Cork rally to reach semi-final
CORK manager Ephie Fitzgerald saluted his side’s spirit as they pulled clear of Mayo in the final stages to qualify for the Lidl NFL Division 1 semi-final.
Niamh Cotter, Doireann O’sullivan, Orla Farmer and Rhona Ní Bhuachalla all scored goals for Cork, who were pushed hard by Mayo, for whom Emma Needham and Sinead Cafferky hit the net.
“We started the game sluggishly and that’s not like us,” said Fitzgerald, whose side join Dublin, Donegal and Galway in the semi-finals.
“The second-half was more of a reflection of how we played, but we can’t be waiting for 30 minutes to start performing.
“The response from them was excellent. Dioreann (O’sullivan) got a great goal and that relaxed us, and from there we played really well.”
Donegal only needed a point to make it into the knock-out stages, but Karen Guthrie ensured they claimed all three in Letterkenny with a six-point haul.
Despite the loss, Westmeath cannot now be relegated after Tipperary did them a favour and defeated Monaghan in Thurles.
The accuracy of freetaker Aishling Moloney was key for Tipp, while Caitlin Kennedy’s goal wrapped up the win.
“We are, very relieved,” said manager Shane Roynane. “It wasn’t pretty but that was going to be the nature of it. Monaghan are a very proud county and they knew coming down today that they had to win the game.
“We would have had a different challenge next week if we hadn’t got the result today but we’re delighted, we’re relieved to stay up.”
Sinead Aherne and Siobhan Woods hit goals as Dublin ended Galway’s unbeaten run with a hard-fought fourpoint win in Moycullen.