LGFA NFL Division 4
Antrim 4-14 Derry 2-6
Antrim retained their unbeaten run in division 4 when they travelled to Owenbeg on Sunday to take on Derry in their final league game and came away with a resounding victory on a final scoreline of 4-14 to 2-6.
Antrim started off so slowly and just weren’t playing with their usual fluency and it took them ten minutes to raise a flag when captain, Bronagh Devlin opened the scoring with a point.
Orla Corr then took a great point from distance and on 15 minutes Ciara Brown fisted over the bar after carrying the ball all of 60 meters.
The visitors appeared to have taken their foot of the pedal at this stage and conceded 2-3 in a ten minute period to see them move ahead.
Rocked by the Derry onslaught the Saffron fouind a response and Nicole Jones fired over two points and Bronagh Devlin raised another white flag just before the break to send Antrim in at the interval trailing by three.
The Antrim management team rung the changes at the break and it seemed to have the desired effect as Luisne Adams scored a great individual point to open their second half account and then some brilliant interchanging of passes between Aoife Kelly and Maria O Neill saw the latter plant the ball in the bottom corner of the Derry net.
This score completely changed the complexion of the game and Antrim went on a scoring spree as the impressive Lara Dahunsi scored goal number two and the equally impressive Aine Lynch slotted over two points in quick succession.
Laura Agnew then sent Ana Mulholland through with a pin point pass and she fisted the ball over the bar as the Antrim challenge continued to gain momentum.
The Saffron girls continued to press and Blaithin ni Cahill scored two points in quick succession and then unselfishly laid off a pass to Dahunsi who again found the Derry net.
The visitor’s pressure continued and Theresa Mellon, who was causing Derry endless problems with her direct running set up two points for Lara Dahunsi and Marie O’Neill and as the game move into injury time, O’Neill got her second goal after showing great bravery to palm the ball to the Derry net.
The Antrim management team said after the game “We gave all the squad good game time today and now look forward to our league semi-final against Leitrim who are the current all Ireland intermediate champions. A big performance will be required if Antrim are to reach the league final”
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