lovat’s Laura Gallacher found the back of the net and Scotland were never behind after that. Skye’s Lorna MacRae bagged the goal of the game with a sweet back-hand strike before Badenoch's Kirsty Deans fired over the bar for another point. Deans was the focal point of the Scotland attack all day, and was instrumental in creating chances for her fellow forwards who looked a threat every time they attacked. However Dublin, who had chipped away with another three individual points, hit back with a goal when the ball took a wicked deflection off of the astro turf goalmouth to evade Scottish keeper Taryn Neilson from Aberdour. The fortuitous effort made it Dublin (1-4) 7-7 (2-1) at half-time. There was plenty for Stuart Reid to consider and he said, “We created numerous goal scoring chances in the first half but just couldn’t convert them. We were also forced into a reshuffle in defence when half back Lucy McNulty from Glasgow Mid Argyll, who had been a dominant presence in the first half, picked up a nasty head knock and had to be replaced.” A strong start to the second half was key and the sides exchanged points before Lorna Gallacher's driving run and cross from the right was turned home by Lorna MacRae, Scotland led 11-8 and they took control. Lorna MacRae completed her hat-trick and then added a two-pointer from a 45 to make it 16-8. Ireland pulled a couple of points back to make it 16-10 and as they pushed late on, they were punished as Scotland broke forward and Badenoch’s Zoe Reid found the back of the net from close-range net before referee Karl O’Brien’s final whistle confirmed Scotland’s (5-4) 19-10 (1-7) win. The player of the match honour was shared between Dublin captain Louise O’Hara and Scotland captain Katy Smith who were both superb in the middle of the park. On his players, Reid added, “Katy Smith played a captain’s role in midfield and special mention also goes to Lorna MacRae for a 12 points haul and a fabulous all round performance. Caitlin MacLean (Skye) in the half back line was flawless all afternoon and Laura McCafferty (GMA) was outstanding in both full back and half back lines. The Scottish defence was commanding all game, restricting Dublin to long range points and scrambling well when required. “It was particularly pleasing to see the greatly improved performance from the forwards who had struggled to make an impression in last year’s game. They put a lot of time and effort into rectifying that here.” Scotland captain Katy Smith was presented with the trophy by Dublin Camogie Chairman Patrick Martin. The Scotland party were grateful for the support from sponsors Loch Ness Gifts and James Gallacher (Kiltarlity). Reid added, “We simply wouldn't have been able to go without their support.” The result ties the series at one win apiece, with the deciding fixture scheduled for Inverness next year. Dublin County from:
Management Team: Manager - Brendan Cooper Player /Coach - Louise O’Hara Selectors - Pat Martin, Sandra Tarr
Scotland from:
Management Head Coach - Stuart Reid Selectors - Ross Brown, Sue Emery
Match Referee – Karl O’Brien
(The picture comes courtesy of www.neilgpaterson.com) |