Down out of revenge

Down’s Fionnuala Carr

Having missed out by the narrowest of margins in last year’s decider, Down are back and ready to make amends for their 2011 disappointment.

It was Waterford who provided the opposition in last year’s Croke Park final, the Mourne girls going down by 2-11 to 1-13 as they lost out in the most heartbreaking of fashion.

Waterford were forced to hold off a remarkable late surge to deny Down, the Ulster side hitting eight unanswered points to reduce the gap from 11 points to three. Unfortunately for Down, substitute Nicola Braniff’s injury-time goal came just too late to complete the comeback.

Down’s round robin stage this year was pretty unremarkable, making the semi-finals by finishing third in the group behind Meath and Laois. It was Laois who provided the opposition for the semi-final, with the Mourne girls coming through on a 2-8 to 2-5 scoreline. Niamh Mallon was their scorer-in-chief with 2-1 beside her name, with their inspirational captain Fionnuala Carr chipping in with four points.

There is no doubting that Meath have been the form side in the Premier Junior grade this season. They surpassed expectations by making it through to the National League Division Two decider where they fell to today’s Intermediate finalists Derry, and carried that rich vein of form into their Championship campaign where they went on to register five straight victories to top the table.

The full story is in the current issue of Gaelic Life, published on Thursday September 13. Buy your copy now in your local newsagent, or you can purchase the online version – for only 90p – by clicking here