Killen Rangers and St James Swifts not only progressed in the NIWFA Cup but also won their league fixtures in the Electric Ireland Division 1A.
NIWFA Cup Quarter Finals
Killen Rangers became the first side into this seasons NIWFA Cup semi-finals following a fine 3-1 victory at Belfast Celtic. The visitors dominated the first half leading 3-0 at the break thanks to goals from Stacey Johnston and two from Chelsea Scott and although Celtic threatened a
comeback early in the second with Eadaoin Ni Chiarrain scoring in the first minute, they were unable to score again.
Killen’s opponents in the semi-final will be St James Swifts who eased home against lower league Camlough Rovers, thanks mainly to hat-tricks from captain Siobhan Bell and Claire Shaw. Molly White also chipped in with two strikes with their other goals coming from Lauren Mulligan and Cora Burns, Camlough’s consolation coming from Megan McClure.
Division 1a
Killer Rangers continued their impressive season with a 3-1 victory over Lurgan Town, moving them into third place in the table. Goals from Chelsea Scott and Wendy Forces had saw them
lead 2-0, only for Lurgan’s Roisin Bolger to reduce the deficit to a single goal. A further late goal from Scott however sealed the match and ensured the three points went to the visitors.
A second victory within the space of 48 hours saw St.James Swifts defeat Mid Ulster 4-2. On this occasion the Swifts had found themselves 2-0 down thanks to two strikes from the in-form Lucy Badger, however their fighting spirit then was found with Molly White scoring twice and single goals from Carla Devine and Cathy Kelly securing the points.
Comber Rec’s recent return to form continued with a fine 3-0 win over Ballymena’s All Stars on Sunday afternoon. Lucy Carville was the star of this particular show notching two goals on the day with the ever reliable Amber Dempster also hitting the target.
Top scorer Sara Stevenson was once again the hero for Lisburn, notching another three goals in their 3-0 win over a battling East Belfast side. This result leaves the Lisburn five points clear the top.
Division 2a
Crewe United exacted revenge from the previous week’s televised defeat to Portadown by travelling to Shamrock Park and winning the re-match by six goals to two. Crewe had found themselves 3-0 up after only 15 minutes thanks to goals from Sasha Birch, Aoife Connor and Ellen McClure but the Ports then came roaring back to pull it back to 2-3 at half time thanks to efforts from Courtney Adamson and Lauren Hutchinson. Second half, Crewe settled themselves and eventually eased home through two more goals from McClure to complete her hat-trick and one more from Connor.
An early missed penalty by Belfast Celtic was to prove costly as Foyle Belles won a feisty game in West Belfast on Thursday night. After that penalty miss, Foyle took the lead through a well-taken goal from Ellie Redden and although Celtic drew level through a superb effort by Eadaoin Ni
Chiarrain, the Derry girls went home with the points thanks to a second Redden strike.
Division 2b
Lisburn Rangers are once again proving the team to beat in the division after cruising past St Oliver Plunkett 9-0, thanks to strikes from Eve Reilly (x 3), Sophie O’Rawe (x2) and single goals from Ella Haughey, Erin McGreevy, Ellie Tennyson and Paige Chapman.
Division 3a
Dromara Village picked up an important three points with a 3-2 win over the Belfast Ravens at Bells bridge. The Villagers had led 1-0 at half time thanks to a Zoey McAllister goal, however, the Ravens then levelled through a Lisa Black penalty and although the hosts then regained the lead once again through McAllister, Caiti McCloskey tied the game. Not to be outdone, Dromara fought back and yes, you guessed it, it was that woman McAllister again who completed her hat-trick.
Division 3b
There were goals galore at Allen Park as Rosario YC defeated Antrim Rovers 7-4 thanks to a
superb second-half performance. Rosario had led 3-2 at half time with two goals from Natalia
Orlowska and an own-goal, with Rovers strikes coming from Amber Marsh and Lynsey Murray. However, the second half saw Rosario well on top with Maeve Li Wen Quah and a further three goals from Orlowska sealing the win. Rovers consolation strikes in the second period both came from Marsh, who completed her hat-trick.
By Colin Hopkins
