TG4 All Ireland Ladies Football Intermediate Championship Quarter-Final – Tipperary 3-11 Longford 3-10

TG4 All Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Quarter Final – Tipperary 3-11 Longford 3-10

Report from the Tipperary Ladies Football web site

St. Brendan’s Park, Birr, Co. Offaly was the venue for the epic TG4 All Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Quarter Final on Saturday last. Well done to both Tipperary and Longford who served up a great game of Ladies Gaelic Football for all their supporters on the day. Tipperary won the toss and opted to play against the strong breeze in the first half and Longford were the first to register a point in the first minute by Claire Greene. In the seventh minute Edel Hanley equalised the sides when she pointed the first free of the day but moments later Longford’s Anne Marie Bratton scored a goal. In the 13th minute Longford’s Sharon Tracey added another point to stretch their lead out to four points and but for some poor wides at this stage, Longford could have gone further in front. Against the run of play, Edel Hanley reduced the deficit with a pointed free after 20 minutes before registering a goal a minute later to bring the sides level. Longford replied with an Anne Marie Bratton point to retake the lead before a free by Tipperary goalie Patricia Hickey was intercepted and sent to the net from all of forty metres by Longford’s Michelle Farrell. In the final six minutes of the first half Tipperary would score two more points to Longford’s single point leaving the half-time score – Longford 2-4 Tipperary 1-4

The heavy rain that fell in the first half passed away and the second half was a drier affair with the wind dying down as well. Tipperary came out with an Edel Hanley goal from a free to straight away equalise the match. This was to be quickly followed in the second minute with another goal from Mairead Morrissey. For the next fifteen minutes this goal would keep the teams separated in what had become a very tight game with a point in the balance. However, Longford were never too far away and in the forty seventh minute their captain, Sharon Tracey would score a goal to give them the lead by a point. In the fiftieth minute Edel Hanley would score a point to bring the sides level again. In the final ten minutes of the game, Tipperary went down to 14 players as Claire Carroll received a yellow card. To their credit, Tipperary battled hard to keep Longford at bay in this period with Patricia Hickey making two outstanding saves. Another Edel Hanley free put Tipperary in front only to see Longford equalise with a minute to go to force extra time – final score at the end of normal time was 3-9 to 3-9.

After a well-earned break for the players (and supporters), two visibly tired teams took to the field for the extra 20 minutes of play. Tipperary again opted to play against the wind but it was less of a factor now. Longford starting the scoring in the fifth minute with a point from Michelle Farrell, however Tipperary replied in the eighth minute with a point from a free taken by Edel Hanley. The half time whistle with both teams level again, would they be separated? In the twelfth minute of the extra period Sheelagh Carew would score the final point of the game to put Tipperary in the lead which they managed to hold onto until the final whistle. Tipperary 3-11 Longford 3-10. Tipperary are now looking forward to an All-Ireland Intermediate Semi Final while Longford will reflect on the day and the missed chances they had with 15 wides to Tipperary’s 6 wides.

Tipperary Team: Patricia Hickey (Brian Borus), Mairead Morrissey (Brian Borus), Samantha Lambert (Ardfinnan), Rachel Kennelly (Aherlow), Brid Condon (Aherlow), Claire Carroll (Galtee Rovers), Barbara Ryan (Moyle Rovers), Jennifer Grant (Brian Borus), Aisling McCarthy (Cahir), Niamh Lonergan (Moyle Rovers), Lorraine O’Shea (Mullinahone), Gillian O’Brien (Moyle Rovers), Edel Hanley (Aherlow), Catriona Walsh (Moycarkey Borris), Laura Dillon (Ardfinnan)

Scorers: Edel Hanley 2-7 (1-6 frees), Mairead Morrissey 1-1, Lorraine O’Shea 0-1, Gillian O’Brien 0-1, Shellagh Carew 0-1.

Subs used: Sheelagh Carew (Cappawhite), Anne O’Dwyer (Cappawhite), Kelly Hackett (Moycarkey Borris), Sinead Delahunty (Foxrock/Cabinteely), Aoife Ryan (Cappawhite)

–