Donegal leave comeback too late as Armagh take the points at Athletic Grounds

Armagh ladies triumphed over Donegal 0-10 to 1-4 in the TG4 Ulster Senior Championship opener at the Box-It Athletic Grounds yesterday 26 April.

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The opening quarter of the game was keenly contested, with chances at both ends. Armagh got the better of it with Aimee and Blaithin Mackin scoring either side of a Caroline O'Hanlon point, before Donegal's Evelyn McGinley got them up and running with what proved to be their only score of the first half.

However, the visitors were left to rue missing three goal chances. Susanne White and Ciara McGarvey both came inches away, both hitting the inside of the post, before Feena McManamon got in behind and looked certain to score but was denied by an excellent Cait Towe block.

The second quarter belonged to the home side, as they rattled off five points in a row. Blaithin Mackin started the run, with Aoife McCoy and Catherine Marley also getting in on the act.

Blaithin Mackin put the icing on the cake for a superb first half performance with a two-pointer.

After Blaithin stole the show in the first half, it was her older sister Aimee who opened the second half's scoring. At the other end, Donegal finally broke their barren run, having gone 30 minutes of football without a score when half-time substitute Eva Gallgher fired over.

Armagh could have put the result beyond all doubt 10 minutes into the second half when Caoimhe McNally narrowly missed the top corner. It looked as though she was shooting for a point, but her attempt flew across the face of goal and beat Donegal goalkeeper Clare Friel and went just wide.

The next score went Donegal's via a White free, but Armagh continued to control the contest, often holding the ball for prolonged periods of time, to prevent Donegal from building any momentum. One such move saw Armagh methodically keep possession before paying off the move with a Niamh Reel point.

Armagh looked comfortable, leading 0-10 to 0-3 late on, but Donegal kept fighting and a point from Mia Bennett and a Roisin Rodgers goal made it a one-score game in the dying seconds. However, they ran out of time and Armagh held on for the win.

Final score Armagh 0-10 Donegal 1-4

Scorers: Armagh: B Mackin 0-4, (1tp), A Mackin 0-2, C O'Hanlon 0-1, A McCoy 0-1, C Marley 0-1, N Reel 0-1.
Donegal: R Rodgers 1-0, E McGinley 0-1, E Gallagher 0-1, S White 0-1 (1f), M Bennett 0-1.
 
ARMAGH: B Mathers; M Ferguson, C McCambridge, C Towe; Emily Druse, A Donnelly, L Marsden; B Mackin, C O’Reilly; C McNally, A McCoy, C Marley; A Mackin, C O’Hanlon, M Lennon. Subs: S Quigley for B Mackin (42), N Reel for Lennon (46), Elsie Druse for Marsden (55), C Nugent for O'Reilly (56), E Lavery for Marley (57).

DONEGAL: C Friel; N Carr, E McGinley, S McFeely; T Hegarty, F McManamon, S McFadden; U Boyle, R Rodgers (capt.); A Caulfield, K Dowds, N Boyle; S White, J McFadden, C McGarvey.  Subs: E Gallagher for McFadden (HT), C Brennan for McManamon (40), Cait Gillespie for White (46), R McColgan for Caulfield (55), M Bennett for McGarvey (55).
Referee: David Hurson (Monaghan).