Lidl National Football League.
Division 3A Round 2.
Report for Sunday’s NFL Div 3 Round 2 match for Down Senior Ladies.
Final Score Down 3-12 Roscommon 5-15.
Down Ladies Perform Well Against A Well Drilled Rosscommon Team But Lose Out On Points.
Down Senior Ladies continued their National League Football campaign with a 9 point defeat against Roscommon Ladies in Kiltoom, Co Roscommon, on Sunday afternoon. Conditions were extremely warm and the ball was moving fast on the surface of the pitch.
The Down ladies got off to a quick start, winning the first ball and Mairead Kavanagh putting one over the bar for the opening score. Roscommon responded with some quick played balls and pointing two scores (Laura Fleming & Aisling Hanly).
Roscommon’s Jennifer Higgins kept their scoring streak going. Higgins turned the ball over and made a well placed pass which ended in Hanly palming it in for a goal, followed by another point from free in the 11th minute.
Down worked the ball through the hands building their attack from defence. This resulted in Down seeing their second and third scores of the match, points from Meghan Doherty and Jess Foy.
Roscommon answered with another goal in the 16th minute, just before the first water break leaving it Down 0-03 Roscommon 2-03. Roscommon were slow to return to the field after the water break and the referee restarted the game.
Down took advantage of this with Natasha Ferris putting one in the back of the net. Roscommon retaliated with another point. Down found their momentum and pointed another two scores in quick succession from Aoife Keown & Ferris.
Then Roscommon worked the ball back up the pitch to point another score in the 25th minute (Higgins). Down’s Clara Fitzpatrick went down with an ankle injury and was substituted by Orna Kelly.
Further substitutes on the Down team saw Emily Martin replace Cara Cunnigham and Aisling Cull replace Natasha Ferris. Roscommon continued their scoring spree pointing another 2 scores before the half-time whistle leaving Roscommon leading at half-time 2-07 to Down 1-05.
Down came out strong in the second half winning the ball from throw in and pointing the first two scores of the second half from Keown (1) & Aoife Laverty (1).
Roscommon were slower to start, pointing their first score in the 35th minute from a free, with Down also pointing a score from a free in the 37th minute by Foy. Further substitutes for Down saw Captain Laoise Duffy for Kavanagh and Orla Swail for Sarah Dougherty.
The Roscommon blanket defence was making it difficult for the Down attack. In the 42nd minute a well-placed high ball in from Keown found Foy who palmed it in for a goal, bringing the teams level.
The home team followed with another point. Down substituted Natalie Mc Kibbin for Laverty. She impacted the game straight away giving them a burst of speed in their attacks, and resulted in a point from Laoise Duffy in the 44th minute.
This did not deter Roscommon who kept their attack going, scoring 2-01 before the second water break. Down made further changes with Anne-marie Magee replacing Scullion. After the second water break Down continued their attack with a free pointed by Aisling Cull, followed by a Doherty goal. Roscommon responded with another point.
Orla Swail pointed a lovely score from a difficult angle in the 56th minute. Another Down substitution seen Kate Mc Kay replace Doherty. Roscommon made quick exchanges of the ball looking to rebuild an attack.
This paid off with Rachel Fitzmaurice scoring a goal in the 59th minute, putting Roscommon back into a 7 point lead. Foy pointed another score in the final minute for Down, but some solid goalkeeping from Roscommon’s Cummins denied Down some scoring chances.
The Roscommon attack continued, scoring another 2 points from frees to seal their win.
Final Score Down 3-12 Roscommon 5-15
Next up is an away fixture against Fermanagh on Sunday 6th June in Kinawley.
Down Scorers
Natasha Ferris 1-01
Jessica Foy 1-02(0-02F)
Mairead Kavanagh 0-01
Aoife Keown 0-02
Meghan Doherty 1-01
Aoife Laverty 0-01
Aisling Cull 0-02 (0-01F)
Laoise Duffy 0-01
Orla Swail 0-01
Down Team: Aisling Burns, Cara Cunningham, Ciara Byrne, Kim White, Orla Duffy, Meghan Doherty, Oonagh Lavery, Aoife Keown, Clara Fitzpatrick, Niamh Scullion, Jessica Foy, Mairead Kavanagh, Aoife Laverty, Natasha Ferris, Sarah Dougherty, Adair Trainor, Aisling Cull, Amy McGivern, Anna Marie Magee, Aoibheann McCarvill, Cristin Brown, Eimear Fitzpatrick, Emily Martin, Kate McKay, Laoise Duffy, Natalie McKibbin, Orlagh Blaney, Orla Swail, Orna Kelly & Paige Smyth.
Roscommon Scorers
Laura Fleming 1-06 (0-05F)
Aisling Hanly 2-01
Rebecca Finan 1-03 (0-01F)
Jennifer Higgins 0-03
Natalie Mc Hugh 0-02
Rachel Fitzmaurice 1-00
