LADIES FOOTBALL ROUND UP

LAST year’s All-Ireland intermediate champions Tipperary maintained their 100 per cent record in the Bord Gáis Energy National Ladies Football League with a hard-fought victory against Westmeath on Sunday.

Moyle Rovers star Gillian O’Brien struck two goals for the Premier County as they ran out 2-7 to 1-6 victors in Clogheen to make it four wins from as many outings in Division 2A of the competition.

O’Brien’s first half strike sent the table-toppers on their way to a 1-5 to 0-4 half-time advantage but the Lake County fought back after the break and Fiona Leavy’s goal helped to level the scores at 1-5 apiece.

Tipp then hit back with a crucial second goal from lethal forward O’Brien to preserve their remarkable run in this year’s competition.

Elsewhere, Longford collected their second successive victory in Division 2B, courtesy of a 1-10 to 1-7 success over Down at Emmet Park in Killoe.

This was a notable success for the Midlanders who have come on in leaps and bounds since they were whitewashed by the same opposition, 1-17 to no score, in last year’s competition.

Longford had to fight back from a 1-5 to 0-4 half-time deficit to secure maximum points as a second half goal from Michelle Ross cancelled out Lisa Morgan’s first half strike for the Mourne County, who lost two players to red cards.

Meanwhile, Louth made it three successive victories in Division 3a as the Wee County ran out 3-15 to 0-5 winners away to Carlow in Tinryland.

All three goals arrived in the opening half as strikes from Laura O’Neill, Orla Kirk and Rosanna Heaney opened up a 3-7 to 0-3 advantage at the midway point.

Last Friday night in Cookstown, Julie McLaughlin scored a last-minute goal for Derry as they edged past Ulster rivals Antrim 2-9 to 2-7 in Division 3b.

All four goals were scored during an exciting second half as Clare Timoney struck a brace for Antrim, with Aisling Kealey’s on target for Derry with a penalty to cancel out Timoney’s first goal.

Derry were pleased to bounce back from their opening day loss to Kilkenny against an Antrim team who had been victorious against Wicklow in their opening fixture.

In other news, Pat Quill has officially succeeded Geraldine Giles as President of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association.

Quill, a native of Castletownbere in Co. Cork, has been involved with Ladies Football in Wexford since the late 1970s and previously served as Association President between 1985 and 1988.

The Wexford civil servant took over from Giles, who served for two consecutive terms, at the Association’s Annual Congress, held in Newry over the weekend.