Down Ladies beat Monaghan to reach All-Ireland Intermediate Championship semi-finals

The games may be getting tougher as they move deeper into the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship but Down got the better of Monaghan in Pairc Esler on Sunday as the winning habit continued.

The Mourne county notched up their tenth victory on the trot since last losing a game in the second fixture of the National League to book a meeting with Tyrone in the Intermediate Championship Semi-final on July 14.

Less than a month and a half ago Down beat Monaghan by a solitary point in the Ulster final and while this time it was another testing tussle, Peter Lynch and Caoibhe Sloan's side battled their way to a three-point victory over the Farney county.

There were two points between the teams at half-time with a goal apiece – Natasha Ferris hitting the net for Down – and both sides reduced to 14 players during the half – Laoise Duffy sent off for the home team.

The same happened in the second period both in terms of goals and yellow cards with Down captain Meghan Doherty missing the last seven minutes after Sarah Dougherty netted.

But the result was all that mattered in the end as Down came back from a three-point deficit to win by the same amount after another hard-fought battle.

It was a lot tighter than you would have liked I'm sure, suggested the Newry Reporter to co-manager Lynch after the final whistle blew.

“Yes, but given the Ulster final it's what was expected,” he replied.

“As you move into this stage of the competition it's what you expect. You expect it to be a real battle and I think it was every bit of that again – same as the Westmeath game we had here recently. But there's no safety net today – you lose, you're gone. But I thought the players managed it really well, when we went down players and when we were up players, I think we still controlled a lot of the game. We got turnovers when we needed them. We got a massive game out of Erin Sands when she moved outfield, she was tremendous for us the legs and energy from her. Her run set up the second goal. We had some real standout performances there.”

Lynch agreed that injuries and bookings made for a stop and start game but he felt that didn't necessarily affect Down's momentum.

“It depends what time of the game it comes at. If you're chasing the game you like to keep at it. But we were happy. You get over the line and get the result you want at the end of the day and we just heard that Tyrone came from six points down to beat Clare so we have Tyrone in the semi-final. The players that came on from the bench made a big impact as well so we're happy where we are”

The competition for places is fierce on this Down panel but everyone has a job to do and time to do it.

“Viv [Vivienne McCormack] didn't start but she did well when she came in. It's horses for courses. Certain players suit certain types of games with what you expect. They kept tight tabs on Laoise [Duffy] as well but she still had an impact and came up with a big score in the second half. I thought the yellow card was very harsh on her. I think she was trying to go around the player and the player stepped across and there was no way to avoid her. But we got over the line and that's all it's about.”

MATCH STATS

Down: Maeve Deery; Aimee Greene, Ciara Byrne, Erin Sands; Clara Mulvenna, Natalie McKibben, Orla Duffy (0-1); Meghan Doherty, Aoife Laverty; Niamh Scullion, Niamh McClory, Laoise Duffy (0-2); Sarah Dougherty (1-1), Natasha Ferris (1-4,2f), Niamh King (0-4,3f)

Subs: Alice McAlea for Laverty (39mins), Aimee Smyth for Dougherty (51mins), Vivienne McCormack for Scullion (55mins), Katie Howlett (55mins)

Monaghan: Orna Kelly; Naoimi Cogan, Kerry Nolan, Eva Woods (0-1); Amy Garland (0-1), Ella Carolan, Maeve Monaghan; Jennifer Duffy, Katie McCaffrey; Lauren Garland, Sarah Tierney (2-0), Casey Treanor; Niamh Flannagan, Chloe McBride (0-4,2f), Eabha Sherry (0-2,2f)

Subs: Aoife Bannigan for Monaghan (2mins), Leanne Maguire (0-1,1f) for Bannigan (43mins), Megan Boylan (51mins), Sarah Capaldi for McBride (58mins)

Referee: Philip Conway (Armagh)

For full match report see this week’s Newry Reporter in shops Wednesday July 3