Waterford 1-9 - Meath 2-5
By AISLING CLERY
Lauren McGregor’s late strike was crucial as Waterford defeated reigning Lidl NFL Division 1 champions, Meath, in a rain-sodden Ballinlough.
Kellyann Hogan added six points over the hour as Pat Sullivan’s charges claimed their third win of the campaign.
Meath had been six points clear at the break but a rejuvenated Waterford performance in the second half kept the Royals to just a single second half point, while laying siege to their defence at the other end. McGregor found the net on 54 minutes for the Déise and they hung on to claim an important win.
The holders did get off to a good start dominating possession with Stacey Grimes and Niamh O’Sullivan putting them into a two-point lead after nine minutes. However, Hogan levelled matters with a super long distance strike midway through the half.
The Royals were working hard and were rewarded when O’Sullivan found the net and added a point a minute later to push them into a four-point advantage. For all their hard work though, retaining possession proved to be a challenge and the Deise were quick to attack the loose ball.
Hogan and McGregor both found their range, sandwiching an excellent high curling effort from Aoibhín Cleary. Cleary’s darting runs into the defence were causing problems and just before the half-time whistle it paid off as her initial effort rebounded and Amy O’Leary was on hand to tap home a second goal for the home side to leave them 2-4 to 0-4 to the good at the break.
Scores were more difficult to come by after the interval but Lauren McGregor and Bríd McMaugh converted to leave just four between the teams.
Waterford’s relentless pressure on the Royal defence began to take its toll and Hogan’s free alongside a point from play made it a two-point game with ten minutes left to play.
While Meath did bring on Emma Duggan and Vikki Wall, Waterford were in control and McGregor was on hand to finish to the net when a mix up in the Meath defence left them vulnerable.
Hogan added a further point to ensure a two-point cushion and while Duggan did get a point from a free right at the end, the result was never in doubt.
Scorers – Waterford: K Hogan 0-6 (4f), L McGregor 1-2, B McMaugh 0-1.
Meath: N O’Sullivan 1-2, A O’Leary 1-0, A Cleary 0-1, S Grimes 0-1, E Duggan 0-1 (1f).
WATERFORD: E O’Brien; C Murray, M Dunford, A Murray; E Power, E Murray, Kate McGrath; K Hogan, A Waring; A O’Neill, A Fitzgerald, C McCarthy; Karen McGrath, B McMaugh, L McGregor.
Subs: C Hynes for Fitzgerald (36), N Power for McCarthy (36), N Whelan for Waring (48), K Murray for O’Neill (48).
MEATH: R Murray; A Sheridan, MK Lynch, K Newe; N Gallogly, S Ennis, A Cleary; M O’Shaughnessy, A Minogue; M Thynne, A Sherlock, C Smyth; A O’Leary, S Grimes, N O’Sullivan.
Subs: A O’Dowd for Smyth (30), E Duggan for O’Leary (40), S Melia for Ennis (42), A McCabe for Minogue (48), V Wall for Sherlock (48).
Ref: Maggie Farrelly (Cavan).
