Tyrone Ladies wallop Westmeath to top their group

Tyrone 6-11  Westmeath 0-7

TYRONE Ladies secured an All-Ireland quarter-final home match after an emphatic win against Westmeath at Stewartstown on Sunday.

The Red Hands’ topped Group Two ahead of the quarter-final draw after already clinching qualification with a victory over Down at Pairc Esler a week prior.

Tyrone had to manage with the absence of Michaela Moore ahead of Sunday’s contest, as Caitlin Campbell served as a late rotation in the squad.

The addition of Campbell paid dividends, as the midfielder scored an early goal to open proceedings after eight minutes of play.

Tyrone continued to exhibit high-quality play across the field, with crucial interceptions by Grainne McKenna in defence and quick counter-attacking play to secure further points from Sorcha Gormley and Aoife Horisk.

The front pairing converted two points each within the first half before Aoibhinn McHugh added to Westmeath’s woes with an impressive goal from distance, which looped past the Lake County goalkeeper.

Tyrone controlled the game’s tempo with high-pressure defending and rapid counter-attacks to maintain momentum throughout the first half.

They met with some resistance, as Westmeath’s Lucy McCartan converted four points as the half drew to a close, with Tyrone maintaining a two-goal lead.

Westmeath started the second half strong, pressuring Tyrone up the field early. However, Tyrone launched a swift counter-attack to secure a penalty after the Westmeath keeper collided with Slaine McCarroll.

Sorcha Gormley converted the resulting penalty and a further penalty minutes later as the Westmeath defence struggled to contain a lethal Tyrone offence.

With 17 minutes played, Westmeath converted their seventh point via Lucy McCartan, which would prove to be their final offensive contribution to the game.

Tyrone’s ladies showed no signs of slowing down as they piled pressure onto a scrambling Westmeath defence.

This resulted in more points for McHugh, as well as goals from Niamh O’Neill and a relentless Aoife Horisk, who dominated the second half, scoring two points and a well-placed goal into the bottom right corner of the net.

Tyrone maintained dominance in attack and were defensively sound. They pursued their opposition incessantly as the Tyrone attack rushed back to defend and the Red Hand defenders pushed up field after key interceptions.

With only minutes to go, Tyrone continued to capitalise on sloppy defending as substitute, Emer McCanny converted an impressive point from a tight angle late into proceedings.

The Red Hands closed the match with another point from Aoibhinn McHugh to end the Westmeath ladies’ misery after Tyrone intercepted a poor kick-out.

Scorers

Tyrone: Caitlin Campbell 1-0, Sorcha Gormley 2-3, Aoife Horisk 1-4, Aoibhinn McHugh 1-2, Niamh O Neill 1-1, Emer Mc Canny 0-1

Westmeath: Sarah Dillion 0-5, Lucy McCartan 0-2,

Teams

Tyrone: Amelia Coyle, Jayne Lyons, Grainne McKenna, Eimear Quinn, Slaine McCarroll, Sasha Byrne, Claire Canavan, Aoibhinn McHugh, Meabh Mallon, Elle McNamee, Sorcha Gormley, Aoife Horisk, Caitlin Campbell, Cara McCrossan, Ciara Colton.

Westmeath: Aoife Temple, Lara McCartan, Sarah Murphy, Fiona Coyle, Chloe Gonoud, Lucy Power, Susanna Buckley, Vicky Carr, Ayesha Roche, Lucy McCartan, Sarah Dillion, Tracey Dillon, Grainne Byrne, Anna Jones, Caoimhe Kilmurry.

Referee: Maggie Farrelly (Cavan).