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2019 TG4 Munster Ladies Football Senior Championship – Waterford 1-12 Kerry 2-4

Name: 2019 TG4 Munster Ladies Football Senior Championship – Waterford 1-12 Kerry 2-4
Start: 2019-05-11T17:00:00+00:00
End: 2019-05-11T19:00:00+00:00
Location: Cusack Park Ennis

May 11, 2019 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Waterford defeated Kerry by 1-12 to 2-4 in the 2019 TG4 Munster Ladies Football Senior Championship on Saturday May 11th at Cusack Park, Ennis.

🗞️ REPORT:

Landers to the rescue as @WaterfordLGFA hold on to win against @kerryladiesfoot https://t.co/V7xJl20fP7 @SportTG4 @MunsterLGFA SFC Round 1#properfan

— Ladies Football (@LadiesFootball) May 11, 2019

**FOR IMMEDIATE USE**

TG4 MUNSTER SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Waterford 1-12
Kerry 2-4

By DECLAN ROONEY
At Cusack Park, Ennis

Waterford took a massive step towards the TG4 Munster SFC final as Eimear Fennell’s first-half goal helped them to victory after a pulsating encounter at Cusack Park.

Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh bagged a goal in each half and had a late penalty brilliantly saved by Rosie Landers, but a run of seven unanswered points after the break meant Waterford had enough for the win.

Six days on from the Lidl NFL Division 2 final meeting between the sides, there was no defensive set-up on show for Kerry despite conceding five goals in that game, and instead they looked the better team early on.

And after Sarah Houlihan started the scoring with a free from the right, some smart interplay play from Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh saw her pulled down and the penalty was awarded. Waterford defender Kate McGrath was sin-binned for the foul, and Ní Mhuircheartaigh converted the penalty to put her side 1-1 to 0-0 ahead after 11 minutes.

While Waterford thrived in front of goal last week, they had their struggles in the first-half in Ennis, and they accumulated seven wides by the break. But while they were reduced to 14 players they launched a strong comeback.

With Eimear Fennell looking dangerous inside the chances continued to flow, and when she forced a turnover close to goal, she carried and fired to the net in the 17th minute for Waterford’s first score.
Fennell levelled matters soon after with a great point, which was laid on by Michelle Ryan, but Kerry didn’t take long to reclaim the lead when Houlihan slotted her second free of the game.
And four minutes from the break, midfielder Emma Murray popped up to hit the levelling point, which meant the sides were tied at 1-2 each at half-time.

While the first-half was largely dominated by Kerry, it was Waterford that bossed the third quarter. Maria Delahunty’s free gave them he lead for the first time a minute after the restart, and Eimear Fennell added to that advantage soon after with a booming point from distance. When Delahunty slotted a free from the ground Waterford had scored four points in a row and led by three.

Chloe Fennell soon got in on the act for Waterford, and Delahunty kicked her first point from play to make it 1-7 to 1-2. Ryan kicked Waterford’s seventh straight point of the second-half, before Niamh Carmody stopped the rot, and eight minutes from time Ní Mhuircheartaigh hit her second goal, which closed the gap to three.

Three minutes from time Ní Mhuircheartaigh could have levelled matters but her penalty was brilliantly saved by Landers, and after that Waterford held solid to take the win.

Scorers – Waterford: E Fennell 1-3, M Delahunty 0-3 (2f), E Murray 0-1, C Fennell 0-1, R Tobin 0-1, M Ryan 0-1, A Wall 0-1, K Murray 0-1.

Kerry: L Ní Mhuircheartaigh 2-1 (1-0pen), S Houlihan 0-2 (2f), N Carmody 0-1.

Waterford: R Landers; A Mullaney, C McGrath, R Casey; Kate McGrath, Karen McGrath (c), R Tobin; E Murray, K Murray; K Hogan, C Fennell, M Delahunty; E Fennell, M Ryan, A Wall.
Subs: C McCarthy for Mullaney (56), S Dunphy for E Fennell (60).

Kerry: K Cronin; E Lynch, A Desmond, C O’Brien; S Lynch, A O’Connell, M O’Keeffe; L Scanlon, A Brosnan (c); C Murphy, A Galvin, N Carmody; S Houlihan, L Ní Mhuircheartaigh, H O’Donoghue.
Subs: L Coughlan for Desmond (14), E Dineen for O’Keeffe (39), F Tangney for Galvin (47), B Ryan for Brosnan (57), E McGlynn for Houlihan (60).

Referee: Kevin O’Brien (Limerick).

Fixture Details

Saturday May 11th
Munster Senior Football Championship Quarter-Final
TG4 Munster Ladies Football Senior Championship
Kerry v Waterford
Venue: Cusack Park Ennis @ 5pm
Referee: Kevin O’Brien (Limerick)

Match Preview

Saturday May 11:

TG4 Munster SFC – Kerry v Waterford; Cusack Park, Ennis (5.0).

Waterford ran riot against Kerry at Parnell Park last Sunday, scoring 5-13 to land the Lidl NFL Division 2 crown.

It was a significant psychological blow struck by the Déise ahead of the TG4 Championship start and the big question now is can they replicate that? Kerry will have been hurting all week and surely desperate for the chance to make swift amends. It’s not often that sport presents the opportunity to right the wrongs of defeat to a previous opponent within a matter of days – but that chance has come for Kerry.

Defensively, the Kingdom will have to tighten up beyond all recognition, as Waterford’s majestic interplay in attack cut them open time and time again last weekend. They’ve made two changes following last Sunday’s chastening experience, with goalkeeper Kayleigh Cronin and Sophie Lynch coming into the team ahead of Robyn White and Sarah Murphy respectively. For Waterford, there’s just the one change, with Aisling Mullaney coming in for Megan Dunford, a substitution that was made during last Sunday’s tie.

Team News

Kerry (v Waterford): K Cronin; T Breen, A Desmond, C O’Brien; S Lynch, A O’Connell, M O’Keeffe; L Scanlon, A Brosnan (capt.); C Murphy, A Galvin, N Carmody; S Houlihan, L Ní Mhuircheartaigh, H O’Donoghue.

Waterford (v Kerry): R Landers; A Mullaney, C McGrath, R Casey; Kate McGrath, Karen McGrath (capt.), R Tobin; E Murray, K Murray; K.A. Hogan, C Fennell, M Delahunty; E Fennell, M Ryan, A Wall.