Ruthless Louth have Boyle, Flood and Rice on fire in LGFA All-Ireland JFC victory over Carlow

TG4 LGFA All-Ireland JFC

Carlow 2-9 Louth 4-18

Kate Flood was back to somewhere near her best as Louth got their TG4 LGFA All-Ireland JFC campaign off to an expected winning start in Carlow on Sunday afternoon.

Indeed, it was a team performance of a seriously high standard, possibly their best this season and certainly an upgrade on their Leinster final-winning effort against the same opposition.

Flood amassed 2-5, all bar two points of which came from play, and she was ably assisted by the twin dynamos from Cooley, Lauren Boyle (0-4) and Niamh Rice (1-3), who did their burgeoning reputations no harm whatsoever.

It all bodes well for the round two affair with London on Saturday week, where a victory would seal Louth’s qualification as group winners. Although they’re already well on the way to the knockout phase courtesy of this 15-point win.

Louth captain Kate Flood in action against Carlow. (Pic: Warren Matthews)

Manager Darren Bishop is known for his relentless driving of standards and midfielder Aoife Byrne feels this had a major say in the team’s opening performance of the All-Ireland series.

“Everyone worked really hard from the first throw-in; you always had someone running off your shoulder and that’s a reflection of how we train,” the St. Mochta’s woman said.

“We trained during the week to push up and press their kick-outs, and it worked today. A couple of our scores came from turnovers of their kick-outs.

“Training has been very tough over the past few weeks and it’s paying off on the field.”

Byrne later remarked that Sunday’s game took place in searingly warm weather conditions, possibly the hottest she’s ever experienced, and Louth started on fire with 1-2 inside three minutes, a blitz which Carlow never truly recovered from.

Louth midfielder Eimear Byrne. (Pic: Warren Matthews)

Rice bagged the goal and the No.15 played a key part in her team’s second three-pointer, setting up Flood to bury past Róisín Aherne, leaving it 2-7 to 0-2 after 20 minutes, following earlier points from Lauren Boyle and Flood.

Typically, Cliodhna Ní Shé provided Carlow’s chief source of resistance, but her side went to the interval trailing by a comprehensive margin, 2-10 to five points, and with little hope of a turnaround.

Especially after Rice and Flood pointed early in the second half before the latter left the Barrowsiders in her wake in scoring Louth’s third goal. This helped the Wee County to pull away, with Boyle, Eimear Byrne and Rebecca Carr shooting over.

The finish was plagued by goals, two for Carlow to take the dirty look off the scoreboard and, at the very least, give them something to build towards in the next round. But Louth weren’t finished either and Carr rounded up their four-goal haul.

Start as you mean to go on, etc.

Carlow: Róisín Ahearn; Nuala Mohan, Leah Mullins, Anna Roche; Maria Kinsella, Antoinette Dowling, Ciara Mullins (0-1); Edel Hayden (0-1) Kerrel Clarke; Niamh Ford, Róisín Byrne, Ellen Atkinson; Rachel Sawyer (1-0) Cliodhna Ní Shé (0-7, five frees), Aoife Hayden

Subs: Nicole Hanley, Sarah Doyle, Caoimhe O’Neill, Elaine Ware (1-0)

Louth: Una Pearson; Éilís Hand, Sarah Quinn, Shannen McLoughlin; Ceire Nolan, Michelle McMahon (0-1), Deirbhile Osborne; Eimear Byrne (0-3), Aoife Byrne; Rebecca Carr (1-1), Susan Byrne (0-1), Aine Breen; Lauren Boyle (0-4, one free), Kate Flood (2-5, 0-2 frees), Niamh Rice (1-3)

Subs: Sinead Woods, Jennifer McGuinness, Grainne Murray, Leanne Sharkey

Ref: Lorraine O’Sullivan (Dublin)