Women’s football: Dublin and Mayo set up semi-final meeting

Dublin will play Mayo in the TG4 All-Ireland ladies SFC semi-finals but only after surviving a tough test from Donegal, winning 1-13 to 2-7.

“We missed a lot, even from frees, but the girls’ character eventually came through,” said Dubs’ manager Greg McGonigle after watching his side struggle to penetrate Donegal’s blanket defence in Longford on Saturday.

“Donegal set up in a way that’s very hard to break down, very similar to their men,” he added.

Dublin trailed by two at half-time and saw their four-point lead cut to a point with just four minute left.

But this was the tough examination they probably needed after cruising to their fifth Leinster title in-a-row this summer.

Defenders Olwen Carey, Sinead Goldrick and Sinead Finnegan, top scorer Sinead Aherne (1-6, three frees) Carla Rowe and super-sub Siobhán Woods were key to their survival and Muireann Ni Scanaill returned from a long injury layoff to make a vital late goalmouth intervention.

Secret weapon

Dublin shot almost 10 wides in both halves and trailed 0-5 to 1-4 to 0-5 at half-time after being rocked by Yvonne McGonagle’s 21st minute goal.

But an inspirational Niamh McEvoy point and Aherne’s third quarter goal put them four points clear before Donegal’s ‘secret weapon’ struck.

Geraldine McLaughlin, only recently returned from America, was sprung from the bench at half-time and threw her side a lifeline with a 55th minute goal but vital scores from Rowe and Aherne (free) then settled Dublin again.

“We put Dublin under wild pressure, asked big questions of them and probably just one mistake in defence cost us,” said Donegal boss Michael Naughton, whose side were bidding to reach their first ever senior semi-final.

Mayo are back in the semi-finals for the first time in seven years, but only after surviving a nail-biting quarter-final tussle with Westmeath, emerging with a 2-10 to 1-11 win .

They will need to improve considerably after struggling for long periods with Division Two finalists Westmeath, who held them to just four first-half scores and cleaned them out at midfield.

Westmeath might have been leading, not trailing (0-4 to 1-3), at half-time if they hadn’t chased goals so persistently. Rebecca Dunne held Cora Staunton to just 0-2 (one free) by the break and Mayo’s first goal, on 26 minutes, came against the run of play when a Staunton shot came off the crossbar and fell to an unmarked Doireann Hughes.

The sides were level a third time before Staunton eventually scored a fine goal after Niamh Kelly won a short free on 37 minutes. Westmeath rallied with quick points from their top scorer Leona Archibald and Maud Annie Foley before Mayo, inspired by Staunton, then kicked four points clear with a flurry of points. Yet a late Westmeath goal from Maher cut the gap to just one with four minutes left and Mayo needed a super insurance point from Niamh Kelly to seal victory.