Munster Senior Club Ladies' Football Championship Final:
Castleisland Desmonds (Kerry) - 3-8 (17)
Comeragh Rangers (Waterford) - 1-10 (13)
Three goals inside the opening 11 minutes proved pivotal as Castleisland Desmonds of Kerry captured the Michael Ryan Cup in Mallow - seeing off a spirited Comeragh Rangers with four points to spare.
The Waterford champions fought back from ten points down to within two scores, but it was Castleisland who prevailed to march on to the All-Ireland series - with a pair of goals from midfielder Amy Curtin proving the difference.
Emma Murray opened the scoring after just 30 seconds - winning the throw-in, driving down the field and firing over the bar to exemplify her All-Star quality - giving Comeragh Rangers an early lead.
Their lead was certainly short lived though as Castleisland Desmonds offered the perfect response - Cait Lynch kicked a beautiful pass in the direction of Andrea Murphy and she slalomed through the defence before firing into the far left corner for the game's opening goal with less than two minutes on the clock.
It didn't take too long for goal number two to follow - the outstanding Lorraine Scanlon found her midfield partner Amy Curtin in acres and her driving run paid dividends - as she fired home goal number two on four minutes.
Efforts from Ava Connolly and Aoibhe Shankey drifted wide as Comeragh began to curse their luck - but trust Aoife Murray to galvanise the troops with a fantastic score off balance.
Lorraine Scanlon was running the show in the middle of the field though, and she kicked two successive points - the first of which came from the outside of her boot - as Castleisland raced 2-2 to 0-2 ahead.
Their advantage was extended to ten points moments later - a kickout from Abbey Norris was turned over and Andrea Murphy worked the ball to Curtin - who leathered to the roof of the net for her second goal and the Kerry champions' third with just 11 minutes gone.
Credit to Comeragh Rangers, they battled back after that setback - outscoring their opponents 1-2 to 0-1 for the rest of the half.
Aoibhe Shankey got on the scoresheet with a free before Comeragh's elusive green flag arrived on 18 minutes - a fine move saw Eibhlin Power, Emma Murray and Katie Murray combine - the latter's shot dropping short, but Ava Connolly was on hand to follow it in and palm home to the bottom left corner.
Julia Curtin and Ava Connolly traded scores late into the opening half - but Castleisland Desmonds led 3-4 to 1-4 at the break.
They came from five points down against Aghada in the semi final, could they come from six this time?
Ava Connolly thought goal number two might be on the cards early in the second period but Leah Griffin was on hand to produce a great block - and Desmonds worked upfield, won a free and Curtin converted to make it 3-5 to 1-4.
It was proving a quiet afternoon for some of Comeragh Rangers' star names, largely by virtue of a superb performance from captain Ciara O'Sullivan - she produced another superb block to close down Katie Murray - but she soon opened her tally from a free.
Aoife Murray reduced arrears to five on 47 minutes with a fine effort from the left flank, but who else but Scanlon to respond from well out the field with her third point which was arguably the score of the match.
Comeragh Rangers weren't going down without a fight, working the ball well before Aine Power slotted over - but with nine minutes normal time left, they needed two goals and needed them pretty fast.
Julia Curtin's third free didn't exactly help matters as time was fast becoming the enemy. Back-to-back frees from Katie and Emma Murray mattered little as Curtin fired over her fourth.
Aine Power's second proved in vein - as Castleisland cheers greeted the final whistle. Heartbreak for Comeragh Rangers - but they died in their boots.
The Michael Ryan Cup goes back to Kerry, for this year at least.
Comeragh Rangers: Abbey Norris; Nora Dunphy, Trish Kelly, Orlaith Kennedy; Caoimhe Hassett, Cora Murray, Aoife Murray; Emma Murray, Keeley Corbett Barry; Aine Power, Katie Murray, Mairead Power; Aoibhe Shankey, Eibhlin Power, Ava Connolly
Subs: Shauna Dunphy for Aoibhe Shankey (HT); Ellen Bolger for Caoimhe Hassett (44); Sarah Connolly for Eibhlin Power (44); Clodagh Power for Mairead Power (51)
Scorers: Ava Connolly (1-1); Katie Murray, Emma Murray, Aoife Murray and Aine Power (0-2 each); Aoibhe Shankey (0-1; 0-1f)
Castleisland Desmonds: Jennifer Drumm; Saoirse Murphy, Eilis Lynch, Ciara O'Sullivan; Gemma Kearney, Kayla O'Connor, Cait Lynch; Lorraine Scanlon, Amy Curtin; Aishling Leonard, Andrea Murphy, Leah Griffin; Julia Curtin, Labhaoise Walmsley, Kate O'Connor
Subs: Hanna Herlihy for Saoirse Murphy (HT); Hazel Bourke for Hanna Herlihy (51); Rachael Cronin for Kate O'Connor (59)
Scorers: Amy Curtin (2-0); Andrea Murphy (1-1); Julia Curtin (0-4); Lorraine Scanlon (0-3)
Referee: Conor McCarthy (Cork)
