Jackies hope to maintain winning run

Dublin's senior ladies footballers host Monaghan in Parnell Park this Saturday (2.0) hoping to confirm top spot in SFC Group 2.

The Jackies defeated Westmeath in the Leinster SFC final and then Waterford in their opening group game in their only two championship contests to date.

Last time out the two in-a-row All-Ireland champions put in a dominant first half display to overcome Waterford by 18 points (5-15 to 2-6) in their All-Ireland quarter-final Group 2 Round 1 clash at O'Moore Park, Portlaoise.

Mick Bohan's side led by 14 points at the break and while they were not as strong in the second period they were still much too dynamic and skillful for their Munster opponents.

With Niamh McEvoy in brilliant form Dublin moved 4-6 to 0-4 clear after an impressive first half where a high work-rate was at the core of their dominance.

In their provincial decider Dublin overcame Westmeath 4-11 to 1-7 at Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow.

Victory saw Dublin claim their eighth TG4 Leinster senior title in-a-row, but the scoreline doesn’t do justice to Westmeath who only fell out of contention thanks to late goals from Niamh McEvoy and Nicole Owens.

Dublin recovered from the early loss of Sinead Aherne through injury to lead at half-time and Mick Bohan’s side were convincing winners after a powerful second-half display.

In a low scoring first quarter Westmeath brought the game to the reigning All-Ireland champions. Sarah Dillon landed a third-minute point, but three minutes later they suffered a set-back when Kelly Boyce Jordan was yellow carded.

It didn’t damage them in defence though as they kept the Dubs scoreless for the opening quarter. The challengers scored the next two points through Annie Dolan and a Leanne Slevin free.

Niamh McEvoy finally got Dublin off the mark with a free on 15 minutes but that was cancelled out when Sarah Dolan pointed for Westmeath. Westmeath had a let-off when McEvoy hit the crossbar from a free but the Dubs were not going to be denied as McEvoy and the excellent Sinead Goldrick pointed to level the game on 26 minutes.

Moments later when Sinead Owens broke through the Westmeath defence, she still had a lot to do but her off-load to Oonagh Whyte was accurate and the ball receiver found the net.

Westmeath hit back with two frees from Slevin, but just before the interval Oonagh Whyte found the net once more to give the All-Ireland champions a 2-4 to 0-6 interval lead.

With Westmeath piling on the pressure Jennifer Dunne picked up a yellow card for Dublin but they responded well scoring the next two points through Whyte and Owens.

Westmeath got a huge boost when Slevin converted a penalty after Boyce Jordan was fouled after penetrating the defence. Sean Finnegan’s side came at Dublin in the final quarter but with ten minutes to go they suffered a double setback when the influential Jo-Hanna Maher was yellow-carded and from the free out Dublin worked possession up the field and Owens took a pass from Whyte before finding the net.

That broke the heart of Westmeath who had worked themselves to a standstill up to this. McEvoy scored a fourth goal in the closing stages as Dublin ran out winners but not as emphatic as it looked.

Dublin are pooled in Group 2 alongside Waterford and Monaghan should Dublin top their group they will play the second-placed team in Group 3 (Galway, Westmeath or Kerry) in the quarter final on August 3/4/5.

Should Dublin come second in Group 2 they will play the winner of Group 3 in the quarter final on August 10.

Teams placed third in each group move on into the championship relegation process with one county being demoted to Intermediate football for the 2020 season.

Please note the admission prices for this game and indeed all LGFA championship matches up until the All-Ireland finals are as follows: Adults €10, Students/OAPs €5, U16s €2, U12s Free

Saturday, July 27

TG4 All Ireland Senior Championship Round 3

Group 4: Donegal v Mayo; Bord na Móna O'Connor Park, Tullamore, 1.30pm – LIVE on TG4

Group 1: Armagh v Cork; Bord na Móna O'Connor Park, Tullamore, 3.15pm – LIVE on Spórt TG4 YouTube channel

Group 2: Dublin v Monaghan; Parnell Park, 2pm

Sunday, July 28

TG4 All Ireland Senior Championship Round 3

Group 3: Kerry v Westmeath; Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, 2pm

2019 LADIES SFC: Tables

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

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