TG4 SENIOR LADIES FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2
Ladies bow out after nine-point defeat to Laois
LAOIS………………………………………………… 3-10
CAVAN……………………………………………… 0-10
Daire Walsh
at St Peregrine’s
THE old adage of ‘goals win games’ came to pass at St Peregrine’s last Saturday afternoon, as Cavan’s maiden journey in the TG4 Senior Ladies Football Championship came to an end against a rejuvenated Laois side.
Clinical finishes from half-back Martha Kirwin and Meaghan Dunne helped the O’Moore County to bring a 2-3 to 0-6 lead into the mid-way interval, and although Cavan remained in contention upon the resumption, a 35th minute major courtesy of Laura-Marie Maher meant that the Breffni girls were always fighting against the tide.
Under the joint management of Finian Farrell and Gerry Sheridan, the 2013 Intermediate champions secured a morale-boosting 1-15 to 0-13 success over Meath at Pairc Tailteann, Navan on July 26th. This was in stark contrast to Des Cooney’s Laois, who on the receiving of a 6-21 to 0-4 hammering at the hands of Dublin in their provincial decider a week beforehand.
In terms of experience, however, Laois would be the more seasoned of the two teams, and despite conceding an early pointed free to Lurgan’s Claragh O’Reilly, the marauding Kirwin coolly finished to the Cavan net, following a lung-bursting run by centre-forward Martina Dunne, five minutes in.
Timahoe’s Dunne quickly added to the Leinster side’s advantage with an excellent score on the turn, but Cavan managed to stay in touch with a point apiece from the incisive attacking duo of Geraldine Sheridan and Ciara Farrell.
In between these efforts, Beth Farrelly Magee looked set to raise Cavan’s opening green flag of the tie, but the quick reaction of custodian Ciamh Dollard saved Laois’ blushes on this occasion.
A goal may well have galvanised the Cavan challenge at this point, but instead it proved to be a major lift for their opponents. A collision involving Laois half-forward Aisling Kehoe and Belturbet netminder Caron Fay did bring a halt to play, but even though the former had to be replaced owing to a concussion, her team-mates were not badly affected by her absence.
The influential Tracy Lawlor once again found space inside the Cavan cover, and she off-loaded neatly for Meaghan Dunne, whose composed strike found the bottom corner of the net. The elusive Sarsfields star subsequently added a point to her tally, but just when Laois looked set to cut loose, three points in quick succession courtesy of Sheridan, O’Reilly (free) and Farrell kept Cavan’s hopes alive approaching the interval.
They suffered a set-back when Fay was eventually forced to exit the action arising from the earlier incident with Kehoe (Killygarry’s Elaine Walsh deputised), and when Meaghan Dunne once again split the posts deep into first-half stoppage-time, Laois reinforced their position.
Three points certainly wasn’t an insurmountable deficit for captain Roisin O’Keeffe and her compatriots, though, and just two minutes into the second period, the excellent Farrell added her third of the contest.
However, their chances of success received a hammer blow 25 minutes from the end, when a speculative shot from distance by Maher slipped through the grasp of Walsh for Laois’ latest goal of the game.
This was perhaps the major turning point, as it arrived at a time when Cavan were taking the fight to their eastern rivals. While they remained competitive with points from O’Reilly and O’Keeffe in response to Rachel Williams and Martina Dunne contributions for Laois, there was a sense that Cavan would need a three-pointer of their own if they were to swing the pendulum in their direction.
The dependable O’Reilly added her fourth score from a free at the tail end of the third-quarter, but as the minutes passed by, they were struggling to keep tabs on the outstanding Martina Dunne. The rangy central attacker added points either side of O’Reilly, as Laois threatened to produce further daylight in the action.
The industry of Cavan could not be questioned at any stages, but when opportunities presented themselves inside the closing minutes, they unfortunately came up short. Laois, on the other hand, were more economical in possession, and concluding points via Eimear McWey, Lawlor (free) and Anna Moore helped them to reign supreme.
This defeat certainly came as a disappointment to a highly-committed Cavan squad, but the final outcome wasn’t a true reflection on the outlook of the game, and they can reflect on plenty of positives as they make their plans for 2015.
LAOIS: Ciamh Dollard; Clodagh Dunne, Grainne Dunne, Maureen Young; Maggie Murphy, Fiona Dooley, Martha Kirwin (1-0); Joyce Dunne, Tracy Lawlor (0-1, f); Aisling Kehoe, Laura-Marie Maher (1-0), Eimear McWey (0-1); Rachel Williams (0-1), Martina Dunne (0-4), Meaghan Dunne (1-2).
Subs: Anna Moore (0-1) for Kehoe (17), Laura Nurney for J Dunne (59).
CAVAN: Caron Fay (Belturbet); Emma McDermott (Lurgan), Grainne McGlade (Aughawillan), Joanne Moore (Lacken); Sheila Reilly (Mullahoran), Laura Fitzpatrick (St Finbarr’s), Sarah Murray (Belturbet); Rosie Crowe (Lacken), Mona Sheridan (Mullahoran); Shona King (Lacken), Roisin O’Keeffe (Lacken, 0-1), Claragh O’Reilly (Lurgan, 0-4, 4f); Beth Farrelly Magee (Cuchullains), Geraldine Sheridan (Mullahoran, 0-2), Ciara Farrell (Lurgan, 0-3).
Subs: Elaine Walsh (Killygarry) for Fay (26), Aishling Sheridan (Mullahoran) for Magee (half-time), Emma Mulligan (Killeshandra) for King (57).
Referee: Mags Doherty (Wexford).