Westmeath ladies lose out to McHugh inspired Tyrone
LGFA: Lidl National Football League Division 2
Tyrone 2-9 Westmeath 1-7
By Paddy Hunter
On a terrible day of weather it proved to be a worse one for Frank Browne whose first game in charge of Westmeath ended in a five-point loss to a youthful Tyrone at rain and wind lashed Newtownstewrt on Sunday.
Leading from the start, the Red Hands played a controlled game throughout, with a late penalty goal from Leanne Slevin merely a consolation for Westmeath who struggled to contain an excellent Tyrone outfit.
The visitors worked the ball out of defence well at times but in reality they lacked potency up front and only twice was the home goal threatened with anything like a goal chance. Slevin did move the ball around; Lucy Power worked hard at the back; while Tracey Dillon also carved out the odd opening as Anna Jones hit all but 1-1 of their scoring tally. Overall, though, it's back to the drawing board for Browne and his management team.
The well drilled home side led by five points at the break and finished five to the good too. At the back Joanne Barrett and Zoe Loughran were ably assisted by a roving Meabh Mallon. The midfield duo of Aoibhinn McHugh and Caitlin Campbell were always on top, while Emma Conroy and Maria Canavan proved hard to mark as the debutants, six of them over the hour, didn’t put a foot wrong with satisfactory outings.
The gale and rain from Storm Isha proved difficult to play against over the hour for both teams and credit to the Midlanders they did improve in the second half against that storm as Tyrone were unable to keep their first-half momentum going. Things became a lot more disjointed in the second period although Westmeath could not haul Tyrone back.
Tyrone started well, finding themselves six points up inside 20 minutes with Jayne Lyons, Daly and Barrett dominating in the backline. Young Emma Conroy opened the scoring two minutes in and McHugh landed a mammoth point two minutes later. As Tyrone moved the ball well with some fine passages of play, Canavan landed a free on seven minutes.
Canavan teed up Mallon for a fourth point and, by the ten-minute mark, they were five up through Canavan as Westmeath had one half hearted long ball drop short. The home defence combined well to move the ball out any time it came their way. Canavan dropped over a fine team point, with McCaffrey and Conroy involved in the move.
A brace of Anna Jones frees amid driving rain closed the gap by the 25th minute. A minute later, however, Conroy fired in a well taken goal. McCaffrey’s free kick on the halfway line was collected by the Moy player and she spun away and picked her spot.
Late first half points from Jones and Hegarty, including their first from play closed it to within five points at the break, 1-6 to 0-4.
The rain had eased for the start of the second half but it was only a temporary halt. McCaffrey picked up an early yellow card (reducing the home side to 14 players for ten minutes) to hand Westmeath a lifeline. Jones drove over a fifth point to cut the gap to four but they could not take further advantage. Canavan rattled the visitors' crossbar and Conroy pointed to settle the nerves, before McCaffrey came back in.
Jones worked hard and tagged on a point from another free as the game moved into the final quarter. Once again Tyrone responded with a stunning score, a great goal from Canavan. Campbell did well to win the ball inside her own half and sent a great ball to Canavan, who collected and finished well to the net.
Jones and Canavan exchanged points in the latter stages before Westmeath were awarded a somewhat surprising late penalty, with referee Siobhan Coyle consulting with her umpires before making the call. Leanne Slevin drilled the spot-kick to the net for a consolation goal.
Player of the match: Tyrone midfielder and captain Aoibhinn McHugh had an excellent outing for the hosts. She tracked up and down the park, won her individual battles and tagged on a couple of points.
Talking point: The weather was the main talking point and credit to the Naomh Eoghan club for getting the game played, and credit also to the players from both counties who worked so hard in terrible conditions.
Scorers - Tyrone: M Canavan 1-4, E Conroy 1-2, A McHugh 0-2, M Mallon 0-1. Westmeath: A Jones 0-6, L Slevin 1-0, K Hegarty 0-1.
Tyrone: Caitlin Donnelly; Jayne Lyons, Joanne Barrett, Clara Daly; Aine Strain, Zoe Loughran, Meabh Corrigan; Caitlin Campbell, Aoibhinn McHugh; Aine Grimes, Chloe McCaffrey, Maria Canavan; Aoife Horisk, Meabh Mallon, Emma Conroy. Subs: Emma Jane Gervan for Loughran, Aoibhinn Daly for Grimes, Katie Rose Muldoon for Horisk, Emer McCanny for Corrigan, Sasha Byrne for Canavan, Caitlin McCallion for Conroy.
Westmeath: Lauren McCormack; Laura Kiernan, Lucy Power, Lara McCartan; Chloe Kelly, Fiona Coyle, Rachel Dillon; Kelly Boyce Jordan, Anna Jones; Caoimhe Clarke McMahon, Vicky Carr, Ashley Ruane; Tracey Dillon, Leanne Slevin, Karen Hegarty. Subs: Sadhbh Gorman for Clarke McMahon.
Referee: Siobhan Coyle (Donegal).