Tyrone Ladies capture All-Ireland Intermediate Championship title

Tyrone 2-16  Laois 1-13

A GOLDEN goal entering the closing minutes of this All-Ireland Intermediate Championship Final at Croke Park on Sunday proved decisive in helping Tyrone Ladies win promotion.

It was no more than the Red Hands deserved as they swept aside Laois when it mattered most.

Katie Rose Muldoon grabbed her goal opportunity to give Tyrone the platform that they needed to press home for victory in the closing stages.

Team captain, Aoibhinn McHugh, lifted the Mary Quinn Cup afterwards to the delight of her teammates and fans. This was a triumph which paid a rich dividend for the team’s resilience, commitment and skill after the disappointments of two Croke Park defeats last year.

All of that is now forgotten as they look forward with confidence to senior football again next year.

Perfect conditions at Croke Park ensured that there was plenty of good attacking play.

It was Tyrone, too, who enjoyed the best of the scoring opportunities for much of this clash, even though their control wasn’t always reflection on the scoreboard.

Two points each the counties saw teams settled quickly. First, Sorcha Gormley and Cara McCrossan fired over for the Red Hands, only for them to be pegged back as Jane Moore and Emma Lawlor responded for Laois.

But Tyrone looked really threatening as they forged forward. Meabh Corrigan roamed out from the attack, while good runs forward by Aoibhinn McHugh and Slaine McCarroll created space in the forwards. However, their effectiveness was stimmied throughout that first half by a series of missed chances. At one point, Aoibhinn McHugh was put through by Sorcha Gormley only to see her shot well blocked.

By the end of the first quarter the trend of the tie had been established. Each time Tyrone attempted to extend their advantage, they were thwarted by a combination of missed chances and some last-gasp Laois defending.

Points courtesy of Aoife Horisk, Slaine McCarroll and Sorcha Gormley saw them go ahead while Claire Canavan, Ellie McNamee and Meabh Mallon were winning good possession in defence and using it well to maintain their momentum.

But there were occasions in that first half when Tyrone must have wondered just what they had to do to get a goal. Naomh O’Neill had one chance saved, and then another from her whistled past the bottom of the post.

To make matters worse, Shifra Havill goaled for Laois to give them a 1-5 to 0-7 lead very much against the run of play.

Tyrone stuck to their gameplan though. Aoife Horisk was fouled for a penalty which saw Sorcha Gormley’s shot saved by the Laois goalkeeper. Nevertheless, these two in particular persisted and the breakthrough finally arrived just before half-time.

Good work from Sorcha Gormley saw her set up Aoife Horisk and she made no mistake with a great shot to the net. That put Tyrone 1-7 to 1-5 ahead at the interval, and with it, the determination to extend that advantage on the resumption.

There was no let-up in the levels of effort or intensity at the start of that second half. It was point for point as the half developed, although Tyrone’s efforts to extend their lead were stopped by a consistent Laois response.

A brace of points courtesy of Mo Nerney and a third from Fiona Dooley brought Laois level. However, Tyrone were in no mood to relinquish their growing control and a series of scores subsequently put them in pole position.

Aoife Horisk and Sorcha Gormley were, as usual, the main players up front and they were ably assisted by the efforts of Niamh O’Neill and Ellie McNamee. Aoife Horisk scored two points, to capitalise on a Niamh O’Neill score to leave Tyrone 1-11 to 1-8 ahead.

This, combined with the majority of the possession and some good defending from Jayne Lyons, Grainne McKenna and Meabh Mallon, suggested that they were on course to maintained that control. However, this game was never going to script and so it proved as the final stages arrived. Laois battled back with Mo Nerney reducing the deficit to the minimum on a score of 1-11 to 1-10. Naimh O’Neill settled the Tyrone nerves with a great score to leave them two ahead entering the last 10 minutes.

Now was the time for Tyrone to really press home their advantage and they eventually yielded the dividend that their possession, control and abilities merited. Just one point separated the teams when the decisive moment arrived with just six minutes remaining. Good work from corner back, Jayne Lyons, saw her forge forward within sight of the goals. She off-loaded possession to Katie Rose Muldoon who fired home from close range.

That boost earned the Red Hands a 2-13 to 1-12 lead at a crucial point. It ensured that Laois now required a goal. Mo Nerney got them a point to leave three between them, but Tyrone’s Niamh O’Neill responded immediately and the title-success was now tantalisingly within reach.

Big scores from Niamh O’Neill, Sorcha Gormley and from the team captain, Aoibhinn McHugh finally settled the issue as that flurry saw the Red Hands cruise to the final whistle.

Scorers

Tyrone: Niamh O’Neill 0-7 3f, Aoife Horisk 1-3, 1f, Sorcha Gormley 0-3, Siane McCarroll 0-1, Aoibhinn McHugh 0-1, Cara McCrossan 0-1.

Laois: Mo Nerney 0-5 3f, Emma Lawlor 0-5 3f, Siofra Havill 1-0, Fiona Dooley 0-1, Jane Moore 0-1, Emma Lacey 0-1.

Teams

Tyrone: Amelia Coyle, Jayne Lyons, Grainne McKenna, Eimear Quinn, Claire Canavan, Meabh Mallon, Caitlin Campbell, Aoibhinn McHugh, Slaine McCarroll, Ellie McNamee, Sorcha Gormley, Aoife Horisk, Niamh O’Neill, Cara McCrossan, Meabh Corrigan. Subs: Emer McCanny for C McCrossan 36, Katie Rose Muldoon for E McNamee 17, Aoife McGahan for C Campbell 57, Chloe McCaffrey for N O’Neill 63, Joanne Barrett for A Horisk 63

Laois: Eimear Barry, Sinead Farrelly, Clodagh Dunne, Faye McEvoy, Aoife Gorman, Anna Moore, Andrea Moran, Fiona Dooley, Jane Moore, Shifra Havill, Eva Galvin, Ciara Crowley, Emily Lacey, Emma Lawlor, Mo Nerney. Subs: Lauren Kearney for A Gorman 40, Mary Coffey for F McEvoy 47, Katie Donaghue for E Lacey 50, Ashling Fitzpatrick for S Havill 59.

Referee: Shane Curley, Galway