Littlewoods Ireland Division Two League Semi-final
Antrim 0-12 Meath 1-8
An unbelievable finish. The commitment, the effort, they never gave up,” enthused Paul McKillen at the end of a league semi-final in Inniskeen that had the most dramatic of endings.
“I thought that last week’s performance was excellent. This week it was even better as we had to dig ourselves out of a rut because we allowed Meath to get control of a game we should have been well ahead in.
“There were small things near the end that stood out. Caitriona (Graham) made an outstanding catch. It rallied us. The defence played so, so well and you have to factor in that we were missing a couple of our more experienced players.“We just couldn’t get the breaks in the second half. Nothing ran for us and they had a lot of momentum. But the important thing was that we kept going. We fought for everything and the last two scores came because of our battling spirit.“Caitrín (Dobbin) worked hard during the whole of the second half and couldn’t get that break. But she never gave up and the break she got right at the death won the match. I am over the moon.”It was a really dramatic final few minutes just when it looked as if the Antrim dream was going to come to an end in Inniskeen!
Seconds into injury time there was a high delivery in on the Antrim goal. Cáitríona Graham and Meath substitute Claire Coffey challenge for it. Coffey got the touch – but it went over the bar. It could have been a goal, but the point was enough to put the Royals ahead for the first time.They had built up serious momentum from the penalty goal in the first half injury time that brought them back within striking distance of the Saffrons at 0-7 to 1-1.
It might have taken Meath 48 minutes to grab the first score that wasn’t from a placed ball, but Antrim were under serious pressure in attack, the arrival of Megan Thynne from a football semi-final against Cavan that threw in at noon really curtailing Caitrin Dobbin in the corner that had the space. In the next two minutes after Coffey’s lead point, Antrim hit a wide and Maeve Kelly picked up a yellow card. Time seemed to be running out on the Saffrons. But the game isn’t over until the final whistle and Antrim amazingly turned it around in the last 30 seconds to snatch victory at the death.
Firstly Laoise McKenna played the sliotar down the left wing where Róisín McCormick broke clear and turned to hook over an equaliser. From the poc out Nicole O’Neill played the long ball in for Caitrín Dobbin to fire over the winner from an acute angle.It wasn’t a convincing performance from Antrim and they will need to improve significantly over the next week if they are to repeat their opening day victory over Down. But they got just enough scores to see them reach their first league final in a decade. However it was so different over the opening 25 minutes when they played into the breeze, took the game to Meath and could have been a lot further ahead on the score-board. During that period there were two points each for Caitrín Dobbin, Maeve Kelly and Anna Connolly and the Meath defence was under constant pressure, while the Antrim back-line had conceded just one point, and that from a free.
Then came that fairly soft penalty award that Jane Dolan struck low to the corner and Meath were rejuvenated. They came out for the second half a completely different team and the double substitution of Máire Kirby and Megan Thynne in the 38th minute put Antrim on the back foot. Thynne tied up the loose knots in defence and Kirby’s pace began to worry Antrim at the back. Kirby could have had a goal near the end, a few seconds after Antrim’s substitute Christina Laverty blasted their only real goal opportunity wide of the post.
All the scores in the third quarter came from frees with Dolan narrowing the gap to 0-9 to 1-4 at the second water break and it was the 48th minute that Grace Coleman reached high to fire over Meath’s first score from open play. Amy Gaffney drew the sides level then before Lucia McNaughton and Sinéad Hackett exchanged points to set up the added time drama.
Antrim : Cáitríona Graham, Katie McKillop, Caoimhe Conlon, Maria Lynn, Colleen Patterson, Niamh Donnelly, Laoise McKenna, Lucia McNaughton capt. 0-1, Amy Boyle, Maeve Kelly 0-2, Anna Connolly 0-2, Nicole O’Neill 0-3 frees, Róisín McCormick 0-1, Ciara Laverty, Caitrín Dobbin 0-3.Subs : Clare McKillop fpr C Patterson (50), Christine Laverty for Ciara Laverty (53)
Meath: Maggie Randle; Sophie Healy, Ellen Burke, Louise Donohue, Tracy King, Maeve Clince, Leah Devine; Kristina Troy capt., Áedin Slattery; Grace Coleman 0-1, Aoife Minogue, Amy Gaffney 0-1; Nadine Doyle, Jane Dolan 1-4. 1-0 pen, 4 frees, Sinéad Hackett 0-1.Subs used: Máire Kirby for N Doyle (38), Megan Thynne for S Healy (38), Claire Coffey 0-1 for G Cleman (54).Referee : Alan Doheny (Laois)
