Gutsy display offers encouragement for Mayo
by Aiden Henry
MAYO ladies bid for a place in the Lidl National League final just came up short when they went down to current All-Ireland champions Meath in a highly contested and entertaining semi-final played in St. Tiernan’s Park, Clones.
While the final scoreline, 2-12 to 1-9, might suggest otherwise, Mayo make the champions fight very hard for their victory and can certainly take a lot from this defeat as they now prepare for the 2022 championship.
Playing with the aid of the strong breeze in the opening half, Mayo had the better of the exchanges and were well worth their three-point half time lead.
However, an explosive start to the second half by Meath saw them chalk up an unanswered 2-5 inside 10 minutes, to turn their three-point deficit into a seven-point lead.
After this onslaught by Meath, most in the big attendance feared Mayo were going to receive a massive beating.
However, this huge set-back, Mayo regrouped and where many teams would have thrown in the towel, they battled back. Indeed, after Lisa Cafferky blasted home a great goal before the end of the third quarter, the Mayo clawed by to Meath lead to three points and were very much in contention until the final moments of the game when Meath managed to close the game out with two or three late points.
Overall, it was a good performance by this young Mayo side who will have gained a lot of experience from this encounter.
Indeed, such was their gutsy display, where they showed magnificent character, they can now look forward to the championship with plenty of confidence.
Finally, it must be mentioned that the match referee was more than a little harsh on Mayo.
Midfielder Aoife Geraghty was certainly hard done by when sin binned in the opening half while some of the Meath tough tackles went unpunished.
It should also be noted the Mayo goalkeeper was harshly punished on two occasions after being adjudged for not taking kick-outs quickly enough, a situation that led to two Meath points.
Michael Moyles' charges will bounce back from this.
Meath: M. McGuirk, K. Newe, MK Lynch, K. Nesbitt (1-0), A. Ennis, E. Troy, A. Cleary, M. O’Shaughnessy, O. Lally (1-2), M. Thynne (0-1), A. Leahy, E. Duggan (0-4), V. Wall (0-1), S. Grimes (0-3), N. O’Sullivan.
Subs used: E. White (0-1), N. Gallogly, B. Lynch, O. Duff.
Mayo: A. Tarpey, É. Ronayne, R. Flynn, D. Caldwell, S. Lally, F. McHale, K. Sullivan, S. Cafferky (0-1), A. Geraghty (0-1), S. Howley (0-4), S. Walsh, S. Mulvihill, L. Cafferky (1-2), C. Whyte, M. Reilly.
Subs used: C. Needham (0-1), H. Reape, S. El Massry, T. O’Connor.
Referee: Siobhan Coyle (Donegal).