The Mayo ladies’ Championship campaign ended in windswept conditions at Parnell Park up here in Dublin this afternoon. Their Group 4 match with Armagh at the Donnycarney venue was a winner-takes-all affair, with both teams having already beaten Tyrone so the prize on offer for the winners was a place in the All-Ireland semi-final. Armagh it was who won, by 4-12 to 1-16.
As the scoreline suggests, this was a goals-win-games kind of contest. While we were competitive throughout in a rip-roaring encounter, the Orchard County’s ability to find the net on four separate occasions – the final time just seconds from the full-time hooter – was decisive and they were worthy winners as a result.
Armagh’s first goal came in the tenth minute, via Kelly Mallon, but we battled back strongly. Seven points on the spin, in which Deirdre Doherty was to the fore, saw us edge ahead by two points.
The outstanding Aimee Macken – who finished the game with a personal tally of 2-7 to her credit – bagged Armagh’s second goal shortly before the break. The Northerners went in at half-time two points ahead.
Aimee Mackin crashed home her second goal soon after the restart as Armagh upped the ante. We hit back, though, to level the contest as Deirdre Doherty shot to the bottom left-hand corner of the net for our only goal of the game.
Armagh took a lead of a single point into the second water break. The final quarter was tense and close, with the teams exchanging points, though all the while the Orchard ladies managed to hold onto their narrow advantage.
Inside the final minute, Armagh finally killed off the contest. POTM Mackin found Catherine Marley unmarked inside with an expert kick-pass and she made no mistake, burying it emphatically to seal a five-point win and send her team through to the All-Ireland semi-final.
Hard luck to the Mayo ladies who battled bravely today. It wasn’t to be for them this afternoon.
Match reports: Connaught Telegraph, Mayo Advertiser, The 42, BBC, Ladies Football, Irish Independent.
Hard luck to the ladies .. Tremendous effort.
Hopefully Sunday will bring a better result
Theres no doubting that the players are giving 100% to Mayo team and fair play to them. They are a credit to themselves and their families.
However the sad FACT is…
At present we have NO county board!!
Unfortunately for a number of years now, our county boards along with a number of club delegates from certain clubs are jeopardising the ambitions of our teams at both club and county level. Untill this lack of cooperation is resolved, the county team and club players will continue to suffer.
It’s time that we put football development at the centre of our activities. Here are a few ideas.
# Lets have properly organised club fixtures for u8s and u10s. (Hasnt happened in years and as a result the players are not developing their basic skills)
# Let’s organise a full programme of courses to improve the standard of coaching.
#Let’s continue to improve the standard of referreeing for girls.
#Lets have a children’s officer in the county to promote welfare and enjoyment for players.
#Let club and county start working together (rather than fighting) to ensure that all players are available for team selection.
Looking forward to a brighter and better 2021!
Hard luck to our ladies, you cannot question their heart or effort but unfortunately they came up against a side that had a little bit more “cutting edge” in front of goal and found their scores a little easier to come by on the day. You cannot doubt the work rate or effort put in by the players but I would question the managers selection and the tactics employed to try to reduce the influence of both Macken girls.
Well done to them all and hopefully there are brighter days around the corner.
Hard luck to the Mayo Ladies, they’ve been plugging away gamely over the last couple of years.
Any sign of the rift with Carnacon healing?