Sarah O’Donovan
St Vals                    1-13
Mourneabbey           2-09

St Vals dumped championship favourites Mourneabbey out of the Tesco Senior ladies football championship with a gritty performance in Donoughmore.

Poor underfoot conditions affected both sides but St Val’s much better work-rate made them deserved winners.

Considering the side were 6-19 to 0-0 winners in their opening game but found themselves a round behind their first round opponents after the second draw the Muskerry outfit had a point to prove.

The win now sees the side pit themselves against Donoughmore in the quarter-final.

St Val’s had immense performances from former Cork senior footballer Caoimhe Creedon, Jean Lucey, Aoife Plunkett and Breige Corkery over the hour and at critical points in the second half, all four took on the responsibility of stifling the Mourenabbey resurgence.

The opening half saw St Vals work themselves in to a 0-9 to 0-6 lead.

Points from Creedon, Breige Corkery, Aoife Plunkett and Mairead Corkery cancelled out the efforts of industrious half-forward Ciara O’Sullivan in the Mourneabbey attack.

Doireann O’Sullivan and Brid O’Sullivan were a consistent threat for them also but a blanket St Val’s defense kept them without sight of goal.
Ciara O’Sullivan kicked the opening point of the second half for Mourneabbey but a raft of wides in the next ten minutes kept them in arrears.

Vera Foley pushed forward for St Val’s 11th point to ease them further ahead and the two points from St Val’s corner-forward Aoife Plunkett had them in prize position with five minutes of normal time remaining.
Creedon was causing all sorts of trouble for the Mourneabbey defense but a break favouring Moureabbey turned the game on its head, O’Sullivan sending a bullet to the roof of the St Val’s net from twenty yards.
Creedon cut in behind the Mourneabbey defense in the next attack but the crossbar saved the North Cork outfit.
Jean Lucey reacted quickest and followed the ball, turning back inside her marker and finishing to the Mourneabbey net on full-time.

Mourneabbey responded with a point through Doireann O’Sullivan and converted a penalty deep in injury time through Eimear Harrington  but St Val’s managed to hold on, a point to the good.
Scorers for St Vals: J Lucey 1-1, A Plunkett 0-4 (0-2f), C Creedon 0-4, M Corkery, B Corkery, V Foley, Joanne Down 0-1 each.

Mourneabbey: C O’Sullivan 1-4, E Harrington 1-0(pen), D O’Sullivan 0-3f, B O’Sullivan 0-2.

ST VALS: J O’Sullivan; C Barrett, S Cotter, M Ambrose; V Foley, C Ambrose, E Dunne; N Canty, B Corkery; J Lucey, C Creedon, M Corkery; C Byrne, J Down, A Plunkett.

Sub: A Buckley for J Lucey (60)

MOURNEABBEY: M O’Sullivan; S Conway, K-A Stack, E Meaney; T Murphy, R O’Sullivan, E Coakley, M O’Callaghan; E Harrington, C O’Sullivan, B O’Sullivan, N O’Sullivan; M O’Callaghan, D O’Sullivan, R Harrington.

Referee: G Buckley (Rockban)