Connolly’s exploits propel Westmeath to resounding win
Westmeath 3-14 Longford 0-6
Westmeath ladies footballers qualified for the quarter-final of the All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship with a comprehensive victory over Longford, in sweltering weather conditions, at Glennon Bros. Pearse Park, Longford last Sunday.
A much superior Westmeath side pressed on impressively in the second half and two goals from Anna Jones and Aoife Connolly ensured a resounding win on the day. Coming a week after their disappointing defeat by Antrim, this was a great victory for Westmeath and they can now look forward to a big quarter-final tie in three weeks.
At half-time, it was 1-7 to 0-4 in Westmeath’s advantage, after a timely goal from Aoife Connolly moments before the break. The Lake County had been threatening and eventually the breakthrough arrived, leaving Longford with a considerable challenge for the second half, with the lively breeze now in Westmeath’s favour.
It was expected that this midlands derby could be a tight, tense affair, but that never materialised and while Longford battled very hard to stay in contention for the first half, they relied heavily on Kate Shannon at corner forward. Westmeath were much the better side after the break and their greater experience showed, with players like Vicky Carr, Rachel Dillon, Kelly Boyce Jordan, Aoife Connolly and Sarah Dillon showing their class.
For Aoife Connolly it was a red-letter day as she made history by becoming the first lady footballer to score two 45s in the same season. The successful conversion off the ground is worth two points in the ladies game and the Garrycastle star has excelled with this terrific skill.
COMPETITIVE
In blistering sunshine, Westmeath made a strong start and put Longford on the back foot from an early stage with three Sarah Dillon points in the opening 10 minutes. Longford’s Kate Shannon got her side off the mark in the 11th minute when she shot over and the talented corner forward repeated that feat soon after.
However, Westmeath were never headed in this match and Ciara Blundell increased their lead with a 14th minute point before Sarah Dillon again shot over. After both sides missed scoring chances, a nice Westmeath move led to Vicky Carr pointing and Westmeath were four clear with 22 minutes played.
Kate Shannon’s sweet left boot gave Longford their third point of the day and they were certainly competitive at this stage, trailing by just three points. When Vicky Carr linked up with Rachel Dillon, the Milltown star was fouled and Aoife Connolly converted the free. A fine point by Kate Shannon kept it very interesting, though.
Westmeath had been threatening the Longford goal and eventually the breakthrough arrived in added time: centre forward Ciara Blundell linked up with Aoife Connolly, who rounded the opposing ‘keeper and crashed the ball to the net, giving the visitors a six-point cushion at the interval.
POWERFUL
Aoife Connolly and Ciaran Blundell combined when the action resumed and the later was almost in for a goal, but Longford managed to scramble the ball away. A pointed free by Kate Shannon and a fine score from play by Edel Sheehy had Longford briefly back in the match (after Maria Kelleher and Ella O’Reilly combined).
However, the home side didn’t score in the remaining 30 minutes (including added time) as Westmeath upped the ante. While Vicky Carr’s shot clipped the post and went wide, after a patient move, another slick Westmeath attack led to Ann Jones finding the net.
Sarah Dillon was at the end of the initial move and her powerful shot came off the crossbar before the Mullingar Shamrocks player pounced to finish low to the Longford net.
Westmeath had all the momentum now and a fine move involving Lucy Power, Ciara Blundell and Kelly Boyce Jordan led to Sarah Dillon pointing again. Johanna Quinn linked up with Rachel Dillon, who fired over and there was now nine points separating the teams (2-9 to 0-6) with 15 minutes remaining.
Aoife Connolly shot Westmeath’s 10th point from play and they pressed up on the subsequent kick-out, leading to a point for Ciara Blundell. Chloe Kelly and substitute Caoimhe Kilmurray combined to set up Ciara Blundell for another point in the 54th minute. Caoimhe Kilmurray, another débutante, soon linked up with Aoife Connolly, whose crisp strike found the bottom corner of the Longford net.
Westmeath wrapped up a facile win with a converted 45’ by Aoife Connolly earned her two points. It was a wonderful strike off the turf by the capable corner forward.
A quarter-final now beckons for Michael Finneran’s Westmeath side in three weeks’ time and he praised the character and attitude of his players in the aftermath of Sunday’s fine victory.
Scorers: Westmeath: A Connolly 2-3 (0-1f; 0-1 ‘45’), S Dillon 0-5, A Jones 1-0, C Blundell 0-3, V Carr and R Dillon 0-1 each. (A Connolly 0-2 for a converted ‘45’). Longford: K Shannon 0-5 (1f), E Sheehy 0-1.
Westmeath: Lauren McCormack; Lara McCartan, Lucy Power, Laura Kiernan; Rachel Dillon, Tracey Dillon, Chloe Kelly; Vicky Carr, Ashley Ruane; Anna Jones, Ciara Blundell, Johanna Quinn; Kelly Boyce Jordan, Sarah Dillon, Aoife Connolly. Subs: Annie Dolan for S Dillon (43), Karen Hegarty for Jones (45), Caoimhe Kilmurray for Quinn (51), Aoife O’Malley for Kelly (55), Niamh Nolan for Boyce Jordan (57).
Longford: Riane McGrath; Rachel Fallon, Leanne Keegan, Emma Doris; Caoimhe McCormack, Eimear O’Brien, Maria Kelleher; Fumni Talaba, Grace Shannon; Hannah Glennon, Aisling Cosgrove, Katie Crawford; Kate Shannon, Ella O’Reilly, Edel Sheehy. Subs: Grace Kenny for E Shannon (45).
Ref: Aaron Clogher (Roscommon).