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Dublin's Hannah Tyrrell in action against Westmeath's Muireann Scally. Maurice Grehan.
Ladies Football

Dublin fire 6-23 to open Leinster title defence on a high, Armagh cruise into Ulster final

Hannah Tyrrell and Carla Rowe registered a combined haul of 4-14 as the Sky Blues put Westmeath to the sword.

Dublin 6-23

Westmeath 0-4

HANNAH TYRRELL AND Carla Rowe registered a combined haul of 4-14 as defending champions Dublin heralded the return of the TG4 Leinster Senior Football Championship with a convincing victory against Westmeath at TEG Cusack Park.

In the first game played in this competition since 2019, Tyrrell (2-9) and Rowe (2-5) shone throughout for the Jackies. Substitute Kate Sullivan also struck 1-2 off the bench and Mick Bohan’s charges can now move confidently into next Saturday’s meeting with All-Ireland champions Meath at Parnell Park.

Having missed out on a fifth successive Brendan Martin Cup title to the Royals last year, Dublin were intent on hitting the ground running in the 2022 championship. There were just 21 seconds gone on the clock when corner-forward Sinead Wylde rocketed a shot to the Westmeath net.

Her inside partner Tyrrell followed up with a point from play and while the Lake County eventually opened their account through a Sarah Dillon free, Dublin were in for a second goal on 12 minutes.

Named as joint-captain along with Niamh Collins for this year, Rowe raised another green flag to give her side a six-point stranglehold. Rowe proceeded to trade scores with Westmeath’s Ciara Blundell, in advance of Dublin midfielder Jennifer Dunne added her name to the scoresheet.

A placed-ball effort from Tyrrell was cancelled out by Dillon at the opposite end, but the holders were the dominant side for the remainder of the opening period. Thanks to unanswered points from the boots of the excellent Tyrrell (three), Nicole Owens and Rowe, the Metropolitan outfit brought a convincing 2-9 cushion into the interval.

Tyrrell extended her tally to six points on the resumption and after Blundell had contributed her second, yet another Dublin goal arrived in the 34th-minute. Introduced at half-time, Sullivan’s long delivery deceived Westmeath netminder Aoife O’Donnell on its way to the net.

Tyrrell grabbed a three-pointer of her own moments later, before Rowe recorded a fifth major for a rampant Dublin on 42 minutes. Wylde, Sullivan, Niamh Hetherton and Martha Byrne were also on target either side of the third-quarter mark as the Sky Blues continued to set out their stall.

A Siobhan Killeen single complimented a brace for Rowe, before Tyrrell posted 1-2 without reply in the space of just two minutes. Sullivan (free) and Owens subsequently rounded off the scoring to complete an impressive display from Dublin in Mullingar.

Scorers for Dublin: H Tyrrell 2-9 (0-6f), C Rowe 2-5 (0-2f), K Sullivan 1-2 (0-1f), S Wylde 1-1, N Owens 0-2, J Dunne, N Hetherton, M Byrne, S Killeen 0-1 each.

Scorers for Westmeath: S Dillon (2f), C Blundell 0-2 each.

Westmeath: A O’Donnell; M Fagan, M Scally, F Coyle; A O’Malley, A Alford, C Kelly; V Carr, T Dillon; C Blundell, S Dillon, K Boyce-Jordan; A Jones, K Giles, L Power. Subs: A Ruane for O’Malley (h-t), K Hegarty for Giles (39), N Nolan for Alford (44), C Smullen for Jones (52), K Geoghegan for Boyce-Jordan (57).

Dublin: C Trant; J Tobin, L Caffrey, N Collins; S Goldrick, A Kane, O Nolan; J Dunne, L Magee; C O’Connor, C Rowe (C), N Owens; N Hetherton, H Tyrrell, S Wylde. Subs: K McDaid for Magee, K Sullivan for O’Connor (both h-t), E Gribben for Nolan, M Byrne for Goldrick (both 40), S Killeen for Hetherton (45).

Referee: Paul Burke (Louth).

- Report by Daire Walsh; issued FOC on behalf of Leinster LGFA.

Monaghan 0-5

Armagh 5-21

In today’s only other clash at senior level, Armagh powered back into the Ulster final after romping to a 31-point win over Monaghan at St Tiernach’s Park, Clones.

1-10 to 0-3 up at half time, a fourth-minute Aimee Mackin penalty sent the Orchard on their way. The 2020 Player of the Year finished with 2-5, while returning captain Kelly Mallon (two) and Niamh Reel raised the other green flags.

Monaghan managed just five points over the hour but can have no complaints as a hungry and ruthless Armagh bounced back from their recent Lidl NFL Division 2 final defeat to Kerry with an impressive display.  

The provincial champions dominated the first half, leading by ten points at the break.  

They signalled their intentions within 10 seconds when Mackin sent Aoife Lennon in for the opening point.  

The Monaghan defence battled gamely but when Aoife McCoy was fouled, Mackin slotted home the penalty and Armagh built on that with slick passing, assured defending and a display full of confidence.  

Mackin added a brace of points and hit the post with a second penalty as Armagh went on to lead by 1-10 to 0-3 at half-time.  

The second half saw no let-up from Armagh, who attacked at will as further goals followed from Mackin, Mallon (two) and Reel.   

While the focus now switches to the men’s meeting of the Farney and Down at Clones, Armagh’s is firmly on the Ulster final, where they’ll face Donegal or Cavan. That semi-final will be played as part of a double-header at the same venue next Sunday.

Armagh Scorers: Aimee Mackin 1-5, Kelly Mallon 2-2, Niamh Reel 1-1, Eve Lavery 0-4, Caroline O’Hanlon 0-4, Aoife Lennon 0-2, Aoife Mc Coy 0-2, Catriona O’Hagan 0-1.  

Monaghan Scorers: Jodie McQuillan 0-2, Rosemary Courtney 0-2, Amy Garland 0-1. 

- Report from LGFA. 

BTL 5

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