Longford ladies in Lidl National League action away to Wicklow

Their opening fixture is away to Wicklow in Aughrim this Sunday (throw-in 3pm), followed by a home game against Kildare at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Sunday February 20. The group stage in the league will be complete on Sunday March 6 away to Wexford.

Should Longford reach the semi-finals they will meet one of the qualifiers from Division 3B comprising Down, Louth, Roscommon and Sligo. 

Although they eventually ended up in a relegation battle last year in the Intermediate championship, a most notable highlight was a wonderful win over the eventual All-Ireland champions Westmeath in the opening round of the group stage.

Longford showed a lot of promise on that occasion but missed out on a place in the quarter-finals after the unlucky single point defeat against Wexford and the subsequent setback against Sligo.

As it turned out, Wexford ended up in the All-Ireland final when they crashed to a heavy defeat against Westmeath while it was a completely different route for Longford in the relegation play-offs. 

Although they lost against Roscommon, there was a second survival chance for Brian Noonan’s charges against Fermanagh and they just about managed to avoid the drop down into the junior grade.

Longford held out to win by the minimum of margins (0-9 to 0-8) but it almost ended in heartbreak but for a superb save by keeper Riane McGrath to stop a goal deep into stoppage time. 

The line-out against Fermanagh at the Mullahoran grounds at the end of August was as follows:

Riane McGrath; Eimear O’Brien, Leanne Keegan, Katie Crawford; Michelle Noonan, Orla Nevin, Ciara Mulligan; Michelle Farrell  (0-4, 2fs), Aoife O’Brien; Louise Monaghan, Aisling Cosgrove, Sarah Shannon (0-2,1f); Hannah Glennon, Emer Heaney (0-1), Clare Farrell.

Subs:- Niamh Darcy for K Crawford (first half stoppage time); Ciara Healy (0-2) for Heaney (injured) and Lauren McGuire for H Glennon (first half stoppage time); Kara Shannon for M Noonan (52 mins).