Donegal Ladies no match for Galway in Lidl Ladies League semi-final in Longford

Donegal bowed out of the Lidl Ladies National League with a sem-final defeat to Galway in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, Longford

Donegal 1-5
Galway 1-12

Arguably the two biggest overachievers in this year’s Lidl Ladies football national league clashed in Longford last Saturday afternoon, as Donegal tried to reverse the form of their nine-point defeat to Galway in the final round of games a fortnight previously.

On that occasion, Donegal manager Maxi Curran said that he felt the 2-13 to 0-10 final score was harsh on his team, who weren’t as far off the pace as that gap suggested. However he could have no qualms about the gap between the sides on Saturday as the Tribeswomen produced a scintillating performance, bursting out of the blocks and always keeping Donegal at arm’s length throughout the tie.

Like Donegal, Galway have yet to win a National League title, having lost five finals already – four between 2005 and 2015, and the very first one contested, all the way back in 1979.

On this form, they will surely fancy their chances of breaking that unwanted record. Midfielder Louise Ward won the opening throw in and after sprinting up field, she fired the ball over the bar with just ten seconds of play expired – and that set the tone for what was to follow.

Galway’s foot passing and movement off the ball was exemplary, and with just two minutes on the clock, they had three points on the board while Donegal had yet to hold a single possession anywhere beyond the Galway 65m line.

The Tír Chonaill women were hanging on by a thread. Sarah Conneally rattled Aoife McColgan’s crossbar as the pressure continued to mount, yet with seven minutes on the clock, somehow Donegal were level after finally mounting their first meaningful attack.

Niamh Hegarty played in Geraldine McLaughlin with a lobbed handpass and by getting to the ball a fraction of a second before Lisa Murphy, McLaughlin ensured that the Galway goalkeeper crashed into her, conceding a penalty as she did so. Hegarty’s spot-kick was inch perfect, and the sides were level.

But no sooner did Donegal come up for air, than they started to get that sinking feeling again. Tracey and Róisín Leonard are first cousins from the Corofin club and they showed all the attacking class and style that we’ve come to expect from the men of that part of the world throughout this game. They added a point each to restore Galway’s lead and while Katy Herron kicked an excellent point to stem the bleeding, Galway continued to play the game at a higher tempo, building up an 0-9 to 1-1 lead by half time.

Amy Boyle Carr opened the scoring for Donegal after the break, but almost immediately the four-point deficit was doubled. Róisín Leonard added a second point, then Megan Glynn drove in on goal from the left corner and forced Aoife McColgan to come out and close her down. A simple handpass across goal left Sarah Conneally the task of palming the ball into the net, though her weak contact meant that Glynn had to add the final touch to make sure.

To Donegal’s credit, they continued to compete wholeheartedly and at one stage they fired in three points in a row through Hegarty, McLaughlin and Karen Guthrie, but Galway always had plenty in reserve. While they didn’t finish the game with the same explosiveness that they showed in the opening exchanges, they still left supporters in no doubt that when it comes to trying to upset the Dublin and Cork duopoly, the Connacht county is noticeably ahead of Donegal at the head of the chasing pack.

Galway: Lisa Murphy; Sinéad Burke, Sarah Lynch, Shauna Molloy; Orla Murphy, Fabienne Cooney, Charlotte Cooney; Barbara Hannon (0-1), Louise Ward (0-1); Olivia Divilly, Tracey Leonard (0-5, 0-4 frees), Megan Glynn (1-0); Mairéad Seoighe (0-1), Róisín Leonard (0-4), Sarah Conneally.  Subs: Leanne Coen for Conneally (47), Riona Ní Fhlatharta for Glynn (59), Mairéad Coyne for C Cooney (59), Lynsey Noone for Seoighe (60+1).

Donegal: Aoife McColgan; Nicole McLaughlin, Emer Gallagher, Evelyn McGinley; Niamh Carr, Anna Máire McGlynn, Niamh Boyle; Katy Herron (0-1), Megan Ryan; Elaine Melaugh, Geraldine McLaughlin (0-1), Shannon McGroddy; Amy Boyle Carr (0-1), Karen Guthrie (0-1), Niamh Hegarty (1-1, 1-0 pen, 0-1 free).  Sub: Kate McCleneghan for McGinley (HT).

Referee: Brendan Rice (Down)