Ladies hit top form to edge out Westmeath

Lidl Ladies Ntaional League Division Two

Westmeath....1-12

Tyrone.... 2-13

THE Tyrone Ladies hit form to score a second win of their Lidl National Football League Division Two campaign, edging out Westmeath at Cusack Park in Mullingar.

Six points from the outstanding Aoife McGahan made a massive contribution to this morale-boosting success, with the goals coming from Chloe McCaffrey and Aoife Horisk.

This was a performance laced with quality and positivity, and one that manager Sean O’Kane hopes will provide an impetus for his players to maintain an upward trend and achieve greater things as the season progresses.

The foundation was laid for this success in the first half, when the visitors asserted themselves and came from behind to take a narrow lead into the interval, and advantage that they were able to defend in the second as they closed out the game.

But a satisfying day was somewhat marred by an injury to Aoife Horisk, who was taken to hospital by ambulance following a lengthy delay while she received treatment on the field during the second half.

With Sarah Dillon and Aoife Connolly carrying the challenge for Westmeath, the home side built up a 0-7 to 0-3 lead, but the visitors met the challenge head-on as they carved out a deserved result.

Chloe McCaffrey was always a threat, and it was her goal that sparked the fightback.

The return of Niamh Hughes proved to be a real tonic for the Red Hands, and it was her point that opened the scoring early on, before Ciara Blundell brought the Leinster side level.

Vicky Carr and Sarah Dillon sent over points as Westmeath built the pressure, and they almost had a goal when Rachel Dillon broke through to get her shot away, but goalkeeper Sinead McVey responded with a fine save.

The home side continued to press, with scores from Dillon and Ciara Blundell adding to their challenge.

Tyrone responded with a well taken McGahan effort, which was cancelled out by Dillon, before McGahan added a third score for the visitors, who were under pressure but holding their own at this stage.

And they stepped up the tempo to put the Westmeath defence under pressure, with Hughes playing a leading role with her strong running and clever use of possession.

She fired over a point, and further scores from Slaine Mc Carroll and Aoife Horisk nudged the visitors ahead.

There was a setback when Connolly got in for a Westmeath goal, but as half-time approached, another passage of attacking football saw McGahan and Emma Hegarty add scores to send Tyrone in at the break with a pone point lead.

The pressure built on the home defence after the restart, with Hughes and McGahan on target to ease the Red Hands into a three points lead.

The Midlanders rallied for Dillon to convert a free, but a confident Red Hand side swept forward again and struck for a vital goal.

Horisk saw her shot cleared off the line, but she was quick to react, finishing to the net after goalkeeper Lauren McCormack failed to hold a high, dropping ball from Emma Jane Gervin.

Now Tyrone led by five, and they had victory in their sights.

Connolly did close the gap with a point, but that was cancelled out by a superbly taken McGahan score.

Following a 15-minute delay as the injured Horisk was attended to, Connolly and Rafferty exchanged points, and Connolly narrowed the deficit to three with five minutes to play.

Westmeath threw everything into attack in the closing stages, and goalkeeper McVey came to the rescue again with a crucial save.

Play swung back to the other end for McGahan to land another delightful effort, following excellent approach work from team captain Aoibhinn McHugh.

There was another close shave before the finish as Ciara Blundell missed narrowly with an excellent effort, and Tyrone closed the game out.

Westmeath scorers: Aoife Connolly 1-4, Sarah Dillon 0-6, Ciara Blundell, Vicky Carr 0-1 each.

Tyrone scorers: Aoife McGahan 0-6, Chloe McCaffrey, Aoife Horisk 1-1 each, Niamh Hughes 0-2, Slaine McCarroll, Emma Hegarty, Grainne Rafferty 0-1 each.

Westmeath: Lauren Mc Cormack; Mary Dunne, Lucy Power, Ayesha Roche; Kelly Boyce Jordan, Tracey Dillon, Laura Kiernan; Vicky Carr, Ashley Ruane; Anna Jones, Karen Hegarty, Rachel Dillon; Sarah Dillon, Aoife Connolly, Ciara Blundell.

Tyrone: Sinead McVey; Emma Hegarty, Caoimhe Magee, Aoife McGahan; Jayne Lyons, Eimear Quinn, Slaine McCarroll; Emma Jane Gervin, Aoibhinn McHugh; Niamh Hughes, Emma Loane, Meabh Corrigan; Chloe Mc Caffrey, Meabh Mallon, Aoife Horisk.

Subs: Grainne Rafferty for Hughes, Maeve McGleenan for McCaffrey, Nicole Murphy for Loane, Orla Mulgrew for Horisk, Caitlin Campbell for Lyons

Referee: Patrick Smith