ABOVE: captain Fionnuala Toner (left) and playmaker Frances Keenan have had to shoulder a lot of responsibility for the Warriors at the Europe Netball Open
BY RICHARD BULLICK
NORTHERN Ireland will face the United Arab Emirates in the Europe Netball Open final after the latter scuppered the prospect of a derby battle in Sunday’s showpiece by beating the Republic of Ireland 60-50 in the second semi.
The two countries met for the first time ever at senior international level in Friday’s final round robin match when the Warriors won 65-51 to complete a clean sweep in the first phase of this competition.
On the back of the two wins over Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland on the opening day, Warriors supremo Sheonah Forbes had named an unchanged starting seven for the third match running.
There was an identical 16-13 scoreline in both of the first two quarters to give the girls in green a lead of six at half-time but that was quickly halved as UAE scored the first three goals of the penultimate period.
Northern Ireland eventually edged that third quarter 15-14 and pulled clear in the last, helped by the opposition goalkeeper being sinbinned, but it was a competitive enough encounter to ensure the tournament favourites will be on their guard going into the final.
The first semi-final had been considerably closer than expected as hosts Isle of Man fought hard against Northern Ireland, who had hammered them 70-29 on Thursday, in front of an appreciative crowd before going down 48-35.
A clearly frustrated Forbes, who had fielded a very experimental line-up with none of Northern Ireland’s frontliners in her starting seven, hit out afterwards at a perceived lack of umpiring protection for her players.
“As the game went on, we were trying to work through the umpiring stuff. Sometimes we don’t really feel like we’re getting protected – we’ve getting a lot of body-on-body and it seems to not always go in our favour at the moment for the last three days,” fumed Forbes.
“We were trying some new structures and also giving opportunities to less experienced players. It’s great as a coach to leave them out there to try and work through things. But we grinded out the win and showed the grit and hard work which we pride ourselves on.
“I’m managing minutes ahead of the final but I also wanted to play some of our Under 21s together and it was great to see them ride out that wave. There was a big crowd in here today supporting the opposition so that was a new experience for them too.”
The Warriors are without three of their four British SuperLeague stars – captain Caroline O’Hanlon, Niamh Cooper and Emma Magee – this week, though Michelle Magee was named in their squad of 15 for the tournament.
It was hoped that the defensive powerhouse would feature in the final but the Leeds Rhinos vice-captain came off injured in the last quarter of her side’s British SuperLeague victory over Team Bath in Sheffield on Friday night.
In that quartet’s absence, there has been a big burden of responsibility on captain Fionnuala Toner – who picked up two Player of the Match awards as the Warriors won all three round robin games – and the only other established frontliner, Frances Keenan.
Both women were used heavily in the first phase of the tournament, with Forbes explaining she wanted some more experienced players on court to guide the rookies, but for this second clash of the week with Isle of Man she took away that crutch at the start.
She kept Toner and Keenan on the bench initially with their Belfast Ladies clubmate Lauren Walshe handed the honour of leading her country for the first time as Orlaith Rogers, named as vice-captain for this tournament, was rested completely for this fixture.
NI star Michelle Magee (right) may not line out alongside Lauren Walshe in Sunday’s showpiece after being injured for Leeds Rhinos on Friday night
Miss NI finalist Walshe and Maria McCann started together in the back circle, as has been the case in every game so far, with Lisa Carlin – first capped against the Republic of Ireland last December – taking Toner’s place at wing defence.
Two of Thursday’s new caps, Orla McGeough and Rosa McCloskey, were rewarded for their impressive performances so far with starts in the pivotal positions of centre and goal shooter respectively, with Evelyn McCagherty at wing attack and Ciara Crosbie goal attack.
It all looked good as the Warriors worked their way to an 8-2 lead but the Rams hit back with a run of five goals and then edged in front 10-9 to the delight of a very vocal crowd but Rosa McCloskey netted with 11 seconds left to put the Warriors ahead again at the first break.
Forbes hadn’t been panicked into changes during Isle of Man’s surge during the opening period but she introduced accomplished playmaker Keenan at the start of the second quarter followed by Toner midway through it.
On at wing attack with McCagherty moving to centre in place of McGeough, Keenan added direction, creativity and energy in attack while Toner typically pilfered opposition ball but, with the Rams having grown in confidence, it took time for the Warriors to assert their superiority.
Antrim gaelic footballer Ana Mulholland, who on Thursday had become the first Crumlin netballer to play at senior international level had come on at the same time as Toner, with McCann and Carlin leaving the court.
The experienced Crosbie’s struggle to find her best form continued, but the Warriors pushed into a 27-20 half-time lead and kept Isle of Man – whose wing defence was sinbinned for flattening Toner – to just four goals in the third quarter while netting 10 times themselves.
With Keenan now orchestrating superbly despite having her hand strapped, Northern Ireland eased further clear and the Cullyhanna woman took over her country’s captaincy for the first time when Forbes made multiple changes midway through the last quarter.
Things got chaotic, however, with Mulholland – who had got an official warning earlier – being sinbinned just 33 seconds after being brought on again and Isle of Man finished strongly to the delight of their supporters.
Newcomer Rosa McCloskey scored 27 goals to take her tally for the tournament so far to 92, while her big sister Olivia McCloskey chipped in with two, Crosbie contributed 11 and McGrath netted eight times.
Against UAE on Friday, Rogers had topped the chart with 37 followed by Rosa McCloskey’s 15, McGrath’s 10 and three from Crosbie and the towering Westside woman is likely to return as lead shooter for the final after sitting out the semi.
The Republic’s head coach, Derry native Teresa Gillespie, had declared after his side’s 62-35 loss to Northern Ireland on Thursday that “we’ll see them again in the final” but that will now be just in a spectator capacity after UAE spoiled the script.
UAE are actually four places above the Republic of Ireland, at 21st, in the world rankings and a dominant opening period which gave them a nine-goal lead by the first break laid the foundations for a deserved victory.
Frances Keenan
Head coach Sheonah Forbes
