Antrim fall short of dream end to the season

Louth 0-13

Antrim 1-8

By Daire Walsh

KATE Flood kicked four points at Croke Park on Sunday as Louth held off a stubborn challenge from Antrim to claim a record fourth TG4 All-Ireland junior football championship title.

It was the Ulster side who initially hit the ground running in GAA HQ with team skipper Bronagh Devlin superbly drilling a third-minute penalty into the roof of the Louth net after Theresa Mellon was adjudged to have been fouled inside the square off a Maria O’Neill free that dropped short.

Mellon followed up with a fine point for the Saffrons and even though Louth, who lost to Fermanagh in last year’s junior decider, eventually opened their account through Aoife Russell, Omolara Dahunsi reinforced Antrim’s early authority by splitting the posts at the opposite end.

Dahunsi also found the range in response to back-to-back points from Louth corner-forwards Russell and Ceire Nolan, but in the temporary absence of Bronagh Devlin for a yellow card offence, the Wee County cut their deficit to the bare minimum with impressive contributions from Flood and Shannen McLaughlin.

Although Antrim sharpshooter O’Neill was on target not long after Devlin’s return, unanswered points by captain Aine Breen and the ever-dependable Flood (two) ensured Louth brought a 0-8 to 1-4 cushion into the interval.

Antrim were still very much in the reckoning, however, and the team jointly-managed by Chris Scullion and Michael Devlin were back on level terms with a second point from O’Neill three minutes into the second period.

This effort squeezed O’Neill ahead of Hannah Tyrrell in the race for the ZuCar Golden Boot – in advance of the Dublin star’s appearance in the TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship final later in the afternoon – but centre-forward Eimear Byrne was on hand to restore Louth’s slender lead on 38 minutes.

An outstanding score from the increasingly-influential Flood left Louth two points to the good moving into the final-quarter and they were a step closer to another junior crown when Breen and substitute Mia Duffy added points in the 47th and 49th minutes respectively.

Lucy White subsequently increased Louth’s cushion and even though a late surge from Antrim produced three points on the bounce by Ana Mulholland, Mellon and O’Neill (a goal-bound effort that was deflected over the bar), the Wee County ultimately prevailed in the end.

Scorers
Louth: K Flood 0-4, A Breen, A Russell 0-2 each, S McLaughlin, L White, E Byrne, C Nolan, M Duffy 0-1 each.

Antrim: M O’Neill 0-3 (1f), B Devlin 1-0 (pen), T Mellon, O Dahunsi 0-2 each, A Mulholland 0-1.

LOUTH: R Lambe Fagan; R Beirth, E Hand, E Murray; H Lambe Sally, S McLaughlin, L Byrne; A Breen, A Halligan; L White, E Byrne, S Matthews; A Russell, K Flood, C Nolan.
Subs: M Duffy for Matthews (42), L Collins for Russell (56), G McCrave for Lambe Sally, Z Sweeney for White (both 59).

ANTRIM: A Devlin; N McIntosh, M Blaney, M Mulholland; S O’Neill, C Brown, C McKenna; A Mulholland, A Tubridy; T Mellon, M O’Neill, Aoife Kelly; B Devlin, O Dahunsi, L Agnew.
Subs: A Turley for Tubridy, A Monaghan for Kelly (both 39), B Nic Cathail for Agnew (47), N Jones for B Devlin, Aine Kelly for McKenna (both 56).

Referee: Kevin Corcoran (Mayo).