Rossies face Royals for place in All-Ireland ladies football final

Roscommon's ladies football team are just one win away from an All-Ireland final appearance at Croke Park.

And the Rossies have the benefit of home advantage in their All-Ireland intermediate championship semi-final against Meath at Dr Hyde Park tomorrow (Saturday), throw-in 1pm.

Managed by former St Dominic's and Roscommon star Michael Finneran, Roscommon won the Connacht intermediate title earlier in the season. Now, they have their sights set on reaching this year's All-Ireland final, where Tyrone lie in wait.

Amanda McLoone, who now plays her club football with Garrycastle, is part of the Roscommon squad and she has been selected at full-back for the showdown against Meath (see team list below). Jenny Downey of Padraig Pearses has featured for Roscommon during the campaign and her scoring ability could be a valuable asset from the bench.

The Roscommon v Meath clash is the first of a triple header of All-Ireland semi-finals at Hyde Park, with the two senior championship semi-finals to follow in a feast of ladies football at Roscommon GAA headquarters. Cork (emphatic winners over Westmeath in the quarter-finals) will face Donegal at 2.45pm, with All-Ireland champions Dublin taking on Galway at 4.30pm. All three semi-finals will be televised live on TG4. 

Roscommon claimed an historic Connacht title earlier in the summer, ending Sligo’s hopes of three-in-a-row. The Rossies were most impressive in the All-Ireland qualifiers also, defeating Meath by six points and Fermanagh by 14 to top Group 4. That set Michael Finneran’s team up for a crack at Laois in the quarter-finals and this game will be remembered by those who were present in Moate as one of the finest of recent times. Two excellent teams went at it hammer and tongs and when the dust settled, Roscommon prevailed by four points.

Roscommon last won the All-Ireland Intermediate crown back in 2005, while a win for Meath would send them through to a very first final.

There’s plenty at stake and while Meath have already lost out to Roscommon in the 2018 championship, they will be looking to reverse that result on Saturday.

The Royals were disappointed to lose against Wicklow in the Leinster championship but their recovery has been steady and they’ve built a growing momentum. A big victory over Fermanagh was good enough for a second-place finish in Group 4 behind Roscommon, but defeating Clare in the recent All-Ireland quarter-final was a result that made observers sit up and take notice.

Roscommon team v Meath: Helena Cummins; Honor Ennis, Amanda McLoone, Megan Kelly; Sorcha Bruen, Aisling MacAuliffe, Sinéad Kenny; Joanne Cregg, Jenny Higgins; Alice Kelly, Róisín Wynne, Laura Fleming; Sheila Brady, Rebecca Finan, Niamh Feeney.

Meath team v Roscommon: M McGuirk; O Duff, O Lally, K Newe; A Cleary, S Ennis, M Thynne; M O’Shaughnessy, K Byrne; A Leahy, V Wall, S Grimes; M Farrelly, N O’Sullivan, E White.

Fixtures - Saturday, August 25th

TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Championship Semi-final
Meath v  Roscommon, Dr Hyde Park, 1pm. Referee: Gus Chapman.

TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship Ladies Football Semi-finals
Cork v Donegal, Dr Hyde Park, 2.45pm. Referee: Brendan Rice.
Dublin v  Galway, Dr Hyde Park, 4.30pm. Referee: Seamus Mulvihill.