Tipperary 5-10 Meath 2-10

Five first-half goals did the damage for the home side as Tipperary ran out nine point winners over their opponents Meath in the top of the table clash in Division 3 of the Lidl National Football League at Sean Tracey Park.  Despite outscoring their opponents by 1-5 to 0-5 Meath couldn't close the gap sufficiently and left a wet and windy Tipperary empty handed. The Premier County have now won four on the bounce and were helped today by a fantastic showing from Aishling Moloney who helped herself to 2-2.

The warning signs were there from the start and after just 70 seconds the home side had three chances for scores but none of them registered on the scoreboard. However things changed quickly and Tipperary had their first goal after just five minutes after midfielder Jennifer Grant broke through to find the corner of the net. Moloney pointed for Tipperary before two quick fire goals had the tie swinging in favour of the home side. Caoimhe Condron latched onto the end of a great team move before smashing the ball into the net. Two minutes later Moloney followed suit and her team opened up a ten point gap after as many minutes.

Finally Meath gave their team something to shout about when Emma White's pass found the onrushing Niamh Gallogly who was brought down inside the area. Tipperary keeper Patricia Hickey was shown a yellow card and for the second time in two successive games White stepped up to plant her spot kick to the back of the net. The Royals used this ten minute period with an extra player to try gain a handle on the match and they kicked three points in a row from Laura Gilsenan, Vikki Wall and Fiona O'Neill. Midway through the half the lead was now 3-01 to 1-3 to the home side.

Having returned to full strength after the sin bin Tipperary turned on the style again and tagged on further points from Aisling McCarthy, Orla O'Dwyer and Moloney. Meath squandered a big chance to close the gap when Wall drove through the defence only to see her shot saved low by the keeper. Almost immediately Tipperary broke down the pitch and punished their opponents by bagging their fourth goal of the contest by corner forward Catherina Walsh. Again, the Meath rear-guard was caught out by fluent passing and clinical finishing.

Gallogly added another point for the Royals before the fifth and final strike to the back of the Royal net courtesy of another Moloney effort. Both teams traded a point a piece before the interval, with Gillian O'Brien pointing for the winners and O'Neill slotting over for the Royals to bring to an end a dismal first-half defensive display from the travelling side. Meath goalkeeper Orlagh McLaughlin could do nothing about any of the strikes that went past her but worryingly the Tipperary full-forward line found themselves in space behind the defence time and time again.

Half-Time: Tipperary 5-05 Meath 1-05

The second-half was a very different affair with both teams capitalising on the opportunity to use their benches.  O'Neill continued her scoring for the Royals with another point just after the restart but Tipperary bagged a further three points of their own from Condron, McCarthy and Walsh.

Megan Thynne worked tirelessly for the Meath jersey today and was found inside her own 45m line on numerous occasions to try and win the ball back for her side. She was rewarded with a fine point midway through the second half and a minute later O'Neill kicked her fourth point of the match for the Royals. Both teams added a further two points apiece (O'Brien and Roisin McGrath for Tipperary and O'Neill and Aisling O'Reilly for Meath) before the away side finished the scoring with Joanna Byrne finding the back of the net with a fine turn and shot past the keeper.

In the end a three goal margin was the difference on the scoreboard and had Meath taken some of their wasted chances in the opening half an hour the score line could have looked much closer. However Tipperary were full value for their win today and sure enough they will be very difficult to beat in the remainder of this year's NFL Division 3 League campaign.

For the Royals it means a return to the drawing board before their next encounter on March 18th. The Meath ladies still have a fantastic opportunity to qualify for a league semi-final however they will need to take maximum points from their remaining three games to give themselves every opportunity.

Referee:  Seamus Mulvihill (Kerry)

Tipperary Team and Scorers: Patricia Hickey; Siobhan Condon, Emma Buckley, Elaine Kelly; Brid Condon, Samantha Lambert, Elaine Fitzpatrick; Jennifer Grant (1-0), Gillian O'Brien (0-2); Roisin McGrath (0-1),  Aisling McCarthy (0-2), Orla O'Dwyer (0-1); Catherina Walsh (1-1), Caoimhe Condron (1-1), Aishling Moloney (2-2).

Subs - Roisin Howard for O'Dwyer (HT), Mairead Morrissey for Moloney (HT), Laura Dillon for B Condon (40m), Maria Curley for Grant (40m), Edith Carroll for McGrath (42m).

Meath Team and Scorers:  Orlagh McLaughlin; Kate Flynn, Sarah Powderly, Siofra Cleary; Emma White (1-0), Michelle Peel, Márie Keogh; Niamh O'Sullivan, Máire O'Shaughnessy; Laura Gilsenan (0-1), Bláthnaid Keogh, Niamh Gallogly (0-1); Fiona O'Neill (0-5), Vikki Wall (0-1), Megan Thynne (0-1).

Subs - Hannah Heskin for Cleary (12m), Karley Leavy for Keogh (23m), Aisling O'Reilly (0-1) for Gilsenan (HT), Orla Byrne for Flynn (38m), Bláthnaid Keogh for Leavy (48m),Kate Byrne for Peel (50m), Megan Lyons for Powderly (50m), Joanna Byrne (1-0) for Gallogly (53m), Niamh Rispin for Wall (55m), Ailbhe McHugh for White (55m), Rebecca McIntyre for O'Neill (60m).

 

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