Galway 3-11 Meath 1-17

Galway 3-11

Meath 1-17

 

GALWAY and Meath must do it all again next Saturday
in Kingspan Breffni Park after playing out an epic TG4 All-Ireland
ladies SFC quarter-final draw at Portlaoise at the weekend. 

The sides couldn’t be separated after extra-time at O’Moore
Park on Saturday and so they must meet again.

 

Meath – a county once renowned as the comeback kings –
might just have a set of comeback queens now as well after the
Royals fought back from a 3-4 to 0-5 half-time deficit on Saturday.

 

And yet they were one point ahead with just seconds remaining
in extra time when Gillian Joyce floated over a late free to earn
Galway a replay.

 

Connacht champions Galway opened the game in blistering fashion
with three goals in side the opening nine minutes from Niamh Fahey
(penalty), Geraldine Conneally and Annette Clarke.

 

They were looking odds on the make the semi-finals at half-time
but Meath were a transformed side after the break.

 

They had cut Galway’s lead to just three points as the game
entered the final ten minutes before Katie O’Brien fired
home to the Galway net to draw the sides level.

 

Galway were handed a glorious chance to take back the initiative
with just six minutes remaining when they were awarded a controversial
penalty.

 

However, Meath keeper Irene Munnelly saved brilliantly from Fahey.
Gillian Joyce edged Galway in front with a free but Jackie Shiels
levelled matters to take the game into extra time on a score of
Galway 3-8 Meath 1-14.

 

The Westerners held a slender one point advantage going into
the second period of extra time.

 

Shiels fired over her seventh point of the evening to level the
game before Louise McKeever give Meath the lead for the first
time in the match with six minutes remaining.

 

But, with just thirty seconds left Joyce kept her cool to slot
a free between the posts and bring the game back to parity and
a replay next Saturday in Kingspan Breffni Park.

 

GALWAY: U Carroll, M O’Donnell, E Flaherty, M Glynn, C Cormican,
A Daly (0-2), A M McDonagh (0-2), P Gleeson, C Molloy, E Concannon,
A Clarke (1-0), N Duggan, G Conneally (1-1), N Fahey (1-1), L
Joyce (0-1)

Subs: G Joyce (0-4) for M Glynn (21mins), L Coohill for P Gleeson
(48mins), M Glynn for A Clarke (57mins), H Carroll for C Cormican
(6min ET), P Gleeson for N Duggan (17min ET), A Clarke for G Conneally
(17min ET)

 

MEATH: I Munnelly, S Dooley, E Lynch, S McCormack (0-1), J Rispen,
L McKeever (0-1), J Burke, L Keenan (0-1), F Mahon, M Sheridan
(0-1), J Shiels (0-7), G Nulty (0-3), K O’Brien (1-0), G
Bennett, C McAuley (0-1)

Subs: M Doyle (0-2) for G Bennett (34min), C O’Shaughnessy
for E Lynch (49min), S Bennett for L Keenan (HT, ET), A Thompson
for J Rispen (19min ET)