Football

Lidl National Football League: Donegal relegated from Division One as Armagh set up Division Two final with Laois

Niamh McLaughlin made her first appearance for Donegal this season in their league encounter with Mayo on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to avoid defeat which condemned them to relegation from Division One
Niamh McLaughlin made her first appearance for Donegal this season in their league encounter with Mayo on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to avoid defeat which condemned them to relegation from Division One Niamh McLaughlin made her first appearance for Donegal this season in their league encounter with Mayo on Sunday, but it wasn't enough to avoid defeat which condemned them to relegation from Division One
By Louise Gunn

Lidl National Football League

Division One  

DONEGAL have been relegated from the top tier of league football after their 5-9 to 3-2 loss to Mayo in O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny. 

This was a winner-takes-all encounter, the prize on offer, Division One status for next season. Mayo’s first half performance paved the way for this victory, a 4-5 to 0-1 half-time lead for the visitors, giving them plenty of cushion to play out the remaining 30 minutes.  

The Ulster side battled in the second half, hitting three goals through Katie Long, captain Niamh McLaughlin making her first start of the season and Cody Walsh but it was too late and last year’s Division One finalists will have now been relegated to Division Two, where they will play for the first time since 2016. 

The league final will be contested by Kerry and Galway on Saturday April 15 in Croke Park.  

Division Two  

ARMAGH will face Laois in this year’s Lidl National Football League Division Two final after the O’Moore County qualified for the decider thanks to both their win over Roscommon and the Orchard County’s defeat of Tipperary in Sunday’s final round games.   

Coming into the weekend’s game, Armagh had already booked their place in the final and they finished off the round robin stages with seven wins from seven after a 3-12 to 0-10 win over Tipp in Fethard on Sunday.  

Caroline O’Hanlon hit two second half goals in quick succession to effectively kill off the challenge of Tipperary leaving them with a nervy wait from the result of Laois and Roscommon. And, it was their defeat, coupled with Laois's win over Roscommon and win over Tipperary in a previous round that meant Laois finished in the runner-up spot, snatching the league final place from Tipp.  

The sides exchanged the first six points of the game and it was 0-3 apiece by the 20th minute before three in-a-row from Armagh put the visitors ahead 0-6 to 0-3 and just before half-time, Aimee Mackin and Aoife McCoy both pointed while Niamh Martin raised a white flag for Tipperary to leave it 0-8 to 0-5 at the break.   

O’Hanlon got the first point of the second half a Blaithin Mackin put double scores between them once again, 0-10 to 0-5. Emma Morrisey responded with a point for the home side before O’Hanlon grabbed her first goal in the 39th minute and then again in the 42nd to make it 2-10 to 0-7. A Moloney free reduced the deficit back to eight but captain Kelly Mallon’s goal in the 47th minute – Armagh’s third in eight minutes – signalled no way back for Tipp.  

Armagh and Laois will contest the Division Two final in Croke Park on Saturday April 15  

MONAGHAN held on to their Division Two league status for next season despite a 2-10 to 1-11 defeat to Westmeath on Sunday. That was due to Roscommon’s defeat to Laois, with the Rossies relegated to Division Three for next season as they finished bottom of the table on one point. Monaghan shared the spoils with Roscommon in their penultimate game so ultimately, it was the Ulster side’s victory over Tyrone in the second round that proved the difference between them and Roscommon and was enough to see them stay up.   

Down captain Meghan Doherty in action against Louth Picture: Down LGFA
Down captain Meghan Doherty in action against Louth Picture: Down LGFA Down captain Meghan Doherty in action against Louth Picture: Down LGFA

Division Three 

DOWN finished off their Division Three campaign with a 2-10 to 1-9 win over Louth but the winning margin wasn’t enough to see them reach the league final.  

The Mourne County finished joint second with Clare and Wexford but a inferior scoring difference saw them miss out on second place with Clare taking that position to set up a final meeting with Kildare next month.  

Despite missing out on a league final berth, which was always a tall ask going into the final day as they needed to rack up a big score against Louth, Down managers Peter Lynch and Caoibhe Sloan will be happy how the league has panned out as they now look forward to the championship.  

Down lead by two points to no score after the first quarter and again at 0-5 to 0-2 before taking in a two-point half-time lead.  

Louth started the second half strong and levelled the game with two unanswered points but Down responded similarly to go back in front 0-7 to 0-5 before the home side struck for the game’s opening goal to take the lead for the first time. They added another four points to lead 1-9 to 0-7 but Down came back and finished with 2-3 without reply to finish off with a win.   

Longford were relegated to Division Four, losing out among Sligo and Offaly because of their inferior score difference.