Donegal left to rue what might've been as Meath win Division 1 final

When the buzzer went, Donegal’s players sank to their knees.

Donegal 1-9

Meath 2-8

Around them, Meath celebrated taking the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 title.

For Donegal, it was surely as frustrating as it was painful. Whatever about ‘should have’, this was certainly a game Maxi Curran’s side could have won.

Donegal hit back from the brink to lead briefly in the second half before Niamh O’Sullivan’s 40th minute goal gave Meath the impetus again.

O’Sullivan looped to the net after taking a pass from Emma Troy and despite scoring just one more point - via Vikki Wall in the closing stages - Meath held on.

Donegal were left to curse a succession of wides and some turnovers which proved a fatal flaw.

The game appeared in danger of running away from Donegal but the Tir Chonaill women rallied at the end of the first half.

Trailing by seven points in the 25th minute, Donegal were within a point at the interval with Meath 0-9 to 1-5 in front, reeling off 1-3 in the final five minutes of the opening verse.

Meath full-back Mary Kate Lynch was sin-binned for a foul on Yvonne Bonner - who had only just scored Donegal’s first point from play - and Donegal captain Niamh McLaughlin brilliant fired the penalty to the roof of the net.

Karen Guthrie squeezed over by the narrowest of margins and Geraldine McLaughlin narrowed the margin to the minimum.

Last-gasp goals by Emma McCrory and Bonner eked Donegal past Dublin in the semi-final and this was Donegal’s first visit to the Division 1 final since an agonising 2-15 to 2-14 loss to Cork in 2017.

That fixture was played in the rather more modest surroundings of Parnell Park. Even if sparsely populated, the chance to grace the GAA’s famous old cathedral was an indicator of a levelling of the playing field.

A levelling here looked something of a fanciful notion when Orlagh Lally’s point put Meath 1-6 to 0-2 in front.

The goal arrived like a dagger through Donegal’s arteries.

The teams had only just resumed from the water break when Wall surged deep into Donegal territory. The outcome was evident when the ball was transferred to Nesbitt and the Simonstown woman coolly tucked past Roisin McCafferty to the Hill 16 net.

Wall will dip her toes into the world of Australian rules later this year and it’s easy to see how and why she has been attracting attention from Down Under.

Meath’s rise under Éamonn Murray has been nothing short of remarkable, climbing from Division 3 to the summit of the mountain last year when they were crowned All-Ireland champions.

The Royals made life difficult for Donegal, an ultra-defensive set-up without the ball transforming into a powerful attacking unit once in possession.

After wides at both ends, Stacey Grimes posted the game’s opening point, Niamh O’Sullivan intercepted McCafferty’s attempted pass to Amy Boyle-Carr to double the lead.

Until their flurry before the break, frees from Guthrie and McLaughlin were all Donegal had to show with a quick-fire trio of scores, one by Nesbitt and two from Emma Duggan, putting Meath in command. Or so it seemed.

Five minutes into the second half, McLaughlin clipped Donegal in front for the first time before Monika McGuirk, the Meath goalkeeper, saved from the Termon ace at close range. That save was every bit as crucial as any of the scores as Meath withstood late Donegal pressure.

Donegal scorers: Geraldine McLaughlin (0-4, 1f), Niamh McLaughlin (1-0pen), Karen Guthrie (0-3, 2f), Yvonne Bonner (0-2).

Meath scorers: Niamh O’Sullivan (1-1), Kelsey Nesbitt (1-1), Orlagh Lally (0-2), Emma Duggan (0-2, 1f), Stacey Grimes (0-1), Vikki Wall (0-1).

Donegal: Roisin McCafferty; Niamh Carr, Evelyn McGinley, Niamh Boyle; Tara Hegarty, Nicole McLaughlin, Amy Boyle-Carr; Katy Herron, Roisin Rodgers; Blathnaid McLaughlin, Niamh McLaughlin, Shelly Twohig; Yvonne Bonner, Karen Guthrie, Geraldine McLaughlin. Subs: Niamh Hegarty for T.Hegarty (41), Tanya Kennedy for Boyle (49), Emma McCrory for Twohig (56).

Meath: Monika McGuirk; Katie Newe, Mary Kate Lynch, Kelsey Nesbitt; Shauna Ennis, Emma Troy, Aoibhín Cleary; Máire O’Shaugnessy, Orlagh Lally; Megan Thynne, Aoibheann Leahy, Emma Duggan; Vikki Wall, Stacey Grimes, Niamh O’Sullivan. Subs: Bridgetta Lynch for Nesbitt (38), Niamh Gallogly and Emma White for Leahy and Thynne (51), Orla Byrne for Lally (56), Orlaith Duff for O’Sullivan (60).

Referee: Garryowen McMahon (Mayo).