TG4 All-Ireland Ladies’ SFC round three
Group 2
Waterford 1-9 Donegal 0-7
DONEGAL face a battle to save their senior championship status after defeat to Waterford in Walsh Park yesterday ended their quarter-final hopes.
This was a crucial winner-takes-all game and it’s the Déise who took the points to finish second in the group behind Kerry and reach the last eight.
Waterford led from start to finish and were the better team throughout, although Donegal will look back on a lot of missed chances in both halves.
Kellyann Hogan (free) and Amy Boyle-Carr exchanged early points. Emma Fitzgerald (free) edged Waterford in front before they took control when Eve Power’s effort went in off the underside of the crossbar in the seventh minute.
Susanne White replied for Donegal from a free a minute later but that was to be their final score of the half. Fitzgerald (free) and Mairead O’Brien added further points for Waterford to see them lead 1-4 to 0-2 at half-time.
Fitzgerald, on only her second senior appearance, was impressive from the dead ball and she, along with Lauren McGregor, further extended her side’s advantage after the resumption.
Donegal ended their scoring drought with a White free in the 37th minute, while at the other end, the post denied Waterford for a second goal, but Fitzgerald continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Substitute for the visitors, Eva Gallagher, pointed with her first touch and White added two more points from frees as they hit three in a row to bring them to within five, but it was then that they missed four in a row when on top.
Katy Herron did add another point for Donegal but Waterford finished off with an Emma Murray point and Fitzgerald brought her tally to six for the home side.
Group 1
Meath 2-15 Tipperary 2-12
Meath took top spot ahead of Armagh when an impressive display at Páirc Tailteann in Navan was enough to see off Tipperary’s challenge.
Marion Farrelly, Emma Duggan and Meadhbh Byrne led the way as the Royals did enough to advance to the last eight and send Tipperary crashing out.
Ashling Moloney did most to keep Tipperary in contention, shooting 0-9, six of them from play.
Meath led by 1-11 to 1-4 at the end of an entertaining opening half in which five players found the target for them.
Anna Rose Kennedy got the game’s opening goal after 10 minutes when she finished a rebound to the net after Meath goalkeeper Monica McGuirk saved her initial effort.
But the Meath response was good, reeling off four points without reply and they built a healthy interval lead when Farrelly finished to the net after being set up by Byrne.
Emma Morrissey and Kennedy cut the gap to five points two minutes after the restart but their comeback suffered a massive blow when a high delivery from Farrelly fell for Byrne and she tapped home to the net to lead by 2-11 to 1-6 after 33 minutes.
Moloney and Duggan swapped points but Meath took their lead out to nine points with 13 minutes remaining before Neassa Towey found the net for Tipperary.
Three late points from Moloney brought Tipperary within striking distance but Meath held on.
Group 4
Kildare 0-9 Dublin 4-19
A Carla Rowe hat-trick paved the way as holders Dublin advanced to the quarter-finals with an impressive win at Manguard Park.
The loss means newly-promoted Kildare finish bottom of the group and face a relegation play-off.
The champions led 0-8 to 0-2 after 25 minutes when they first found the net. Rowe burst through on goal and was initially brilliantly denied by Anna Dunlea, but Rowe coolly finished off the rebound.
Rowe added a point from a free before Lauren Magee pushed Dublin 1-10 to 0-2 ahead after 29 minutes.
Less than a minute later, Rowe hit the net again when Hetherton found her captain with a brilliant hand-pass across goal. Rowe made no mistake and slapped home from close range.
Dublin finished the half strongly adding another three points, with one from Róisín Byrne for Kildare, to leave the score at 2-13 to 0-3 at the break.
Similar to the first half, Kildare started strongly and got two points from Byrne and kept Dublin scoreless for ten minutes after the restart.
However, Dublin took over again and ran out comprehensive winners.
GROUP 3
Galway 7-22 Laois 1-5
Galway are through to the quarter-finals following this comfortable victory over Laois in Duggan Park, Ballinasloe.
Olivia Divilly and Ailbhe Davoren got two goals each, while there were also green flags for Caoimhe Cleary, Aoife O’Rourke and Róisín Leonard.
Quarter-finals (July 6-7)
Armagh v Mayo
Kerry v Meath
Cork v Waterford
Dublin v Galway
Semi-finals (July 20, Glenisk O’Connor Park)
Armagh/Mayo v Kerry/Meath
Cork/Waterford v Dublin/Galway
