Killala win Under 19 Mayo Girls Shield final

Killala defeated Castlebar Town 2-0 to capture a coveted Hayes Mechanical & Engineering Under 19 Girls Shield title at a wet and windy Milebush Park on Sunday afternoon.

Killala dominated the early stages of this joust and the north Mayo side thought they had taken the lead on four minutes. An in-swinging corner-kick from Ella McLoughlin was spilled by the under-pressure Casie Corrigan, with Isabel Trauttt stabbing home the loose ball. However, Killala’s celebrations were cut short as a free-kick was awarded to Castlebar for an infringement.

Castlebar Town gradually began to win some possession, but the black and white’s goal lived a charmed life, especially on 22 minutes, when a gilt-edged opportunity fell to Killala’s Bethany Long, however, her effort flashed agonisingly wide.

Killala continued to bombard the Town goal from set-pieces, with Anna McDonnell’s and Long’s corner-kicks causing problems for the Castlebar defence.

Five minutes into the second half, the north Mayo side ended the stalemate courtesy of a marvellous goal by Ella McLoughlin.

McLoughlin was in excellent form and six minutes later the Killala striker doubled her team-mates advantage.

Castlebar Town regrouped and the black and white very nearly pulled a goal back on 67 minutes when a chance fell to Saoirse Mahon, whose strike was expertly saved by Shauna Donnelly.

Killala were impressive during the final moments of the game and the yellow and blue were deserving victors in the end.

* More coverage in Tuesday's print edition