Meath LadiesBord Gáis Energy National Ladies Football League Division Two

In 2010, Meath Senior Ladies reached the semi finals of the Bord Gáis Energy National Ladies Football League Division Two. Although succumbing to Donegal (who went on to win the league and secure promotion to division one for 2011) hopes were high for the Championship. Defeats to Laois and Tipperary ended the Seniors campaign in 2010 and morale in the camp inevitably suffered. Cue the introduction of a new management team – Paula Cunningham, Anthony Murphy and Dwayne McCarey, Monaghan natives, and the Royal carriage is most definitely back on track. The team faces five tough away matches in all (Waterford, Kerry, Sligo, Dublin and Cavan) and only two at home (Armagh and Tipperary) – so they will have to be at the top of their game to make an impact this year.. They have been training hard the last few weeks and the effect of this will be telling when they kick off their League campaign against Waterford next Sunday 6th February.

The team has been boosted by the return of several players that took a break last year, and these combined with some of the new and younger players will surely see a far more successful league campaign this time around. Promotion to Division One is the central aim of this campaign and they will get the chance to get off to a good start next Sunday against the Deise. An intriguing encounter will be in prospect as Waterford on the back of their narrow loss in the Intermediate All-Ireland final in Croke Park in September will endeavour to again show the character and ambition displayed in 2010. In the League, Meath last met Waterford in the quarter finals of the 2009 campaign where it took a tense period of extra time to separate the sides. The Deise eventually won on a 2-13 to 0-15 scoreline. The Meath team will be eager to get back into some competitive action and a trip to Waterford city is just what the Doctor ordered.

Speaking this week at the Meath Launch of the 2011 League campaign, the new Royal management stressed that it is of the utmost importance to get back to Division One as quickly as possible. They are expecting difficult encounters in all the League games but promotion will and can be earned with a lot of hard work and dedication. The management are looking forward to the challenge of promotion in the league and beyond into the Championship later this year. They have said they will take each game on its own merit. They are extremely happy with the commitment and application of all players on the panel and are very grateful for the continued hard work of the members of the County Board behind the scenes.

Meath Ladies are looking forward with anticipation to this year’s League campaign. Nothing worth doing ever came easy, and the Senior Ladies in Meath are set for the challenge that lays ahead of them in 2011.

Meath’s National League fixtures for 2011 are as follows:
Rd 1: (a) v Waterford Sun 6th (Walsh Park, Waterford City at 2pm).
Rd. 2 (h) v Armagh Sun 13th Feb.
Rd. 3 (a) v Kerry Sun 20th Feb.
Rd. 4 (a) v Sligo 6th March.
Rd. 5 (a) v Dublin 13th March.
Rd. 6 (h) v Tipperary 27th March.
Rd. 7 (a) v Cavan 3rd April.
Semi Finals: week ending 17th April
Finals: week ending 8th May.