Derry girls left heart-broken as late goal takes heavy toll
DERRY endured heartbreak in yesterday’s Lidl Ladies All-Ireland Junior Football Championship semi-final when they lost to Louth by 3-7 to 2-9 at the Aghaloo club complex in Aughnacloy.
The Oak Leaf side appeared to be on their way to victory with ten minutes remaining but a serious injury incurred by Louth full-back Michelle McMahon meant that the game had to be held up for fifty minutes before she was removed to hospital by ambulance.
When the game eventually resumed, it was clear that Derry had lost their momentum and a third goal scored by Kate Flood proved crucial in taking Louth into an All-Ireland meeting with Meath who beat Roscommon in the other semi-final.
Derry players and officials were devastated at the finish, their All-Ireland hopes having been reduced to debris.
“We had been well in the game at half-time and indeed we looked to have seized the initiative after the break but there is no doubt that the unfortunate injury suffered by the Louth player occasioned a lengthy break and we were not able to regain our earlier tempo when the game resumed,” said Derry ladies secretary Paul Grant.
Goals from Katy Holly and Claragh Connor had helped Derry into a 2-9 to 2-7 lead after they had been on level terms (2-3 to 0-9) at the break but Flood’s late, late goal was to prove decisive.
It was her second of the game as her first-half goal allied to another from Bonnie Fleming looked to have put Louth in a comfortable position before Derry’s spirited revival.
And there was also disappointment for Donegal on the All-Ireland senior ladies front when they lost to Cork by 2-11 to 0-11 in a keenly-contested semi-final.
While the Ulster side were able to match their opponents in most sectors of play, it was in terms of finding the net that Cork held the upper hand.
Orla Finn sent them on their way to victory with a first-half goal that enabled her side to enjoy a 1-6 0-5 interval lead and when substitute Saoirse Noonan found the net for the second time after the break the writing was on the wall for Donegal.
Geraldine McLaughlin who hit five points and Karen Guthrie who helped herself to four scooped the lion’s share of the losers’ scores but the fact that the team missed goal chances was to cost them dearly in the end.