Royal camogs put to the sword by neighbours

Stephen Sheils' side suffered defeat to neighbours Westmeath in round one of the All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie series on Sunday.

Westmeath 4-13

Meath 1-12

Meath suffered a comprehensive defeat to their neighbours Westmeath in the opening round of the All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie series after a disastrous final quarter in which the opposition outscored the Royals 2-4 to no score in Ashbourne.

Meath didn’t exactly fade out completely in the last 15 minutes but they struggled massively in a creative sense while Westmeath took full advantage and their clinical edge ensured that they closed out the contest in style.

Megan Dowdall caused serious issues for the Meath defence and finished with an incredible tally of 3-7. Dowdall’s first goal was an early blow for Meath. Her second came at a crucial stage for the eventual winners when the Royals edged two points ahead five minutes after the restart. Her third late on was the icing on the cake for the ladies in maroon and white.

While the Royals remained competitive on the scoreboard for the majority, there was only a brief period after half-time where they looked to be on top in the contest. Westmeath picked several holes in the Meath defence that had been so solid and consistent this year.

The ever-driven Ellen Burke worked her socks off in the middle of the park. Ella O’Brien utilised her pace and asked plenty of questions of the Westmeath defence while Roisin Heaney was undoubtedly Meath’s best performer and finished with a nice tally of 1-7.

However, Westmeath were without a doubt the deserving winners even if the final-quarter blitz slightly flattered the scoreline in their favour.

The opening 10 minutes was quite competitive as both sides settled in to the contest relatively quickly. Aoife Carey set Burke up for a nice score before Aoife Minogue did well under pressure and laid it off to Heaney for Meath’s second point. A brace of Dowdall scores got Westmeath off to a quick start and after 10 minutes the visitors led 0-3 to 0-2.

In the 11th minute, Dowdall was played through on goal by Caoimhe McCrossan and the prolific attacker made no mistake with the finish past Maggie Randle. Heaney rattled off two frees on the spin, the second of which was a wonderful strike from a fair distance out.

Laura Doherty kept the three-point margin between the sides before Ella O’Brien did ever so well to claim a ball sent in to the forwards by Maeve Clince. O’Brien then turned nicely and split the posts.

Dowdall stretched Westmeath’s advantage with two frees on the spin before Shelia McGrath sliced open the Meath defence and handed the visitors a five-point lead. Heaney scored another two frees in injury time but at the break Dowdall’s 11th-minute goal separated the sides as Westmeath held a 1-7 to 0-7 advantage.

In what was a hectic start to the second-half, Minogue’s super long-range effort was cancelled out by Dowdall before Meath caught their opponents on the break and a ball into the danger zone from Olivia O’Halloran was finished nicely to the net by Heaney.

That goal brought the Royals back on level terms before a brace of Heaney points handed Meath a two-point advantage after 35 minutes. However, their lead was short-lived as in the 36th minute, Dowdall fired past Randle again for her second green flag before she put the eventual winners two points ahead once more a few moments later.

McCrossen extended the gap to three points before Minogue showed a glimmer of what she is capable of with a fine strike. In the 45th minute, Ciara Foley reduced the gap back to one but that was as good as it got for Stephen Sheil’s side as they failed to register another score.

In the 46th minute, Erin Core picked up a loose ball deep in Meath territory and did well to evade the pressure from the Meath defence before she raised Westmeath’s third green flag. Two quick-fire points from Shelia McGrath effectively put the game beyond the Royals as Westmeath led by six points with five minutes to go.

Dowdall’s third goal and Westmeath’s fourth was not Randle’s finest moment between the sticks as she got blocked down before the prolific attacker finished to an empty net. Dowdall then rubbed salt into the wounds of the Royals with another point in injury time.

Westmeath - Fiona Keating; Roisin Scally, Dearbhail McLoughlin, Emily McCabe; Maria Kelly, Julie McLoughlin, Laura Doherty (0-1); Aoife O’Malley, Erin Core (1-0); Meadhbh McLoughlin (0-1), Caoimhe McCrossen (0-1 free), Aisling Doyle; Sheila McGrath (0-4), Ashley Ruane, Megan Dowdall (3-7 three frees). Subs - Amelia Shaw for Ruane half-time, Aine Newman for McCabe 43m, Karen Keegan for M McLoughlin 51m, Olivia Kelleghan for McCrossan, Ella Reilly for J McLoughlin both 58m.

Meath - Maggie Randle; Sophia Payne, Maeve Clince; Rachel Moran; Blathnaid Hughes, Leah Devine, Aoibheann Lally; Ellen Burke (0-1), Isabel O’Connor; Aoife Carey, Roisin Heaney (1-7 five frees), Aoife Minogue (0-2); Olivia O’Halloran, Ciara Foley (0-1), Ella O’Brien (0-1). Subs - Emma Regan for O’Connor, Rachel O’Neill for Payne both half-time, Grace Coleman for Carey, Abbye Donnelly for Hughes both 47m.

Referee - Paul O’Neill (Antrim).