Westmeath score six goals but still lose to Tyrone in thriller

Lidl National Football League Division 2

Tyrone 4-15 Westmeath 6-6

By Paul Hughes

Despite scoring six goals in this Division 2 clash, Westmeath ladies were defeated by Tyrone in a ten-goal thriller at Dovida Lakepoint Park, Mullingar last Sunday afternoon.

The Lake County, lining out without the considerable talent of Milltown’s Sarah Dillon, nevertheless put in a thrilling attacking display with Anna Jones netting four times and Katie Kilmurray capping a dominant first-half display with a magnificent goal.

Although falling behind by seven points after a forgettable first quarter, Westmeath battled back to lead by three at the break (4-4 to 2-7). Well into the second half and with the last quarter looming, the hosts led by five and the momentum was theirs.

However, they scrambled to plug the gaps after they were reduced to 14 players after a 43rd-minute sin-binning for Ashley Ruane. Tyrone ruthlessly made their numerical advantage count, notching an unanswered 2-4 in that ten-minute period and opening up a seven-point cushion with the game in its dying embers.

The hosts really didn’t deserve to lose by such a margin, and while a sixth Westmeath goal made for a scoreline that more accurately reflected the contest, Frank Browne and his troops will surely look back at this game as one that got away.

Tyrone took an early lead through a Niamh O’Neill free but Westmeath showcased their potential when Rebecca Higgins of Goldsmiths, a late addition to the starting XV, teed up Katie Kilmurray to level matters.

From there, however, the hosts struggled to get ball into their forwards and Tyrone started to call the shots. With four minutes gone, O’Neill picked out the inrushing Maeve Maxwell with a sublime floated pass, and Maxwell fired low to the net with an angled shot.

Tyrone followed this up with a spell of target practice, with Emma Conroy, Emma Jane Gervin, O’Neill (a free) and the brilliant Aoife Horisk all finding their range, and the O’Neill County led 1-5 to 0-1.

But on the quarter-hour mark, the Westmeath revival kicked off in spectacular fashion when Katie Kilmurray capped a wonderful run with powerful finish. Moments later, a second Lake County goal followed when Higgins was hauled down, and Anna Jones wrong-footed Tyrone netminder Laura Kane from the penalty with a low shot.

The hosts were now only a point adrift but setbacks lay ahead. Three minutes later, Cara McNamee pointed for Tyrone after a dangerous break orchestrated by Aoibhinn McHugh and Claire Canavan and, a minute later, McHugh played a ball over the top of a sleeping Westmeath defence and Emma Conroy stole in to net from close range.

To their credit, the Lake County regrouped and two fine points from the excellent Katie Kilmurray kept them in touch. McHugh responded for the Red Hands after a swift team move but within two minutes, the visitors’ four-point lead was wiped out.

With 26 minutes gone, Anna Jones won the ball and embarked on a one-two with Kilmurray that ended with the former nudging the ball to the net. Two minutes later, Tyrone’s Laura Kane spilled a dipping point attempt from Kilmurray, allowing the inrushing Jones to slap the rebound to the net and complete her hat-trick.

Kilmurray turned provider again shortly before the break to tee up Rebecca Higgins for a well-taken score, as a resilient and gutsy Westmeath ended a pulsating first half three points to the good.

Tyrone bossed possession in the early stages of the second half, without making much inroads, with the increasingly influential Aoife Horisk and a free from Niamh O’Neill cancelling out a score from Westmeath’s Niamh Mullarkey.

Then, with 40 minutes gone, Westmeath’s hopes were given a lift when Anna Jones picked out Lucy McCartan for a close-range finish. That fifth goal put the Maroons five clear and with the game entering its final quarter, they were categorically on top.

However, the Lakesiders suffered a blow with 43 minutes gone when Ashley Ruane, theretofore a key link-up player through the middle, was sin-binned after halting a goalbound Emer McCanny in her stride with a robust high shoulder.

The visitors punished Westmeath accordingly, and moments after a free from Horisk, they had the ball in the net after a wayward kickout from Aoife Temple allowed Cara McNamee, teed up by Maeve Maxwell, to saunter in and lob the Westmeath ‘keeper.

Another fine effort from Aoife Horisk reduced Tyrone’s appears to a point, and more misery for Temple and Westmeath followed on 48 minutes when a dipping effort from Claire Canavan slipped through the Athlone custodian’s grasp, and McNamee was on hand to apply the finish.

Tyrone tacked on three more scores before Westmeath returned to full strength, from the boots Maxwell (two excellent points) and Emma Conroy. In the space of ten minutes, they had overturned a five-point deficit to lead by seven.

Ashley Ruane, returning to the fray after her yellow card, singlehandedly looked to cut the deficit, running at the Tyrone defence and kicking powerfully at goal. Her shot went over rather than under the bar and, at this stage, the hosts urgently needed goals.

Anna Jones, already with a hat-trick to her name, obliged with a fourth major in the sixth minute of stoppage time, crashing home a low drive after Lucy McCartan put in the hard yards to provide the assist.

If time had allowed, a dramatic seventh goal and a share of the spoils would have been the least the Maroons deserved. Alas, it didn’t and with Westmeath pointless after two games, there is now a sense of urgency about next Sunday’s trip to Monaghan.

Player of the match: Anna Jones (Westmeath). Aoife Horisk, Emma Conroy, Cara McNamee, Aoibhinn McHugh and Maeve Maxwell all impressed for the visitors but Jones was everywhere, scoring four goals, setting up another and generally functioning as Westmeath’s chief creative force. Katie Kilmurray, Sinéad Seery, Lucy McCartan and Rebecca Higgins also shone for Westmeath.

Key moment: The 43rd-minute sin-binning of Ashley Ruane, a real presence at the heart of the Westmeath defence, was an unlucky break for the hosts and the 10-minute numerical disadvantage proved fatal, with Tyrone kicking an unanswered 2-4 in that period.

Scorers - Tyrone: C McNamee 2-1; M Maxwell and E Conroy 1-2 each; A Horisk 0-5 (1f); N O’Neill 0-3(3f); EJ Gervin and A McHugh 0-1 each. Westmeath: A Jones 4-0 (1-0 pen); K Kilmurray 1-3; L McCartan 1-0,; R Higgins, N Mullarkey and A Ruane 0-1 each.

Tyrone - Laura Kane; Jayne Lyons, Joanne Barrett, Eimear Quinn; Claire Canavan, Méabh Corrigan, Caitlin Campbell; Emma Jane Gervin, Aoibhinn McHugh; Emma Conroy, Aoife Horisk, Emer McCanny; Niamh O’Neill, Maeve Maxwell, Cara McNamee. Subs used: Áine Strain for Corrigan (h-t), Caitlin McCallion for Barrett (h-t), Katie Rose Muldoon for Gervin (42), Caoimhe Magee for Campbell (52), Elle McNamee for Conroy (60).

Westmeath - Aoife Temple; Lara McCartan, Tracey Dillon, Fiona Coyle; Chloe Kelly Gonoud, Ashley Ruane, Sandra McWade; Vicky Carr, Caoimhe Kilmurray; Niamh Mullarkey, Anna Jones, Sinéad Seery; Rebecca Higgins, Lucy McCartan, Katie Kilmurray. Subs used: Philippa Ruane for Seery (40), Aoife Keegan for Higgins (45), Maisie Currams for McWade (56), Francesca Walshe for Mullarkey (60).

Referee - David Hurson (Monaghan).