Longford let lead slip in a hard earned draw against Carlow

Carlow . . . 1-8   Longford . . . 1-8

Boosted by a brilliant start with a goal from Grace Shannon in the opening minute and who ended up leading by the comfortable margin of five points at the break (1-4 to 0-2), Longford eventually had to settle for a draw against Carlow who staged a determined comeback in the second half. 

The SETU Campus in Carlow was the venue for the Lidl National League Division 4 clash on Sunday last and this result keeps alive the hopes of Pat Tiernan’s side reaching the semi-finals with their next fixture away against unbeaten Limerick on Sunday February 11.  

Carlow looked to have completed a terrific recovery when they hit the front with time running out in the Round 3 fixture following a point from Bronagh Nolan but resilient Longford managed to engineer a last gasp attack which yielded the equalising score from an excellent free converted by Niamh Brady. 

With the advantage of the stiff wind, Longford started off the first half well with a great early strike for the Grace Shannon goal in the first minute. The visitors continued to press Carlow for the first ten minutes and scored two frees from Niamh Brady.

Carlow produced their first score with a well taken point from Rachel Sawyer. Within seconds of the Carlow point, Longford broke up the field with some slick passes ending with Clodagh Logan shooting an excellent point. Longford were in control for most of the first half with three wides that could have been scores.

With seconds to go before the half-time whistle, Longford keeper Riane McGrath made a fine save and in the immediate counter-attack Lauren McGuire scored the last point of the first half.

In the second half Longford were pressed back into their own half by a much improved Carlow side with the significant aid of the elements. Having said that, Longford had a second goal chance with good play from Clodagh Logan and Edel Sheehy but Clodagh’s strike was hit wide with four minutes gone on the changeover.

Niamh Brady opened the scoring in the second half with another fine free but moments later Carlow moved quickly up the field to score a lovely point from Megan Townsend. The home side pressed on to get another couple of points through Roisin Bailey and Ruth Birmingham.

Longford’s next score came from another free from Niamh Brady before Carlow moved swiftly up the field to score a point from Sara Doyle. Carlow had taken the game by the scruff of the neck and were pushing Longford hard.

Carlow had stepped up another gear with Clíodhna Ní She sticking the ball in the bottom corner of the net for a well-taken goal. Ní She, Carlow’s most influential player, scored another point to leave the sides all square.

Within minutes Carlow went in front for the first time with a good point from Bronagh Nolan but Longford dug deep for the last couple of minutes and their perseverance was rewarded when Niamh Brady converted another excellent free to snatch a draw.

CARLOW: Nicole Hanley; Aoife Carroll, ⁠Anne Roche, Sinead McCullagh; Ruth Bermingham (0-1), Niamh Murphy, Niamh Forde; Megan Townsend (0-1), Roisin Bailey (0-1); ⁠Edel Hayden, Bronagh Nolan (0-1), Sara Doyle (0-1); Rachel Sawyer (0-1), ⁠Maeve O’Neill, Clíodhna Ní She (1-2).

Subs:- Fia Murphy for R Bailey; Katie Tunstead for R Bermingham; Tara Lyons for M O’Neill.

 LONGFORD: Riane McGrath; ⁠Leah Shannon, ⁠Eimear O’Brien, Grace Kenny; ⁠Orla Nevin, ⁠Funmi Talabi, Caoimhe McCormack; Sian Gallagher, ⁠Shauna Hagan; Lauren McGuire (0-1), Grace Shannon (1-0), Caoimhe Logan; Clodagh Logan (0-1), Niamh Brady (0-6), Katelyn McKeon.

Subs:- Elle Lynn for K McKeon; Rachel McGee for F Talabi; Edel Sheedy for L McGuire; Kamille Burke for Caoimhe Lohan.