Dublin 7-12
Meath 2-8

A second half tally of 4-9 proved too much for the Royal ladies as Dublin stormed to a strong victory over their royal opponents in Ballyboden St. Endas on Saturday afternoon. With just two points between the teams Dublin, with the aid of a very strong wind, ran riot in the second half and blew their opponents away to record a strong opening round victory.

The dubs rattled the back of the Meath net twice in the opening six minutes with Coimhe O'Connor and Danielle Lawless bagging a goal apiece.  Both teams traded two points each with Abbie Timmons and Aoibhin Cleary slotting over for the royals. Midway through the half Dublin snatched their third goal of the game this time from Aoibhe Bell. With nine between the teams the royals responded in excellent fashion and notched up point after point to edge closer to their opponents. Scores from Kiah Geraghty (2), Lauren Collier (2) and Anna Brannigan closed the gap to just four points heading into the remaining minutes of the opening half. Clara O'Sullivan slotted over for the dubs before the gap was slashed to just two points when Collier turned inside the area to find the back of the net.

Half-Time: Dublin 3-3 Meath 1-7

The second-half was one way traffic with Dublin hitting a purple patch in an eight minute spell scoring 3-2 without reply.  Goals from O'Connor (3) and Bell along with points from O'Sullivan (2), Lawless (2), Niamh Carey (2), Jennifer Dunne (2) and Michelle Carey completed the scoring for the dubs with Collier grabbing Meath's 1-1 tally in the second-half.

Undoubtedly the wind played a crucial factor in this match with Dublin using it to great effect in the second-half. Meath showed great determination to keep fighting despite falling behind by big margins in both halfs.

Meath Team: Laurie McClean; Orlaith Moyles, Laura Quinn, Ellen Cassidy; Laoise McDermott, Niamh Cassidy, Hannah Tuite; Anna Brannigan (0-1), Niamh Hand; Abbie Timmons (0-1), Aoibhin Cleary (0-1), Kiah Getaghty  (0-2); Niamh Donnelly, Lauren Collier (2-3), Ailbhe Leahy. Subs - Becky Deery for Moyles (HT), Mikaela Rao for McDermott (40m), Emily O'Connor for Tuite (43m), Tara Fay for Leahy (46m), Tess O'Neill for Timmons (50m), Martha Reidy for Hand (52m), Emma McCarney for Cassidy (53m).

Dublin Team: Rachel Fleming; Eve Reidy, Eavan Fitzgerald, Sinéad O' Donoghue; Erin Healy, Sarah Fagan, Shannon Murtagh; Michelle Carey (0-1), Jennifer Dunne (0-2); Aoibhe Bell (2-0), Rachel Brennan, Niamh Carey (0-2); Caoimhe O'Connor (4-0), Danielle Lawless (1-2), Clara O'Sullivan (0-5). Subs - Ciara McDunphy for Brennan (40m), Eimear Loughlin for Murtagh (43m), Jessica Darby for Dunne (47m), Laura Dempsey for O'Donoghue (47m).

Referee: Des McEnery (Westmeath)Second half rally by Dublin too much for Meath

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