Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 4, Group A
Antrim 1-13 Fermanagh 1-6
A virtuosi performance from Orlaith Prenter steered Antrim Ladies to their first win of the season when they beat familiar foes Fermanagh in Sunday’s LGFA Division 4A opener at Davitt Park.
The Moneyglass maestro displayed her wide range of skills, especially in the first half, to guide the Saffron clad girls to a convincing win, sending over points with left foot, right foot, hitting five of her team’s first six scores. That other score came from Aoife Taggart who was on hand to stab the ball home after a Prenter free landed a bit short and was palmed into her path by Fermanagh goalkeeper Gleeson.
Antrim were seven to the good at the break, which was not an insurmountable hurdle, given the strength of the breeze. But, just as they had done in the first half the Antrim defence were in control, and though Fermanagh spent a lot more time in the Antrim half than they had in the first, the home side were never really too badly challenged.
When they did journey upfield they were much better in front of goal than their opponents, and Lara Dahusi hit two great scores to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Prenter saw a lot less of the ball than she had in the first half, but a point she scored from play from the right corner was worth the admission alone, turning her marker in the right corner before cutting in a curling one over with the left.
A confident start for the All Ireland Junior Champions, whose sights this year are surely set on promotion. London are calling on their next outing as they travel to Ruislip to take on the exiles, who lost out to the other team in the group, Carlow, on Sunday. If they get through that challenge then they are back in Belfast on March 5th for a vital clash with the Carlow girls in what should be a cracking game.
ANTRIM: A McCann; D Coleman, E Ferran, N McIntosh; S Tennyson, C Brown, S O’Neill; A Mulholland, L Dahunsi (0-2); T Mellon, C Carey, A Tubridy; B Devlin (0-1), O Prenter (0-9, 3 frees), A Taggart (1-1)
Subs: O Corr for T Mellon (37), C Taggart for A Tubridy (44), A Kelly for S Tennyson (48), B Cahill for A Taggart (53)
Yellow cards: A Mulholland (48), C Taggart (53)
FERMANAGH: R Gleeson; E Keenan, M McGloin, E Murphy; C Bogue, C Murphy, S McCarville; SJ Flanagan, A O’Brien; R O’Reilly (0-1 free), D Maguire (0-5, all frees), S Britton; B Bannon, N McManus, L Grew (1-0)
Subs: E McMahon for S Britton (44), C Martin for L Grew (45), A Maguire for C Bogue (46), A McCabe for B Bannon (57), E Tierney for SJ Flanagan (60+1)
Yellow cards: C Bogue (18), A O’Brien (45)
REFEREE: Christopher Morgan (Down)
