Westmeath drop down following Mayo rampage

LGFA National Football League Div 2: Westmeath 1-14, Mayo 6-10

Westmeath’s stay in Division Two of the Ladies National Football League has ended after being beaten by Mayo at Páirc Chiaráin, Athlone last Sunday afternoon.

Mayo ran riot in the opening half as four goals helped them to a commanding 13-point lead at the break. Westmeath were much improved when play resumed and outscored the visitors to cut the deficit to seven points heading into the closing stages. There was no late drama though as Mayo responded with a goal and a point to win by 11 points at the final whistle.

From a Westmeath perspective, all the damage was done in the opening quarter when they leaked four goals to allow Mayo build up a substantial lead.

The visitors were first off the mark with a second minute point from team captain Sinead Walsh. A second point soon followed from Aoife Geraghty with Westmeath getting their first score when Anna Jones popped over a free kick after eight minutes.

The goal fest soon started though as Mayo raised the green flag on four occasions in an amazing five-minute spell. Walsh’s goal was quickly followed by a second from Geraghty. Meabh Delaney then sent over a point but the goals were quickly flowing again with two in as many minutes.

Walsh grabbed her second goal with Saoirse Delaney also finding the net to leave it 4-3 to 0-1 after a quarter of an hour's play.

A penalty award after 19 minutes afforded Mayo the chance to make it five goals but Walsh fired her spot kick off the post much to the relief of Amy Donlon, who had started between the posts in place of Athlone club player Aoife Temple.

Westmeath were now fighting a major uphill battle as the second quarter progressed and registered their first score in 12 minutes when Jones popped over another free after Ashley Ruane had been fouled.

Lisa Cafferky restored the 14-point lead but the next chance after 24 minutes could easily have seen the home team raise their first green flag. Rebecca Higgins had the opportunity to find the net but fired her shot off Mayo goalkeeper Laura Brennan.

A Walsh free left it 4-5 to 0-2 heading into the last five minutes of the half but Westmeath struck for a goal after 28 minutes to reduce the deficit. Higgins set up Sarah Dillon who made no mistake. A further point from Caoimhe Kilmurray of St Loman's in between two points from Cafferky left Mayo in command at the break, 4-7 to 1-3.

With victory for the away team all but assured when play resumed, it was really about restoring pride for Westmeath in the second half. To their credit, they exceeded expectations to restrict Mayo to just five scores after the break.

It did not get off to a good start though as Mayo again raised the green flag inside the first minute. Walsh set up Sinead Cafferky to stretch the lead to 16 points. Somehow though, Mayo only had one more score to their credit when the third quarter ended.

Westmeath mounted a comeback that on another day might have yielded a result but the earlier four-goal blitz from Mayo left a lot of work to be done. Kilmurray grabbed the home team’s first score of the half after two minutes with further points from Dillon and Kilmurray leaving it 5-7 to 1-6.

Mayo’s first score in 13 minutes, a Walsh point, saw them lead by 5-8 to 1-6, while a Dillon point midway through the half kept Westmeath in touch. Mayo were finding scores a lot harder to get in the second half and a point from Aoife Kennedy was only their third score since play resumed.

From seemingly being dead and buried earlier, Westmeath enjoyed their best spell of the game to fire over seven unanswered points and cut the lead to just seven points. A great score from Ruane started the revival after 21 minutes and two more points from the Loughnavalley midfielder left it 5-9 to 1-10 heading into the last five minutes.

A Jones free kick kept the scoreboard ticking over for the ladies in maroon and three more points had Mayo waiting anxiously for the final whistle. Higgins, Lucy McCartan and Ashley Ruane reduced the deficit to manageable proportions and it could have been even closer had Kilmurray found the net in the penultimate minute only to see her goal bound shot blocked.

It ended the action though for Westmeath and Mayo put further gloss on the score with a goal and a point in the closing moments. A Delaney point was followed by a sixth Mayo goal as substitute Laura Moran raised the green flag to end the scoring and hand Mayo a boost heading into the last series of games in Division Two.

Scorers – Mayo: S Walsh 2-3 (0-1 free); A Geraghty and S Delaney 1-1 each; S Cafferky and L Moran 1-0 each; L Cafferky 0-3; M Delaney and A Kennedy 0-1 each. Westmeath: S Dillon 1-2; A Ruane 0-4; C Kilmurray and A Jones (3f) 0-3 each; R Higgins and L McCartan 0-1 each.

Mayo - Laura Brennan; Eilis Ronayne, Danielle Caldwell, Lucy Wallace; Ciara Needham, Sherin El Massry, Aoife Geraghty; Hannah Reape, Fiona McHale; Aoife Staunton, Sinead Walsh, Suzanne Tuohy; Meabh Delaney, Lisa Cafferky, Sinead Cafferky.

Subs: Saoirse Delaney for Needham (15 mins); Aoife Kennedy for Tuohy (38); Kayla Doherty, Julia Gawalkiewicz and Finola Collins for Ronayne, Staunton and Reape (54); Ava McDonnell for S Cafferky (60).

Westmeath - Amy Donlon; Niamh Nolan, Lara McCartan, Chloe Kelly Gonoud; Fiona Coyle, Tracey Dillon, Sinead Seery; Anna Jones, Ashley Ruane; Caoimhe Kilmurray, Vicky Carr, Niamh Mullarkey; Rebecca Higgins, Sarah Dillon, Lucy McCartan.

Subs: Sandra McWade for Seery (half-time); Pip Ruane for Mullarkey (40 mins); Aoife Keegan for McWade (52); Sarah Murphy for Lara McCartan (56).

Referee - Kevin Phelan (Laois).