A game of two halves as Tipperary ladies have to settle for a point

Tipperary 1-12 Monaghan 1-12

After leading by 13 points at half-time, following one of their best thirty minutes of the league so far, Tipperary had to rely on a 69th minute equaliser to earn a draw with Monaghan in the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 2 Round 4 game at Clonmel Sportsfield on Sunday.

The difference between the first and second half displays defies logic. Tipperary could do no wrong in the first, when they hit 1-11 to Monaghan’s solitary point.

In the second they went 38 minutes without scoring, while conceding 1-12 to a rejuvenated Monaghan.

After the visitors had taken the lead for the first time in the seventh minute of added time, it looked like Tipperary were about to suffer their third consecutive defeat of the campaign. That they didn’t was down to one final surge, when two frees brought them close to the Monaghan goal and Emma Morrissey tapped over the levelling score – and Tipp’s first of the half.

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A defeat under the circumstances would have been unthinkable. And that was very likely when Monaghan captain Rosemary Courtney won a turnover and saw goalkeeper Lauren Fitzpatrick off her line in the seventh minute of extra time and shot into an empty goal, only to see her shot bounce up, hit the crossbar and go over for a point when a goal would have secured all three points for her side.

There was no little drama then in Clonmel but a hugely disappointing result for Tipperary, despite the late equaliser. Even playing into the stiffish breeze in the second half, they should never have surrendered a 13-points lead. Their first half composure became second half anxiety – kickouts were a liability, possession couldn’t be retained, passes went astray and turnovers were costly against a Monaghan side who looked well beaten at the interval.

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Team manager David Power struggled to explain it. “After a great first half, to then have a second half like that is disappointing. The only pleasing part of the second half was the character to come back for the equaliser. But why couldn’t we do that earlier? These are things we have to work on but that second half was just not good enough,” he said.

Power added that the most disappointing aspect of the second period was the Tipperary kickouts. “We didn’t want them, we didn’t want to go for them, and that put pressure on ourselves. We weren’t looking for the ball, we weren’t brave enough, you have to come short and we were not there. I felt sorry for Lauren (Fitzpatrick) in the second half, against that wind you were not going to find your players further out the field”.

None of that could be foreseen in the first half when Tipp totally dominated play. On the rare occasions when Monaghan threatened, the defence was superb and the transition to attack was fast and accurate. The Sliabh na mBan sisters, Niamh and Nora Martin, were outstanding in the half back line, before Niamh was forced off in the second half with a leg injury; Maria Curley was rock solid at full back; while Moyle Rovers’ Emma Cronin was always alert to danger.

A lot of the play went through wing forward Angela McGuigan, the Ballyneale native who now plays with St Sylvester’s in Dublin, who was involved in much of Tipperary’s best attacks. She saw an attempt come back off the upright after just 20 seconds before two Emma Morrissey pointed frees set Tipp on their way. She was then involved in the build-up, along with Morrissey and Lauren Cunningham, for Lily Maher to tap over.

McGuigan then set up Sarah English to give Tipp a 0-4 to no score lead after eleven minutes. Monaghan’s first shot on goal came midway through the half with Sarah Tierney off target, and Tipp made them pay when Morrissey, from a quick tap and go free, set up Cunningham for a goal.

By the 23rd minute the lead was extended to 1-8 to no score with Morrissey, McGuigan, Cunningham and Heather Spillane all scoring from play, while Monaghan were down to 14 players following a sin-binning for Leanne Maguire. Anna Rose Kennedy was also central to much of the team’s best play following the captain’s return after missing the Mayo game.

Chloe McBride had Monaghan’s first point with their first shot on target in the 24th minute. However, Tipp pushed the interval lead out to 13 points with scores from Niamh Martin and two Morrissey frees.

The first signs of a Monaghan revival came less than two minutes into the second half when Chloe McBride kicked a two-point free. Half-time substitute Cora Courtney made a significant impact with two points in the third quarter and further scores from Casey Treanor and two from Leanne Maguire had the margin down to six points, 1-11 to 0-8 midway through the half.

Tipp could hardly get out of their half, as they were guilty of misplaced passes, fumbling and turnovers, and it took brilliant fielding from Emma Cronin to deny the Ulster side another score. But the reprieve didn’t last long, and a two-point free from Maguire, followed by a goal from half-time substitute Caoimhe Ward, brought the margin down to a single point, 1-11 to 1-10 by the 59th minute.

There had been a lot of second half stoppages, including the injury to Niamh Martin, and nearly nine minutes of added time provided more drama. Maguire from a free tied the scores for the first time four minutes into injury time. Another free outside the arc gave them the chance for the lead and Chloe McBride, who had just been substituted, was brought back on to try for her second two-pointer but it fell short.

But Monaghan eventually took the lead in the 67th minute when Rosemary Courtney’s goalbound shot bounced over the bar rather than under. However, a foul on Clara English on the standside won a Tipperary free, and after they worked the ball upfield, Emma Morrissey was fouled and the Aherlow player held her nerve to kick the equalising score in the 69th minute.

Next up for Tipperary is an away game in Westmeath next Sunday, where they will hope to bounce back. Since their opening day win in Wexford, they have now lost two and drawn one, and manger David Power is keen to see a return to winning ways.

Tipperary scorers: Emma Morrissey 0-6 (5 frees), Lauren Cunningham 1-1; Niamh Martin, Sarah English, Angela McGuigan, Heather Spillane, Lily Maher 0-1 each.
Monaghan scorers: Leanne Maguire 0-5 (1x2p free, 2 frees), Chloe McBride 0-3 (1x2p free), Caoimhe Ward 1-0; Cora Courtney 0-2; Rosemary Courtney, Casey Treanor 0-1 each.

Tipperary: Lauren Fitzpatrick (Ballymacarbry); Tara Hoare (Templemore), Maria Curley (Templemore), Emma Cronin (Moyle Rovers); Niamh Martin (Sliabh na mBan), Nora Martin (Sliabh na mBan), Sarah English (Ardfinnan); Laura Morrissey (Brian Borus), Áine O’Dywer (Boherlahan/Dualla); Angela McGuigan (St. Sylvester’s, Dublin), Anna Rose Kennedy (Aherlow), Heather Spillane (Fethard); Lauren Cunningham (Holycross/Ballycahill), Lily Maher (Arravale Rovers), Emma Morrissey (Aherlow).
Subs: Nicole Shelly (Mullinahone) for Niamh Martin (37), Clara English (Ardfinnan) for O’Dwyer (53), Anna Carey (Clonmel Commercials) for Maher (58), Ava Ryan (Moyne/Templetuohy) for Cunningham (58).

Monaghan: Orna Kelly; Kerry Nolan, Aine McQuaid, Maeve Monaghan; Eimear Traynor, Rosemary Courtney, Alison Gilliland; Jennifer Duffy, Niamh Flanagan; Aoibhin McCormack, Amy Garland, Casey Treanor; Chloe McBride, Sarah Tierney, Leanne Maguire. Subs: Aine Loughman for Traynor (23), Cora Courtney for Flanagan (HT), Caoimhe Ward for Gilliland (HT), Dervla Cawley for Monaghan (44), Niamh Flanagan for Tierney (48), Ellen Leonard for Garland (56), Sarah Tierney for Chloe McBride (64), Chloe McBride for Duffy.

Referee: Aaron Clogher (Roscommon).