All-Ireland Ladies Football Junior Championship Final: Fermanagh 1-11 Louth 0-12
Player of the Match Eimear Smyth struck a magnificent 1-9 against Louth at Croke Park on Sunday to propel Fermanagh towards their third TG4 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship title.
Already guaranteed the 2024 ZuCar Golden Boot award – awarded to the top-scorer across all three grades of the All-Ireland championship – in advance of this showpiece clash with an incredible haul of 7-39, Smyth once again produced the goods to secure Fermanagh’s first junior crown since 2020.
While Kate Flood ended the action with 0-8 to her name, Louth fell short in their quest to claim a record-breaking fourth final victory at this grade.
Smyth and the ever-industrious Blaithin Bogue had created early daylight with unanswered points and while Flood’s routine free got Louth up and running, Smyth subsequently caught a ball in advance of Wee County netminder Rebecca Lambe Fagan before comfortably netting a 10th minute goal.
Although CJ McGourty’s Ernesiders twice moved five points clear with Smyth frees in the closing stages of the opening period, another place-ball effort from Flood was preceded by Niamh Rice’s impressive 0-2 salvo to leave Louth just three adrift at 1-5 to 0-5 at the interval.
An Aoife Russell score reduced this deficit to two points on the resumption, before Lambe Fagan pulled off two excellent saves from Fermanagh attacker Niamh McManus in the space of 60 seconds. McManus also rattled the post from an rebounded strike after the first of these shots was turned away.
Fermanagh did eventually reinforce their authority with Bogue and Smyth points, but the sinbinning of Ciara Clarke on the stroke of 40 minutes came as a blow for the Erne women. By the time the Knockninny Gaels corner-back returned to the field of play, Louth had cut the gap to the bare minimum thanks to three points from Flood and a single contribution by substitute Mischa Rooney.
Smyth had split the uprights at the opposite end to ensure Fermanagh stayed in the ascendancy and she added another free to her outstanding haul before Flood did likewise on 52 minutes.
Even though the latter kept Louth in contention with an eighth point, the imperious Smyth raised white flags either side of it to guide Fermanagh over the line.
FERMANAGH: M Maguire; C Clarke, M McGloin, E Keenan; S McQuade, C Murphy, C Bogue; B Bannon, L Maguire; D Maguire, J Doonan, A McCabe; B Bogue 0-2, E Smyth 1-9 (0-6f), N McManus. Subs: B Smyth for McManus (49), S Britton for D Maguire (57).
LOUTH: R Lambe Fagan; L Byrne, E Murray, E Hand; H Lambe Sally, A Breen, C Nolan; A Halligan, E Byrne; L White, A Russell 0-1, C McDonald; N Rice 0-2, K Flood 0-8 (7f), S Matthews. Subs: M Rooney 0-1 for Lambe Sally (h-t), C O’Reilly for McDonald (49), R O’Connor Leonard for Russell (52), C Boyle for Matthews, K Doheny for White (both 60).
Referee: Gerard Canny (Mayo).
