Longford ladies let a vital victory slip as Offaly battle back to snatch a draw
TG4 Ladies Football Leinster Junior Championship Group Stage - Away to Kilkenny in Round 3
Longford squandered a great chance of reaching the Ladies Football Leinster Junior Championship Final when they let a vital victory slip from their grasp in the Round 2 clash at the Daingean GAA grounds on Saturday.
Offaly . . . 1-8 Longford . . . 1-8
Minus the services of the injured Michelle Farrell (Colmcille), Longford held a slender 1-4 to 0-4 lead at the break with Sian Gallagher getting the crucial goal following a well-worked move and were looking good when they stretched that advantage to six points on the changeover.
A brace of scores from Hannah Burke, along with a free converted by Aoife Darcy, piled on the pressure for the fancied Offaly outfit but the home side gradually closed the gap to snatch a draw in a tense and exciting finish.
Longford went on the defensive to protect their lead and were outscored by 1-4 to 0-1 (Darcy free) during the remainder of the match they really had to win in order to reach the provincial title decider.
A yellow card sin-binning for centre-half-back Emma Bleakley during the course of the second half certainly hampered the cause and a landslide win away to Kilkenny in their remaining group fixture this Saturday (2pm) is now required by Dave Lambert’s improving team.
Presuming that Carlow will beat Offaly, scores difference will then determine who will contest the Leinster Junior final and Longford are depending on a swing of 44 points to pip the Faithful County for second spot.
Offaly hammered Kilkenny by a 36 point margin and while the task of turning things around is not impossible, the absence of Michelle Farrell is a big blow while Lauren McGuire is another casualty after being forced to retire injured in the first half down in Daingean.
Longford lost by seven points against Carlow in the opening round and will give it their best shot in the quest to qualify for the final of the stand alone competition with the All-Ireland Junior Championship still to come.
They were left to reflect on the dubious decision to disallow a Kamille Burke goal in a clash with the opposing keeper in the first half while the points in the same period were fired over by Aoife Darcy (two frees), McGuire (a fine strike) and Katie Crawford.
LONGFORD: Aoife Cooney (Clonguish); Aisling Scanlon (Mullinalaghta), Leanne Keegan (St Brigid’s Gaels Ardagh), Emma Doris (Killoe); Sorcha Dawson (Ballymore), Emma Bleakley (Dromard), Emma Farrell (St Brigid’s Gaels); Sian Gallagher (St Brigid’s Gaels, 1-0), Shauna Hagan (Dromard); Aoife Nolan (Rathcline), Lauren McGuire (Carrickedmond, 0-1), Hannah Burke (Clonguish, 0-2); Katie Crawford (Carrickemond, 0-1), Kamille Burke (Clonguish), Aoife Darcy (Clonguish, 0-4, all frees).
Subs:- Funmi Talabi (Mostrim) for L McGuire (injured); Amy Creegan (Ballymore) for H Burke.