Lidl Ladies’ NFL Division One, round five
Armagh 2-15 Kildare 1-7
ARMAGH kept their 100 per cent record with an 11-point victory over Kildare in Silverbridge yesterday.
This one could have been a potential banana skin for the league champions, with Kildare, last year’s Division Two winners, having recorded victories over Dublin and Meath, but when Niamh Henderson fired to the back of the net for the second week running in the sixth minute, Armagh were always in control.
The visitors opened the scoring in the second minute through Ruth Sargent but that was cancelled out by Moya Feehan in the fifth minute, as Armagh went 1-4 without reply – Niamh Reel, Eve Lavery and Reel again helping their side to a six-point lead by the 18th minute.
Kildare grabbed a second point in the 19th minute from Neasa Dooley but Blaithin Mackin and Lavery rounded off the scoring for Armagh and a 1-6 to 0-2 half-time lead.
The Orchard county dominated the second half, and although Kildare got a late consolidation goal, Leah McGovern with an easy finish after Anna Carr had initially denied Sargent from close range, they were 2-15 to 1-6 adrift, Emily Druse with Armagh’s second major minutes after Grace Ferguson, Lauren McConville, Reel (2), Lavery and Caoimhe McNally had increased their points tally.
A purple patch for Kildare yielded 1-2 without reply, but Joe Feeney and Darnell Parkinson’s side finished off their own scoring with Henderson and Reel, who brought her tally to six points, that included four from play, on target as Armagh move a step closer to back-to-back Division One final appearances.
Tyrone 0-6 Waterford 6-15
TYRONE’S relegation fears increased yesterday with a heavy defeat to Waterford at St Davog’s Aghyaran.
Although Darren McCann’s side have a win under their belts, that coming against Mayo, they are in the relegation zone, second from bottom, ahead only of Mayo.
With the bottom two teams going down, and the two teams above them – Dublin and Waterford moving four points ahead – after the weekend’s results, the pressure is mounting with just two games remaining.
Tyrone found themselves 3-8 to 0-2 down at half-time, Chloe McCaffrey (free) and Meabh Mallon raising the white flags.
Lauren McGregor, who finished with a hat-trick of goals, got her first in the fifth minute and that really set the tone for the afternoon with further goals from Chloe Fennell and Katie Murray.
McGregor completed her hat-trick in the second half when she converted from the penalty spot, while Kelly Ann Hogan got Waterford’s other goal as she finished with 1-8, including six points from frees. Mallon, Slaine McCaroll, Niamh O’Neill and Maria Canavan added Tyrone’s second half points.