All-Ireland ladies championship round-up
November 15, 2020
Monaghan's Ellen McCarron (right) celebrates with Jane Drury after scoring a goal against Galway. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.
Compiled by Declan Rooney
The 2020 TG4 All-Ireland Senior Semi-Finalists have been confirmed with champions Dublin set to face Armagh, while Cork and Galway will do battle in the other last-four clash following this weekend’s last round of games.
Meanwhile, in the Intermediate Championship Semi-Finals, Meath will face Clare, and Roscommon and Westmeath with fight it out for a spot in the TG4 All-Ireland decider.
Following a heart-racing encounter, Galway survived a late shock against Monaghan to claim top spot in Group 2 following their 2-13 to 3-9 victory in Carrick-on-Shannon.
Monaghan struck three goals in the closing stages to send Galway nerves jangling, but Lynsey’s Noone’s goal four minutes from the end proved to be a key score for Galway, who had Fabienne Cooney sent off just before half-time.
Cork will play Galway on Sunday, 6 December in the last four following their comprehensive 7-9 to 2-6 victory over Cavan.
Three goals from Áine Terry O’Sullivan and two more from Saoirse Noonan saw Cork pick up a second win in a row to progress.
Meanwhile, the only non-seeded team to make it to the TG4 All-Ireland SFC knock out stages is Armagh following their 4-12 to 1-16 victory over Mayo on Saturday, and they will now face Dublin on Saturday, 28 November. Aimee Mackin struck 2-7 for her side in a lethal attacking performance, while Kelly Mallon and Catherine Marley also hit the net for Ronan Murphy’s side.
At the back the Armagh defence had an excellent day. Tiarna Grimes was outstanding as she shadowed Sarah Rowe throughout, while Sarah Marley and Anna Carr also delivered key moments for their side.
Mayo only lost touch with Armagh in the closing stages, with Deidre Doherty keeping them in touch, while Fiona Doherty’s goal had Peter Leahy’s side level midway through the second half.
Saturday’s opening game saw Donegal defeat Waterford on a 2-13 to 0-9 scoreline, but the Ulster side were totally dominant in this clash. Goals from Karen Guthrie and Geraldine McLaughlin in the first eight minutes gave them a steady platform to build from, and although Chloe Fennell scored six points for Waterford, their poor start hampered their progress.
Dublin had already sealed top spot in Group 3, so victory for Donegal sees them end their season with a victory.
In today’s TG4 Intermediate Championship, all the excitement centered around Group 4, where Clare emerged as pool winners thanks to their 7-18 to 0-2 win over Sligo, while Kildare slipped up against Laois.
In the end Clare, Kildare and Laois all finished on six points in the pool with two wins each, but Clare’s comprehensive win over Sligo was vital to their scoring difference, where a hat-trick from Amy Sexton was key to Clare’s progress to the last four.
Clare had to wait for the result of the Laois versus Kildare game to filter through before their progress was confirmed, but eight points from Mo Nerney and goals from Sarah Anne Fitzgerald and Leah Tarpey helped Laois to a 2-13 to 3-8 victory.
Meath will be Clare’s opponents in the semi-final, and after the Royals had made sure of their qualification last week, Down edged past Leitrim on a 3-12 to 1-10 scoreline in the only Group 3 game of the weekend.
The second Intermediate Semi-Final will feature neighbours Roscommon and Westmeath. Roscommon came strong in the end following a goal-fest with Offaly. Sinead Glennon hit the net twice in the closing stages to edge the 5-10 to 4-4 win for Roscommon.
And Westmeath picked up their second convincing win of the competition as Ciara Blundell’s second-half brace of goals and Leona Archibold’s first-half penalty helped the midlanders to a 3-11 to 1-5 win.
Results
TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship
TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship
Westmeath 3-11 Louth 1-5
Roscommon 5-10 Offaly 4-4
Down 3-12 Leitrim 1-10
Clare 7-18 Sligo 0-2
Laois 2-13 Kildare 3-8
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