Late double blast sinks Tipp
LADIES FOOTBALL: Lidl National League Division 1 Relegation Play-Off
Westmeath 2-16
Tipperary 2-10
Report: Thomas Conway in Banagher
MATCH DIGEST
Player of the Match: Lucy McCartan (Westmeath)
SCORERS – Westmeath: Sarah Dillon 0-6; Lucy McCartan 1-2; Anna Jones 0-3 frees; Karen Hegarty 1-0; Leona Archibald (frees), Jo-Hanna Maher 0-2 each; Lorraine Duncan 0-1.
Tipperary: Orla O’Dwyer 0-5; Róisín Howard, Angela McGuigan 1-1 each; Anna Rose Kennedy, Ava Fennessy, Niamh Hayes 0-1 each.
Tipperary’s three year stint in Division 1 of the Lidl Ladies’ National League was brought to an abrupt end on Saturday, as Westmeath condemned Declan Carr’s side to the second tier following a tense and frenetic relegation play-off.
As both sides now set their sights on the Championship, the irony is that Westmeath, despite preserving their place at the top-table in the National League, have yet to break out of the intermediate ranks. Tipperary, on the other hand, are embarking on their second consecutive senior campaign.
However, it was the Midlanders which prevailed on Saturday, delivering a performance which saw them peak at exactly right time – in the final quarter, when the game was hanging firmly in the balance. While Tipp sprung to life in the period after half-time, that purple-patch simply wasn’t enough to compensate for the remainder of the game, which was largely dominated by Westmeath.
Despite that dominance, Tipp remained in touching distance at the initial water-break, chasing their opponents, with the score-line at 0-5 to 0-3. What happened in the period prior to half-time could either be viewed as an exhibition of sublime Westmeath forward play, or a disintegration of Tipp’s defensive structure. In reality, it was a combination of both, as Seán Finnegan’s team sent the scores flying over without interruption – Sarah Dillon, Lucy McCartan, and Leona Archibald the stars of the show.
Having endured that barrage of seven successive Westmeath points and without a score of their own since the first quarter, Tipp trailed by 0-10 to 0-3 at half-time. Mirroring that same trend of previous weeks, their promising start had been undone by a poor performance in the second quarter, allowing the midlands county to gain a foothold and dictate the game.
Westmeath might have lost all three of their Group 1A fixtures, but their quality as a top-tier side became visible in both second and fourth quarters, while Tipp’s undoubted potential also blossomed in the twenty minutes after half-time. It was during that period that Declan Carr’s mounted a resurgence, finding their groove with two quick-fire goals and playing with the type of flair that the side has shown in recent seasons.
The reintroduction of Orla O’Dwyer back into the fold made a significant difference. Fresh from landing an historic AFWL title with the Brisbane Lions, and also preparing to feature for the Tipp senior camogie side the following day, the multi-disciplinary Boherlahan athlete provided Tipp with the sort of physicality and power which they had been lacking in recent weeks.
Having already contributed a point in the opening thirty minutes, O’Dwyer started Tipp’s flow of second-half scores with another well-struck score four minutes in, collecting a hand-pass from Elaine Fitzpatrick before swinging a left-footed effort over from 25 metres. She quickly belted over two further points, driving the Tipp momentum, and placing them firmly in command.
Given that Westmeath would inevitably bounce back, Tipp’s challenge was to make the most of their purple-patch, and they succeeded in doing so in the moments prior to the water-break.
Róisín Howard’s 43rd minute goal demonstrated the reward a team can reap from patient build-up play and collective composure, as Tipp worked the ball all the way up the field, eventually feeding it to the full-forward, who burst her way was past several Westmeath defenders and ploughed the ball home.
The next goal, just a minute later, was even more impressive in terms of its build-up, with Tipp holding the ball and recycling possession until an opportunity finally emerged. Fitzpatrick fed the ball to Howard, who offloaded to the incoming Anna Rose Kennedy, who dinked another hand-pass over a Westmeath player and into the path of Angela McGuigan and with the goal at her mercy, she provided the most exquisite of finishes – a clever side-footed effort which she calmly slotted into the corner from close-range, propelling Tipp into the lead, 2-6 to 0-11.
Declan Carr’s team were always unlikely to sustain that tempo for longer than a short period, and while they continued to attack vigorously until the final whistle, Westmeath reorganised themselves at the back, crowding the danger-zone with maroon jerseys and forcing Tipp to work tirelessly just to create scoring chances.
From a Tipp perspective, the emphasis was clearly on attack, but it cost them at the other end, where their own defence struggled to contain the likes of Lucy McCartan and Sarah Dillon. The corner-forwards wreaked havoc over the course of the seventy minutes, but it was in the final quarter that both really started to thrive.
Dillon quickly clipped over her fifth point just after the water-break. She would add another point some moments later, but not before Anna Jones had sent a free between the posts, stretching the Westmeath advantage to two.
Opportunities were presenting themselves at either end, and both keepers managed to pull off outstanding saves, but eventually Lucy McCartan grabbed possession out towards the wing, turned her marker with a drop of the shoulder and found herself bearing down on Fitzpatrick in the Tipp goal. The Westmeath star/Peamount United striker made no mistake with the finish, sliding it past the keeper at the near post.
If that didn’t seal the victory, then Karen Hegarty’s rocket into the roof of the net – which came on the cusp of full-time – was the definitive blow. A second Westmeath goal in the space of two minutes, condemning Tipp to the second tier of National League.
TEAMS – Westmeath: Lauren McCormack (8), Niamh Spellman (7), Jo-Hanna Maher (8), Emma Kelly (7), Fiona Coyle (7), Lorraine Duncan (8), Tara Fagan (7), Vicki Carr (8), Tracey Dillon (7), Fiona Claffey (7), Leona Archibald (8), Anna Jones (8), Lucy McCartan (9), Ciara Blundell (7), Sarah Dillon (9).
Subs: Karen Hegarty (8) for Blundell (43), Lucy Power (7) for Kelly (45), Annie Dolan (7) for Maher (48), Sinéad Murtagh (7) for Claffey (53), Jo-Hanna Maher (8) for Duncan (58).
Tipperary: Lauren Fitzpatrick (Ballymacarbry 6), Lucy Spillane (Fethard 6), Maria Curley (Templemore 7), Emma Cronin (Moyle Rovers 6), Clodagh Horgan (Boherlahan-Dualla 6), Caitlin Kennedy (Aherlow 8), Elaine Kelly (Cappawhite 7), Anna Rose Kennedy (Aherlow 7), Orla O’Dwyer (Boherlahan-Dualla 9), Angela McGuigan (Sliabh na mBan 8), Edith Carroll (Galtee Rovers 6), Ava Fennessy (Clonmel Commercials 7), Clíona O’Dwyer (Brian Borus 6), Róisín Howard (Cahir 8), Áine Delaney (Templemore 6).
Subs: Laura Dillon (Ardfinnan 8) for O’Dwyer (16), Róisín Daly (Moyne-Templetuohy 7) for Horgan (26), Elaine Fitzpatrick (Templemore 7) for Delaney (HT), Carrie Davey (Fethard 7) for Kelly (38), Niamh Hayes (Fethard 7) for Carroll (41), Courtney Lonergan (Clonmel Commercials 7) for McGuigan (49).
Referee: Gus Chapman (Sligo).