Meath kick off All Ireland journey with comfortable victory over Kildare

A strong second half performance saw the Royals pull away from the Liliwhites

Meath 3-10

Kildare 1-5

Meath kicked off their All Ireland Intermediate Camogie campaign with a wide-margin victory over Kildare. However, it was not as plain sailing for the Royals as what the scoreline suggests, particularly in the first-half. Meath struggled to settle into the game in the opening 25 minutes. A solid second-half performance saw them cruise to victory in the end.

Two early wides for Meath allowed Kildare to open the scoring. Caoimhe Ni Bhuirceal put the Liliwhites one up. Meath and Aoife Carey responded well with a levelling score.

The opening 10 minutes were scrappy and both sides were loose with their passing. It was the home side that had the lion’s share of possession though. Ailbhe Ryan edged Kildare in front in the contest.

After 25 minutes, Meath had still only scored a single point. It had taken them this long to settle into the game and then when they did start to create a few chances they were wasteful in front of the posts.

Finally, Meath opened up the Kildare defence in a fluent manner. Amy Gaffney put Grace Coleman through on goal and Gooch slotted it past the Kildare netminder.

Ciara Foley got her tally underway just before the half-time whistle. Meath went in at the break holding a 1-2 to 0-2 lead.

Meath got off to a flying start in the second-half. Aoibhinn Lally’s shot from a tight angle dropped over the keeper's head and into the back of the net. Erin Leddy’s score put Meath seven points to the good.

Ciara Foley sent a long ball towards the post, it landed into the keeper's hand, and after a few minutes of deliberation, the umpire decided that the keeper had crossed the line and the green flag was raised.

Caoimhe Ni Bhuirceal and Aoife McDermott rattled off two points for Kildare before Olivia O'Halloran hit back with one more for the Royals

Two superb long-range frees in quick succession from Maeve Clince and a further score from O'Halloran kept Meath ticking over as we entered the last five minutes

A successful free from Foley put Meath 14 up heading into injury time. Kildare did manage to get a late consolation goal and a cracking one at that courtesy of sub-Lea Sutton. Meath would have the final say though as Ciara Foleys free brought the curtain down on a comfortable win for the Royals.

SCORERS

Meath – Ciara Foley 0-3 two frees; Grace Coleman 1-0; Aoibhinn Lally 1-0; Roisin Roche 1-0 (OG); Maeve Clince 0-2 two frees; Aoife Carey 0-2 one free; Olivia O’Halloran 0-1; Erin Leddy 0-1.

Kildare – Lea Sutton 1-1 one free; Caoimhe Ni Bhuirceal 0-2; Aoife McDermott 0-1; Ailbhe Ryan 0-1.

Meath - Maggie Randle; Sophia Payne, Aine McNerneney, Tracey King; Leah Devine, Maeve Clince, Ellen Burke; Erin Leddy, Aoife Carey; Aoibhinn Lally, Ciara Foley, Katie Connolly; Olivia O'Halloran, Grace Coleman, Amy Gaffney. Subs - Ella O’Brien for Coleman 50m, Grace Connolly for Carey 50m.

Kildare - Roisin Roche; Kelly Perkins, Sorcha Dolan, Laoise Mimnagh; Shauna Mulligan, Aoife McCarthy, Ellen Morgan; Ailbhe Ryan, Meabh Maguire; Aideen Walsh, Sara Carroll, Caoimhe Ni Bhuirceal; Sarah Lavin, Aoife McDermott, Orla Carragher. Subs - Sinead O'Brien for Walsh 39m, Lea Sutton for Lavin 40m, Caoimhe Shanahan for Ryan 43m.

Referee: Karol Collins (Galway)