Westmeath suffer home defeat as Derry take the spoils
Damien Maher
Derry 1-9
Westmeath 0-7
Lengthy scoreless spells during the second half proved extremely costly as Westmeath were denied by a tenacious Derry outfit, in the Very National Camogie League (Division 2A), at TEG Cusack Park today.
Westmeath led by 0-5 to 0-3 at the interval, but managed just one score from play in the second half, that from the impressive Megan Dowdall in the opening minute. The Clonkill star got the Lake County’s only other score of the half when she converted a 53rd minute free.
Crucially, Derry swooped for a goal through corner forward Dara McGuckin in the 40th minute and they defended resolutely for the remainder of the contest.
After a draw against Kerry the previous week, Westmeath are still searching for their first victory in this year’s campaign and a trip to Meath awaits next week.
Westmeath manager Diarmuid Cahill, while disappointed to lose the game, was keen to accentuate the positives and felt Westmeath have the potential to improve as the league progresses.
“There’s a small bit of disappointment with the result, but the league is to grow the panel and to try out a few things. We’re concentrating mainly on our endurance, ensuring that our fitness is up to standard. Our targets are to improve on this all the time and maintain our division two status,” he told the Westmeath Examiner.
“We’re trying out new things: Sheila McGrath at centre back, Muireann Scally, wing back, and Aoife Doherty we put in full forward for a while. All of these things we want to try and the best place to do that is in the league.
“I’ll take the positives from the game; I try to think I’m not a negative person. We’ll look at those positives and try and see where are weaknesses are and focus on improving those in training and games. We’re building for the championship and building on these league matches.”
Julie McLoughlin, Muireann Scally and Sheila McGrath were most prominent in the Westmeath defence, with goalkeeper Fiona Keating also making some good contributions. Aoife O’Malley impressed at midfield and in attack, Megan Dowdall led the way. Louise O’Connor was also prominent, but the loss of Amelia Shaw (who couldn't start) and Denise McGrath, who had to go off after 23 minutes (both due to a stomach bug) were definite blows to Lake County’s prospects.
SCORERS – Derry: M McNicholl 0-6 (5f), D McGuckin 1-1, M Hegarty and A McAllister 0-1 each. Westmeath: M Dowdall 0-5 (1f; 1 ‘45’), L O’Connor and A O’Malley 0-1 each.
DERRY – Niamh McQuillan; Niamh Quinn, Aoife Ní Chaiside, Sinead McGill; Gráinne McAtamney, Shannon O’Doherty, Lauren McKenna; Darvla O’Kane, Rachel Downey; Mairead McNicholl, Áine McGill, Áine McAllister; Dara McGuckin, Mary Hegarty, Aoife Shaw. Subs: Rachel McAllister for McGill (39), Aimee Lennon for Shaw (53), Tiergan Mullan for McGuckin (58), Shannon O’Connor for Hegarty (60).
WESTMEATH – Fiona Keating; Jade McKeogh, Julie McLoughlin, Dearbhail McLoughlin; Muireann Scally, Sheila McGrath, Laura Doherty; Aoife O’Malley, Aoife Doherty; Louise O’Connor, Megan Dowdall, Maria Kelly; Roisín Scally, Denise McGrath, Ava Balfe. Subs: Elaine Finn for McGrath (23), Áine Newman for R Scally (h-t).
REF – Brian Kearney (Kildare).