ALL three tiers of Antrim's Ladies football scene saw their championships come to their conclusions last weekend when the finals for all three competitions – Junior, Intermediate and Senior – took place across the Saffron county.
In the Junior competition the Paddies would go toe-to-toe with rivals Rossa at Davitt Park on Sunday afternoon with the sides both hopeful of clinching the title in the third tier.
Meanwhile Gort na Móna had hoped history would beckon should they overcome Glenravel in Glenavy when they competed for silverware in the Intermediate competition on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday's main event saw another battle between Antrim's top two when St Paul's hoped to put a stop to Moneyglass dominance in the Senior championship as they faced off at Glenavy.
Junior Ladies Football Championship Final
Rossa 3-8
Sarsfields 2-9
Davitt Park played host to the most dramatic of finals last weekend after a late Rossa penalty gave them the edge over rivals Sarsfields when they competed for the Junior title.
The pair enjoyed key victories in the final four when Sarsfields blitzed Creggan, scoring five goals in the process, and Rossa overcame North Belfast side Ardoyne in a tighter affair which saw the Jeremiahs clinch victory by just a single score.
The sides were neck and neck with one another with each score being met with a carbon copy by the other side and after both teams came out on top in respective semi-finals a fortnight ago there was no doubt this would go down to the wire.
But Rossa had the edge on the afternoon and a late penalty proved to be the key moment of the match as they overcame Sarsfields by just the two points and will now travel to face the Derry Junior champions in the Ulster championship in a fortnight's time.
BIG BLOW: St Ergnat's were simply too strong for St Paul's last weekend
Intermediate Ladies Football Championship Final
Con Magees Glenravel 3-12
Got na Móna 2-8
In what would be their first Intermediate final appearance Gort would run it very close with Antrim ladies' stalwarts Glenravel in Glenavy last Saturday but unfortunately would remain second best at the final whistle.
Glenravel failed to lay a glove on their opponents for a majority of the second half but their healthy lead of 1-11 to 0-3 at the break proved to be a task too far for Gort na Móna to recover from.
The momentum killer came on the 49th minute when Caitlin McKeown proved to be the hero for Glenravel as she stopped Ciara Maguire's penalty which would have reduced the deficit significantly for the West Belfast ladies heading into the final period of play.
Gort na Móna showed great control in their defensive game but on a blustery day in Glenavy the final few minutes of the opening period proved too much when playing into the wind and allowed Glenravel to use the conditions to their advantage and rack up a series of scores.
Glenravel showed a keen eye for goal in the early second half to put themselves beyond their West Belfast counterparts, and despite a fantastic late show from the Gorts ladies it proved too tall a task.
A special mention for Blaithín Nic Catháil who top-scored for the Maroons as she struck five points for her side, but unfortunately in their first attempt at this level they came undone at the last hurdle.
Glenravel now await to see who they will face in a fortnight's time as they prepare for battle in the Intermediate Ulster Championship.
Senior Ladies Football Championship Final
St Ergnat's Moneyglass 1-16
St Paul's 0-4
The two best in the Saffron county competed once again for the Antrim Senior Ladies title with St Paul's hoping they could finally turn the tide to overcome the South Antrim natives who looked hell-bent on winning their fifth title in a row.
Moneyglass took an early lead and really the damage was done from then onwards when county star Cathy Carey sparked her side into gear in the first period notching six of the seven scores in the opening half of play.
St Paul's did strike on two separate occasions when Niamh Ritchie and Emilie Rogers-Duffy saw white flags raised for their efforts. The red and white hoops went into the break down by five scores but with possession proving hard to come by a comeback was one hell of an ask from the Shaws Road side.
Carey continued her scoring efforts but when Antrim captain Bronagh Devlin scored the only major of the affair it was curtains for St Paul's and any real hope of a comeback was dashed.
Ritchie did strike a second score for the St Paul’s and Eimer Rocks saw her effort splitting the uprights to double their first half tally, but it was simply nowhere near what was required and the Moneyglass dominance looks set to continue for some time.
St Ergnat's will no doubt consider themselves to have a real chance in Ulster this season and they surely feel they can finally make their mark on the provincial championship.
