Goodnight Meath despite Irene's heroic performance

With less than a minute to go in this thrilling Ladies Leinster SFC semi-final at Stradbally on Sunday Meath were still in contention against a fancied Laois side. Trailing by just 2-5 to 2-9 in injury-time Meath piled on the pressure in search of the goal that would have set up a tense finale, but Laois hit on the counter attack and delivered the knock-out blow. It was a brave performance from a Meath side that featured five championship debuts, but ultimately the greater guile and experience of Laois proved decisive. There was a combination of grit and determination and an exceptional performance from goalkeeper Irene Munnelly that ensured Meath were in contention throughout. After a nervous opening quarter Meath found their groove and rattled Laois. A minute into the second-half Meath led by 1-4 to 0-5 following Mary Sheridan's goal, but Laois used their strong wind advantage to pile on the pressure. Laois were driven by their excellent midfield pairing of Olwyn Farrell and Tracy Lawlor, but despite enjoying numerous over-laps they struggled to penetrate a dogged Meath rearguard that was inspired by Ciara Dempsey, Clare Coffey and substitute Aine Fagan. Whenever Laois did manage to breakthrough the formidable Meath defence they were met by the irresistible force provided by Munnelly. On at least six occasions the St Ultan's girl produced world-class saves to keep her side in contention. When Meath did manage to break, Philomena and Mary Sheridan caused problems while the hard work of Orla Sheridan and Deirdre Flynn ensured that Laois had to be at their best to limit chances. Meath started nervously. Despite playing with the wind at their backs they conceded a lot of possession and allowed Laois give the impression that they would run riot. However, once the Royals settled they put it up to their more illustrious opponents. Flynn had the audacity to open the scoring for Meath after six minutes, but despite a strong defensive showing Meath were caught on the over-lap and trailed by 0-1 to 0-4 at the end of the first-quarter through Martina Duune, Martha Kirwan, Noreen Kirwan and Eimear Fitzpatrick. The Laois lead could have been greater, but Munnelly kept Lawlor and Martha Kirwan at bay with outstanding stops. After their nervous start Meath improved as a Jenny Rispin free, following a foul on Mary Sheridan, settled the visitors. Noreen Kirwan restored Laois's two-point cushion, but points from Philomena and Mary Sheridan closed the gap to 0-4 to 0-5 at the break. Meath got the perfect start to the second-half when a free from Rispin was broken by Orla Sheridan to Mary Sheridan and she made no mistake with her clinical finish. Meath's luck appeared to be in when Munnelly produced more heroics to deny Martina Dunne. However, after a spell of incessant pressure Martha Kirwan pounced on another superb stop by Munnelly to restore Laois's advantage, 1-5 to 1-4. A fisted point from Dunne was followed by a Lawlor goal following a defensive error as Laois stole the initiative. Another fine stop by Munnelly, to deny Dunne, prompted another Royal recovery. A fine pass from Philomena Sheridan set up Orla Sheridan for a brilliant goal, but in the final quarter Laois restricted their visitors, while hitting Meath on the break. Dunne and Orla Sheridan traded scores before points from Dunne and Lawlor gave Laois a 2-9 to 2-5 lead with five minutes remaining. Meath threw caution to the wind in an effort to get back in contention, but an injury-time goal from Aisling Kehoe gave the impression that Laois's win was easier than it actually was. Laois - C Dollard; G Dunne, L Muckian, A Quigley; A Taylor, T Fogarty, A Casey; O Farrell, T Lawlor (1-1); M Kirwan, N Kirwan (0-2), E McEvoy; M Kirwan (1-1), M Dunne (0-4, one free), G Weston. Subs - E Fitzpatrick (0-1) for Weston, A Kehoe (1-0) for McEvoy. Meath - I Munnelly; C Coffey, A Murray, M Kealy; C Dempsey, E Rahill, O Duff; A Leavy, J Rispin (0-1, free); D Flynn (0-1), B Lynch, O Sheridan (1-1); E Duffy, Mena Sheridan (0-1), Mary Sheridan (1-1). Subs - V McCormack for Flynn, S Byrne for Kealy, S Martin for Duffy. Referee - Des McEnery (Westmeath).