Tyrone maintain their Division 1 Status

Dublin v Tyrone

Tyrone have maintained their Div 1A Status in the Suzuki Ladies
National Football League following this 4 point defeat of a host
side Dublin who failed to score in the second half yesterday at
Westmanstown in their relegation play off. This win is their second
consecative win this season after they also beat the blues in
the Divisional campaign in February.

Dublin in the opening half played with the benefit of a very
stiff breeze. The sides swopped points in the opening 2 mins.
Lorna Hillery putting Dublin in front before Sarah Connolly responded
with the equlising score for Tyrone. Then the home side began
to press home the advantage they needed to do. By the 23rd minute
Dublin led 8 points to 1 Lorna Hillery bringing her tally to 4
points while Mary Nevin fired over 3 points from placed balls.
The other white flag was raised as result of Sinead Ahernes 9th
minute effort. Sarah Connolly for Tyrone reduced the gap with
her second point on 26 before the key moment in the contest which
firmly saw the momentum swing the way of the Red Hand County.
Connolly was to score the games only goal 2 mins into stoppage
time at the end of the opening half. That strike by the Tyrone
full forward meant her team trailed by only 3 points at the break
instead of the 6 it would have been had she not goaled.

The half time score was Dublin 0-8 Tyrone 1-2. Cue the seond
half and a real barn storming display by Tyrone who added a total
of 7 unanswered points to their tally. Claire Mc Alliskey,Connie
Fox, Gemma Begley aswell as Maeve Mc Guik and Sarah Connolly who
finished with a personal tally of 1-3 all playing prominant roles
in the display. Dublin did have their opportunites most notably
through wing forward Niamh Hurley who spurned a great goal chance
mid way through the half.

The team worked hard in their bid to haul themselves back into
the contest, but try as they did, they could not find a way past
a resolute Tyrone defence. So after being league quarter finalists
for the last 2 years its the bitter pill of relegation for Dublin,
still under the guidance of County Board Chairperson John Hillery.
Tyrone on the other side of the coin can look forward next year
to another season in the top flight.