Ladies plunged into relegation battle

All-Ireland ladies SFC

Cavan 1-8

Tipperary 2-6

Kevin Óg Carney at Kingspan Breffni

Cavan’s flagship ladies football team suffered an agonising defeat at Kingspan Breffni on Saturday last in a dramatic All-Ireland SFC Group A Round Three tie.

The blues looked set to bag their first points of the season when leading by two points going into added-on time at the end of the second half.

However, in a last-ditch attack, Tipperary attacker Angela McGuigan was fouled in the square and it was left to team-mate Emma Morrissey to put away her injury-time spot-kick which ensures that Tipperary will be showcasing their skills in ladies football’s top flight in 2023.

Meanwhile, shell-shocked Cavan will now face a play-off against Westmeath to avoid being relegated to IFC ranks for the coming year.

Top scorer Morrissey’s skill in finding the postage stamp with aplomb with 62 minutes on the clock brought to a climax a game that never really caught fire on a dry but windy day.

In what was a free-flowing but tense and fractured game for the most part, Tipp won most of the battles and, most crucially, the war itself to take the spoils.

Tipp first hit the jackpot in the 14th minute when midfielder Marie Creedon combined with late call-up Róisín Howard to put match winner Morrissey through for a clinically-taken goal.

Morrissey’s major propelled the visitors into a 1-2 to 0-2 advantage after the hosts had a point apiece from Lauren McVeety and Niamh Keenahan (13).

Sadly, wind-backed Cavan were very ordinary in the first half and laboured thereafter to eat into Tipp’s cushioned lead.

However, thanks, in the main, to top scorer McVeety’s free-taking, Cavan hung in there a long-range effort (27) from the Crosserlough ace helping to cut Tipp’s interval lead to a very manageable two points, 1-4 to 0-5.

It continued to be a claustrophobic affair on the break with a preponderance of the play being concentrated in the middle third of the field and with the respective defences on top for the most part.

The game seemed to Tipp’s to lose on the restart but six bad wides by the visitors in the third quarter seemed to let an improving Cavan off the hook as the third quarter gathered pace.

Gerry Moane’s crew seemed to have been handed a lifeline in the 48th minute when Geraldine Sheridan was fouled in the square but Lauren McVeety’s spot-kick was parried by Tipp’ ‘keeper Lauren Fitzpatrick before being hacked clear.

Cavan eventually broke the second half stalemate in the 49th minute with a pin-point long range effort by impressive sub. Cara McCaffrey which left the minimum between the sides, 0-6 to 1-4.

Cavan then struck gold in the 51st minute when McVeety put behind her the penalty miss to fire home a daisycutter after a storming run by Geraldine Sheridan through the heart of the visitors’ defence.

However, Tipp had a sting in their tail; leaving their best wine ‘til last to leave the Breffni belles punch drunk and on the brink of going through the relegation trap door.

Cavan: Elaine Brady; Kate McIntyre, Shauna Lynch, Erin Longair; Sínead Greene, Laura Fitzpatrick, Mona Sheridan; Neasa Byrd, Annie Deneher; Niamh Keenaghan (0-1), Lauren McVeety (1-4, 3f), Aisling Walls; Ally Cahill, Geraldine Sheridan, Aisling Gilsenan (0-1, f).

Subs: Cara McCaffrey (0-2) for A Walls; Aine Reilly for A Cahill (55).

Tipperary: Lauren Fitzpatrick; Elaine Kelly, Lucy Spillane, Emma Cronin; Nora Martin, Niamh Martin, Cliona O’Dwyer Marie Creedon (0-1), Aoibhe O’Shea; Ciara English, Angela McGuigan, Róisín Howard; Emma Morrissey (2-4, 3f), Lorraine O’Shea (0-1), Maureen Murphy.

Sub; Sara Ryan for L O’Shea (47); Neasa Towey for M Murphy.

Ref: Declan Carolan (Down)