Kildare retain Division 2 status with thumping 15 point win over Meath

Meath 2-9

Lidl Ladies NFL Division 2

The Kildare Ladies secured their status in Division 2 of the Lidl Ladies National Football League with a stunning 15 point victory over Meath in a do or die clash in St Conleth's Park on Sunday afternoon. Kildare needed a victory to evade the drop down to Division 3, while Meath will now drop down thanks to today's defeat.

A strong swirling breeze surrounded the Newbridge venue, and if it favoured anyone it was the Royals but they couldn't make it count on the scoreboard. The visitors wasted a large number of chances early on, with some of those misses coming from extremely kickable positions.

There were early problems for the Lilywhites defence as Meath continually pierced holes through the home side's rearguard, and Kildare were prone to errors when trying to pass the ball out of defence. The visitors were gifted a great opportunity to grab a foothold in the tie when they were awarded a penalty after four minutes, but Vikki Wall dragged her effort well wide of the post.

Meath did get off the mark moments later when Bláithnaid Keogh pointed, but Kildare registered the next two scores through Maria Moolick and Emer Fogarty. The Royals were continuing to cut through a relatively open Kildare defence, and they fired home a deserved goal through Ailbhe McHugh after 9 minutes.

Kildare have had a problem with the amount of goals they have conceded throughout the league, but they've been quite good at the other end when it comes to scoring them. Their goalscoring prowess was never more evident then it was between minutes 12 and 15. They netted three quickfire goals in this period to turn the game on its head and establish a firm lead.

Roisin Byrne fired home the first goal following some good work from Fogarty, while Mikaela McKenna slammed a second major into the roof of the net soon after when she got on the end of a slick team move. The third goal arrived just a minute later when Trina Duggan raced through, but before she could pull the trigger, she had her legs taken from under her. A penalty was awarded, and the Suncroft lady dusted herself off to smash the ball into the bottom right corner of Louise Dunne's net.

Further scores from Fogarty and Byrne pushed the Lilywhites into a 2-4 to 1-1 lead with 19 minutes played. Meath needed to buck the trend of Kildare scores to stay in the game, and they soon delivered 1-3 without reply. Marrion Farrelly and Stacey Grimes slotted over a couple of close range points before a moment of hesitancy from Mary Hulgraine in the Kildare goal saw Ailbhe McHugh block her clearance down and finish to the net.

A couple of Vikki Wall frees either side of an Aisling Curley point left the game finely balanced at half-time with the scoreboard reading 3-5 to 2-5 in favour of Kildare.

A good start was a necessity for Kildare as they emerged for the second half, and they got exactly that with an emphatic 15 minute spell where they outscored their opponents 1-6 to 0-1. Roisin Byrne and Emer Fogarty were excellent during that period as the duo struck the first two scores of the half, while Byrne caught the eye with a sublime long range point.

Fogarty added another point from play, before Eadoin Connolly effectively ended the game as a contest with an angled finish to the corner of the net. Niamh Gallogly and Vikki Wall offered some resistance for Meath with a brace of scores, but when Maria Moolick slammed home the fifth goal for the home side, it was well and truly game over as Kildare led by 13 points.

Moolick was extremely impressive for the hosts for the remainder of the game as she caused havoc from full-forward, and she managed to raise two further white flags late on. Substitute Ellen Dowling had a fine impact from the bench for Kildare as she smashed over two scores upon her introduction as she helped her side see the game out.

It was a hugely impressive performance that Kildare were in dire need of ahead of the championship, and the retention of their place in Division 2 is a hugely positive outcome from a league that has had many highs and lows.

Scorers for Kildare: M Moolick 1-4, R Byrne 1-3(2f), E Fogarty 0-4(1f), T Duggan 1-1(1-0pen), M McKenna and E Connolly 1-0 each, E Dowling 0-2, A Curley 0-1.

Scorers for Meath: A McHugh 2-0, V Wall 0-4(2f), S Grimes, M Farrelly B Keogh, C keogan and N Gallogly(f) 0-1 each

Kildare

M Hulgraine; T Hallinan, J O'Donoghue(M Nolan 40mins), R Cribbin; S Kendrick, A Savage, R Reidy(E Burke 27mins); A Curley, A Holton; E Connolly, M Moolick, T Duggan; M McKenna, R Byrne, E Fogarty(E Dowling 56mins).

Meath

L Dunne; E Plunkett(J Rispin 28mins), P Dunne, H Heskin; O Byrne(A Cleary 49mins), S Ennis, S Cleary; V Wall, B Keogh; N Gallogly, N O'Sullivan, S Grimes; A McHugh(C Keogan 49mins), M Farrelly, S Melia(A Sheridan 49mins).