Tipp grounded by Meath in quarter final
LADIES FOOTBALL: TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final
Meath 2-17
Tipperary 1-6
Report: Daire Walsh at Pairc Tailteann, Navan
MATCH DIGEST
Player of the Match: Niamh Gallogly (Meath)
SCORERS – Meath: Vikki Wall (0-1 free), Niamh Gallogly 1-2 each; Marion Farrelly 0-4, Ciara Smyth 0-3, Emma Duggan (1 free), Kerrie Cole 0-2 each; Aoibhin Cleary, Shauna Ennis 0-1 each.
Tipperary: Aishling Moloney 1-1 (0-1 free), Anna Rose Kennedy, Neassa Towey 0-2 each; Aoibhe O’Shea 0-1.
There was disappointment for the Tipperary ladies footballers on Sunday evening as Ed Burke’s side fell to a comprehensive defeat at the hands of an impressive Meath at the quarter-final stage of the All-Ireland senior football championship.
In addition to goal-scorers Vikki Wall and Niamh Gallogly coming away with personal tallies of 1-2 apiece, Marion Farrelly (0-4) and Ciara Smyth (0-3) were also in fine scoring form for the Royal County.
After a determined group stage win over Donegal which saw them reach the knockout rounds, Tipperary were aiming to qualify for an All-Ireland championship semi-final for the first time since 1980 – the year of their most recent Brendan Martin Cup triumph. Aishling Moloney and substitute Neassa Towey produced battling displays, but the Premier County ultimately emerged second best.
Although there were four alterations to the team that was listed in the match programme, the Tipperary starting line-up actually showed three changes from their aforementioned success against Donegal; Katelyn Downey and Heather Spillane took over from Nora Martin and Towey respectively, while Ava Ryan was drafted into the side to replace her namesake Kirsty Crotty Ryan.
Despite facing into a stiff breeze, Tipperary edged in front with a mere twenty seconds gone. After the visitors attacked straight from the throw-in, the ball was worked into the path of centre-forward Anna Rose Kennedy and she duly split the uprights in fine style.
Yet, a Meath outfit that finished at the summit of Group 3 ahead of both Kildare and Armagh subsequently found their feet with unanswered points from Gallogly and Farrelly.
Vikki Wall didn’t feature when Meath narrowly defeated Tipperary at the group phase of the senior championship in 2024 and she showcased her undoubted class by superbly rifling an unstoppable strike beyond the reach of Premier netminder Lauren Fitzpatrick and into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
This was an early set-back for Tipperary and even though Aisling Moloney knocked over an eighth minute free, their Leinster counterparts proceeded to dominate the remainder of the opening period.
Farrelly and Emma Duggan raised white flags to move Meath five points ahead on the first-quarter mark and their second goal then arrived in the seventh minute. Megan Thynne picked out her fellow wing-forward Smyth in space and when she flashed the ball towards the right-hand post, Gallogly was on hand to flick the ball into the back of the net.
Tipperary had struggled to create clear-cut opportunities for much of the first half and were largely kept on the back-foot by the well-drilled Royals.
Meath’s shooting accuracy was a strong feature of the opening thirty minutes, and with Wall, Kerrie Cole and skipper Aoibhin Cleary finding the range to compliment a brace from Farrelly, the hosts brought a commanding 2-9 to 0-2 buffer into the interval.
This left Tipperary with a mountain to climb on the restart and they found themselves further behind when Duggan converted a routine free on 32 minutes. However, Neassa Towey was later introduced off the bench and she added fresh impetus to her team’s play.
After Moloney had fielded a ball on the edge of the square for the second time in a matter of minutes, she released the Templemore star for a fine point from play. It was proving exceedingly difficult to contain the Meath forward line, though, and scores from Smyth and Cole helped to reinforce their authority.
The hard-working Anna-Rose Kennedy (who was joined in the Tipperary side by her Aherlow club-mate Emma Morrissey) kicked her second point on 39 minutes, but following successive contributions from Smyth, Wall and two-time All-Ireland winning skipper Shauna Ennis, Meath had placed the outcome beyond doubt by the start of the final-quarter.
Tipperary did keep their spirits high during the closing moments of the action as Towey and her fellow substitute Aoibhe O’Shea, both found the target in quick succession.
Smyth and Gallogly added to their individual hauls as the final whistle approached, but Tipperary did manage to gain some solace in the 54th minute. From a high, hanging delivery into the square, influential Cahir ace Moloney flicked the ball past substitute goalkeeper Monica McGuirk in clinical fashion.
The Premier County’s season eventually ended in a 14-point reversal to a Meath side that were buoyed by a passionate home support, but with their march to the All-Ireland senior football championship quarter-finals being supplemented by a third place finish in Division 2 of the National League, there are plenty of positives for the squad to take from 2025.
TEAMS – Meath: Robyn Murray; Aine Sheridan, Mary Kate Lynch, Katie Newe; Aoibhin Cleary, Sarah Wall, Karla Kealy; Orlaith Sheehy, Marion Farrelly; Megan Thynne, Niamh Gallogly, Ciara Smyth; Emma Duggan, Vikki Wall, Kerrie Cole.
Subs: Shauna Ennis for Cole (40), Katie Bermingham for Farrelly (44), Ciara Lawlor for Kealy (47), Amy Gaffney for Sheehy (51), Monica McGuirk for Murray (53), Niamh McEntee for Duggan (55 blood).
Tipperary: Lauren Fitzpatrick (Ballymacarbry, Capt); Katelyn Downey (Boherlahan-Dualla), Lucy Spillane (Fethard), Emma Cronin (Moyle Rovers); Sarah English (Ardfinnan), Maria Curley (Templemore), Heather Spillane (Fethard); Laura Morrissey (Brian Borus), Emma Morrissey (Aherlow); Clara English (Ardfinnan), Anna Rose Kennedy (Aherlow), Ava Ryan (Moyne-Templetuohy); Angela McGuigan (St Sylvester’s), Aishling Moloney (Cahir), Nicole Shelly (CJ Kickhams Mullinahone).
Subs: Neassa Towey (Templemore) for Shelly (36); Aoibhe O’Shea (CJ Kickhams Mullinahone) for Spillane (39), Kate Cashman (Templemore) for Downey (43), Caoimhe Condon (Brian Borus) for L Morrissey (44), Hazel Brennan (Moyle Rovers) for Ryan (51).
Referee: Shane Curley (Galway).