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THE player of the match in Armagh Ladies' All-Ireland intermediate title win over Waterford said she was "in shock" after Sunday triumph at Croke Park.
The Orchard women won their second All-Ireland title with a deserved win at Croke Park and Laura Brown was outstanding as the lynchpin of the defence.
“This is brilliant, I’m in shock. We knew ahead of the game that they had two big forwards and that we had to stand up and be counted and we did. This is unreal," said the Clann Eireann full-back.
Team manager James Daly was full of praise for his side.
“We might have missed a lot of scores out there, but we were dominant. I told the girls at
half-time to just keep shooting,” said the Dromintee man.
“Our defence was rock solid, we have a lot of unsung heroes and we deserved this All-Ireland”,
Daly’s young side stood up to a more experienced Decies outfit and were good value for their seven-point victory.
It was Waterford who opened the scoring when Michele McGrath pointed with their first attack.
Armagh then kicked five wides before Shauna O’Hagan found the net in the eighth minute. The Clann Eireann forward reacted quickest to a ball which came off the post to slot home past Aimee Jordan.
Fionnuala McKenna and Marion McGuinness then added further points before Hannah Landers found the net for Waterford in the 20th minute. This, however, was to be Waterford’s last score of the half while Armagh went on to add three additional points. Scores from Kelly Mallon, Mags McAlinden and Shauna O’Hagan helped the Orchard girls to a 1-5 to 1-1 interval lead.
Waterford’s Linda Wall pointed with the first attack of the second half, but that score was quickly cancelled as Kelly Mallon fired over shortly after.
Fionnuala McKenna, Caroline O’Hanlon and Niamh Henderson then added points to extend the Orchard lead even further. Michelle Ryan pulled one back for the Munster champions, but once again Armagh responded, this time captain McAlinden obliging.
Waterford then had a let-off as Shauna O’Hagan’s rasper came back of the crossbar. Further points were exchanged by Ryan and O’Hanlon, but Armagh still had the upperhand.
Waterford refused to lie down and added another point through Linda Wall. With 10 minutes to go and six points down, they were thrown a lifeline of a penalty.
Michelle Ryan kicked poorly and Catherine McAlinden got her foot too it to prevent the goal. The Orchard keeper was called into action a couple of minutes later as she pulled off another great save.
In the dying seconds, Armagh were awarded another free and it was fitting that the brilliant Caroline O’Hanlon fired over to seal victory and secure senior football for a very talented Orchard side.
