Limerick booked their place in the Division 4 semi-finals with a two point win over Carlow. Carlow have also qualified for the last four.
Leitrim put in a ruthless second half performance to defeat their neighbours Longford at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park. Jonny Garrity’s side now face Limerick in thes semi-finals.
Fermanagh 1-14 Derry 2-07
Fermanagh picked up their fifth win in a row with a four point win over their Ulster rivals Derry in Donagh. Credit to Derry they put in a strong second half performance.
The superb Eimear Smyth opened the scoring with two minutes gone on the clock. Emma Doherty kicked over a free for Derry for their opening score in the seventh minute. Derry had a penalty saved during that half. Erin Doherty scored a goal in the 26th minute but Bronagh Smyth goalled for the Erne County before the break.
Dara McKeever scored a goal for Derry in the 52nd minute to cut the gap to just one point. Three points from Smyth (one free) sealed the win for Fermanagh.
Limerick 1-11 Carlow 1-09
Limerick booked their place in the Division 4 semi-finals with two points to spare at home to Carlow.
Limerick started the game well and were ahead by four points after the opening quarter; Deborah Murphy with a goal. They extended that lead to five points after 24 minutes. Carlow grabbed a goal before half-time to leave them trailing by one point.
The second half was a tight affair but Limerick were able to stay ahead of Carlow. In the end it was defeat for the Leinster side but both are through to the last four.
Longford 2-14 Leitrim 7-20
Leitrim recorded a comprehensive win against their neighbours Longford at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park. It ended Longford’s chances of booking a place in the semi-finals.
Longford started the game well and kicked over the opening two points. Leitrim replied and were up by three. Longford drew level. A goal from Michelle Guckian gave Leitrim the lead at the break – 1-08 to 0-09.
The second half was a goal spree. Ailbhe Clancy scored from the penalty spot. Guckian scored her second, Leah Fox (2) and Vivienne Egan scored for Leitrim. Edel Sheehy scored twice for Longford.
Wicklow 3-15 Kilkenny 2-02
Wicklow ended their league campaign with a win. Due to Limerick defeating Carlow, Wicklow were unable to claim a place in the Division 4 semi-finals.
The home side put in a clinical first half performance and were also able to keep Kilkenny scoreless in that half. The score at half-time was 2-12 to 0-00.
Credit to Kilkenny they battled after the break. Rebecca Roche and Aoibhe Ryan scored goals for the visitors but Wicklow had done all the hard work in the first half to claim the win.
Deniese O'Flaherty
Deniese is a freelance sports journalist/broadcaster. She has worked for several local and national media outlets. GAA and soccer are her great loves and she also follows rugby league and snooker. She's a big supporter of her local clubs St. Mary's GAA Granard and Longford Town. She also follows Celtic, Liverpool and Leeds Rhinos. She presented and produced a popular sports podcast last year where she interviewed Ray Houghton, Chris Kamara and John Hartson. Deniese is currently Head of Communications for Boccia Ireland