Lake County ladies snatch victory from Offaly
LGFA: TG4 Leinster Intermediate Championship - Group B
Westmeath 0-15
Offaly 0-13
Kieran Galvin
Westmeath ladies snatched a scarcely deserved victory over an unlucky Offaly side in this Leinster LGFA Intermediate Championship match at Bretland Park, Clara on Sunday last.
Offaly led for the vast majority of the contest with Westmeath finally getting their noses in front deep in stoppage time through Ciara Blundell, with Garrycastle's Aoife Connolly then adding the 'insurance point'.
Given that Westmeath operated in Division 2 of the National League, whereas Offaly just about stayed up in Division 3, a victory for the home side would have been a considerable surprise.
But Offaly played the more cohesive football in the first half and surged into a 0-4 to 0-0 lead, before Westmeath opened their account.
Westmeath also had to overcome the obstacle of Tracey Dillon spending ten minutes in the sin bin during the final quarter after picking up a yellow card.
To Westmeath's credit, they showed admirable resolve to carve out victory in the closing stages, with veteran substitute Johanna Maher making a significant impact when introduced at half-time.
With Westmeath manager Michael Finneran not in attendance at this opening round game due to family reasons, his charges struggled to find any rhythm in the early stages.
Impressive Offaly skipper Róisín Ennis sent over the game's first score and three more points followed inside the opening seven minutes, courtesy of Róisín Cockram (a free), Emily Bailey and Emma Hand (punishing a wayward Westmeath kickout).
Ennis and fellow wing-forward Saoirse McGuinness (St Manchan's) were working hard to create openings for Offaly, while Westmeath were playing second fiddle at midfield. A neat point from Aoife Connolly did raise Westmeath spirits (ninth minute), before Amy Gavin Mangan's half-blocked shot made it over the bar at the other end.
Connolly's missed free underlined Westmeath's woes, before Méadbh Monaghan got her side's second point. A shot from Offaly full-forward Roisin Mealiff landed on top of the net for a point, briefly raising fears among visiting fans that it was a goal. Ennis then raced forward for a fine individual point, exploiting a lack of tackling from the Westmeath defence.
A rare passage of good Westmeath play culminated in a Ciara Blundell point. Moments later, a speculative delivery from Anna Jones (one of Westmeath's better performers on the day) hopped over the Offaly crossbar and Connolly then edged Westmeath closer from a 24th-minute free.
On 26 minutes, Jones went for a goal with an ambitious effort, but her firmly struck shot was well saved by Offaly goalie Kelley Cunningham. At the other end, Hand shot straight at Lauren McCormack when well placed and the half-time whistle quickly followed, with Offaly leading 0-7 to 0-5.
With sunshine making a welcome appearance, Westmeath’s efforts to close the gap were undermined by another shot going short into the Offaly keeper. But after Cockram pointed a free, a necklace of three points from Connolly (one free) brought Westmeath level.
The experienced Maher was making her presence felt but instead of kicking on, Westmeath fell four points behind. And the sin-binning of Tracey Dillon in the 45th minute (referee Marion Hayden appeared correct to issue a yellow card) left them with a steeper gradient to climb.
Cockram scored two of those four Offaly points (one free, and she was surprisingly taken off after scoring the second from play), with her lively replacement, Saorah Doyle, scoring the other two (one free).
Emma Maher, listed to start for Offaly at midfield, was an influential figure when sprung from the bench, with Brian O’Ruairc and Danny McGarvey’s charges now looking poised for victory.
But with Lucy Power excelling in defence, Westmeath refused to accept what seemed impending defeat. Fine points from midfielders Vicky Carr and Ashley Ruane (two) reduced the gap to the minimum and Connolly them levelled matters from a free (58th minute) which seemed harsh on the Offaly defence.
As the contest moved into added time, Offaly regained the lead through McGuinness after good work from Doyle. An interception from Westmeath's Maher led to another pointed free from Connolly, who was impressive in the second half.
In the frenetic closing stages, home fans were somewhat distracted by following updates from Croke Park, where the Offaly men's team eventually lost to Louth after extra-time.
In any case, Westmeath snatched the lead when Blundell sent over despite being under pressure, and Connolly added another point in the seventh minute of stoppage time to seal an unconvincing victory.
Scorers - Westmeath: A Connolly 0-8 (4f); C Blundell and A Ruane 0-2 each; M Monaghan, A Jones and V Carr 0-1 each. Offaly: R Cockram 0-4 (3f); R Ennis and S Doyle (1f) 0-2 each; E Bailey, E Hand, A Gavin Mangan, R Mealiff and S McGuinness 0-1 each.
Westmeath: Lauren McCormack; Mary Dunne, Lucy Power, Ayesha Roche; Kelly Boyce Jordan (captain), Tracey Dillon, Chloe Kelly; Vicky Carr, Ashley Ruane; Niamh Nolan, Ciara Blundell, Rachel Dillon; Méadbh Monaghan, Anna Jones, Aoife Connolly. Subs used: Johanna Maher for Nolan, Laura Kiernan (both h-t); Caoimhe Clarke McMahon for Monaghan (51 mins); Melek Fagan for Ruane (60).
Offaly: Kelley Cunningham; Kaytlin Flynn, Ava Dolan, Anna Grehan; Nicole Farrelly, Nicole Buckley, Michelle Mann; Eve Kelly, Amy Gavin Mangan; Róisín Ennis (captain), Emma Hand, Saoirse McGuinness; Emily Bailey, Roisin Mealiff, Róisín Cockram. Subs used: Emma Maher for Mealiff (42 mins); Saorah Doyle for Cockram (47); Sinead Rigney for Kelly (54); Emer Nally for Grehan (60).
Referee: Marion Hayden (Carlow).
Examiner's Eye on the game
Player of the match
Aoife Connolly (Westmeath). With eight points to her credit, four from play, Connolly just about takes the accolade, ahead of teammates Lucy Power and Anna Jones and Offaly's Róisín Ennis.
What's next
Westmeath are due to host Wicklow in the second round next Sunday, May 7, with Offaly having another home game, this time against Louth on the same day.