Louth Ladies end campaign with comfortable win over Offaly

Louth finished off their division 3 league campaign with a flourish, as they comfortably beat Offaly in Tullamore on Sunday afternoon. 

Heading into this contest, third placed Louth knew that a win could mean a potential spot in the league decider and promotion to division 2 for 2026.

However, Wexford who started the day in second, secured their place in the final after beating fourth place Laois, meaning that they will face Cavan in the league final on April 13.

Playing with the breeze at their backs for the opening period, Louth showed their intent, scoring 1-4 in each quarter to take a 2-8 to 0-1 lead into the half time break.

READ MORE: Louth minors begin campaign with well-earned victory away to Laois

On a day where all six Wee County starting forwards registered scores beside their name, Glen Emmets’ Rachel Leonard got the ball rolling just passed the opening minute with a point in a move which began with a tenacious turnover from Holly Lambe Sally at the other end.

As well as punishing Offaly in the transition, Louth also dominated on Offaly’s kickout, winning 10 out of 22 Faithful restarts over the hour, including 6 out of 12 in the first half.

Alongside some excellent fetches from midfielders Aine Breen and Aoife Halligan, half back Gemma McCrave was also key to Louth securing possession, as well as the supporting cast of Aoife Russell and Seoda Matthews, as Louth forced an effective press on the opposition’s kickout.

On the back of this, Laura Collins landed Louth’s second point, before a long ball from Aine Breen managed to bounce over the bar for point number three for the visitors.

Following a hard run and swivel, Eimear Byrne fired over Louth’s fourth point, before the Reds landed their first goal following a calm finish from Ceire Nolan, who was set up by the hardworking Aoife Halligan, who plucked an Offaly kickout.

The Roche Emmets player finished with 17 possessions over the hour, with midfield partner Aine Breen finishing with 25.

Louth led by 1-4 to no score after the first quarter, and could have even added to that tally, with Eimear Byrne’s goal bound strike blocked by Offaly’s Niamh Glackin, while keeper Lauren Dunne also denied Laura Collins later in the half.

Stunning solo efforts from Lucy White and Eimear Byrne put nine between the sides, before Kate Flood opened up her account with a free. Offaly finally got themselves on the scoreboard through a close range free from the lively Abbi Stafford.

Louth landed a huge knockout blow just before the interval with a second major through Ceire Nolan, after she picked up a loose ball to drill home after Offaly keeper Lauren Dunne had denied Eimear Byrne, leaving Louth firmly in the driving seat at the break,

Second Half:

Despite the switch of ends, Louth all but sealed victory within the first 5 minutes of the second half, thanks to cleverly taken goals from Laura Collins and Rachel Leonard, either side of another Abbi Stafford free for Offaly.

Rachel Leonard who was close to flawless in front of the posts, added a second goal in a move involving Ceire Nolan and Eimear Byrne to go with a point kicked by the same player a minute earlier. Emma Hand traded frees with Kate Flood to make it 5-10 to 0-3 by the end of the first quarter.

Another pleasing aspect from Louth’s point of view is the scoring contribution from their bench, which saw Ciara Woods score a quickfire 1-1 following her introduction, while another sub and defender by trade, Caitlin O’Reilly raised a white flag before the end of the play.

Ceire Nolan who like Eimear Byrne was once again a strong candidate for player of the match, completed her hattrick with another smart finish for goal crazy Louth. Kate Flood also landed her first score from play, as Louth continued to keep the scoreboard ticking.

The only slight blot on the Louth copybook was the concession of a late goal, which was scored by Eabha Enright, who fired to the bottom corner, while the hard working midfielder Amy Gavin Mangan ran herself into the ground and kicked three fine second half points to her credit.

Despite this, the outcome of this game had long been decided, and Louth were winners by 23 points, as they finished in third place in a fairly satisfactory division 3 league campaign, despite the slight disappointment at narrowly missing out on promotion.

Louth: Rebecca Lambe Fagan; Seoda Matthews, Holly Lambe Sally, Rachel Beirth; Gemma McCrave, Shannen McLaughlin, Aoife Russell; Aine Breen (0-1), Aoife Halligan; Rachel Leonard (2-2), Eimear Byrne (0-2), Lucy White (0-1); Ceire Nolan (3-0), Kate Flood (0-4) (2f), Laura Collins (1-1).

Subs: Caitlin O’Reilly (0-1) for Beirth (10), Lucy Sheridan for White (HT), Victoria Fee for McCrave (36), Katie Doheny for Sally (42), Katie Halligan for Fagan (45), Ciara Woods (1-1) for Collins (46), Emma Gartlan for Byrne (49), Vanessa Brennan for Nolan (50), Seona Halligan for Flood (51).

Offaly: Lauren Dunne; Anna Grehan, Niamh Glackin, Nicole Buckley; Kaytlin Flynn, Jane Maher, Dawn Hannon; Michele Mann, Amy Gavin Mangan (0-3); Isabelle Liu Lyons, Emma Hand (0-3) (3f), Aoife Minnock; Saorah Doyle, Nicole Merriman, Abbi Stafford (0-2) (2f).

Subs: Saoirse McGuinness for Merrimen (19), Eabha Enright (1-0) for Doyle (HT), Lauren Leavy for Maher (36), Marie Byrne for Liu Lyons (42). Susan O’Grady for Dunne (46), Liadhan Murray for Stafford (49), Courtney Carey for Flynn (59), Jane Maher for Grehan (59).

Referee: Conor McCarthy (Co Cork).