Galway ladies hit the goal trail in home win trail on home turf
GOALS proved decisive as Galway ladies secured a 3-11 to 0-15 win over Armagh in round four of the National Football League on Saturday evening at Duggan Park.
An Andrea Trill strike and two goals from Leanne Coen powered the Tribeswomen to their third victory of the campaign, strengthening their push for a place in the league final.
Galway’s full forward line of Andrea Trill, Roisin Leonard and Leanne Coen combined for 3-5, while Hannah Noone’s pace from the half back line caused Armagh plenty of problems.
Armagh made the brighter opening and led by 0-4 to no score after ten minutes. Inside two minutes, Caroline O’Hanlon set Catherine Marley away on a surging run before she was fouled by Galway midfielder Aisling Madden, who was sent to the sin bin by referee Maggie Farrelly.
Kelly Mallon, Christina O’Reilly and Blaithin Mackin were all on target to hand Orchard County early control in demanding conditions.
Róisín Leonard and Mallon exchanged scores as Galway trailed 0-5 to 0-1 by the end of the first quarter. Gradually, the home side found their footing and reeled off four unanswered points through Hannah Noone, Aoife O’Rourke, Kate Thompson and Coen to draw level.
The turning point arrived before the break when Leonard’s close-range free dropped short. Armagh goalkeeper Brianna Mathers punched clear, but the ball fell to Trill, who finished to the net. Leonard added a point from play to give Galway a four-point half-time lead.
Coen struck for a second goal on 36 minutes to stretch the advantage, and after Mallon replied, she netted again following a precise pass from Leonard to leave Galway 3-8 to 0-9 ahead by the 40-minute mark. Armagh responded with points from Lauren McConville and O’Hanlon to stay in contention.
Lynsey Noone helped Galway maintain breathing space as O’Hanlon and Mallon kept Armagh within reach. In the closing stages Kate Slevin sealed a deserved five-point victory for Daniel Moynihan’s side.
The Galway management were able to introduce Siobhan Divilly, Olivia Divilly, Nicola Ward and Louise Ward off the bench in the second half.
Galway will now switch their focus to an away trip against Kerry in round five of the National League on Sunday at Austin Stack Park, Tralee (2pm).
SCORERS GALWAY: L Coen 2-1, A Trill 1-0, R Leonard (0-4, 0-2 f), H Noone 0-2, A O’Rourke (0-1, 0-1 f), K Slevin (0-1, 0-1 f), L Noone and K Thompson 0-1 each
SCORERS ARMAGH: K Mallon (0-7, 0-3 f), C O’Hanlon (0-3, 0-2 f), B Mackin 0-2, L Marsden, L McConville and C O’Reilly 0-1
Galway: L O’Halloran; R Quinn, S Ní Loingsigh, B Quinn; H Noone, C Trill, A Molloy; N Divilly, A Madden; A O’Rourke, K Slevin, K Thompson; A Trill, L Coen, R Leonard (capt.). SUBS: S Divilly for Madden (Half-time), O Divilly for O’Rourke (48), L Noone for Thompson (48), L Ward for Molloy (57), N Ward for N Divilly (57), E Smith for Leonard (60).
Armagh: B Mathers; M Ferguson, C McCambridge, C Towe; R Mulligan, L McConville (capt.), E Druse; C Marley, C O’Reilly; L Marsden, A Donnelly, B Mackin; M Lennon, C O’Hanlon, K Mallon. SUBS: E Reid for Mulligan (29), C McNally for Lennon (40), L Kavanagh for Donnelly (42), M Loughran for O’Reilly (52).
REFEREE: Margaret Farrelly (Cavan).