Laois cruise into All-Ireland quarter-final stages with comfortable win over Roscommon

Laois 3-8 Roscommon 1-7
Ladies All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship Round 3

Laois ladies continued their superb form this afternoon in Kinnegad as they easily overcame Roscommon in their final group game of the TG4 Intermediate championship, setting up a quarter-final clash with the winners of this evening’s contest between Louth and Offaly.

Donie Brennan’s side were by far the superior team as they created 10 goal chances throughout the game, with a combination of some poor finishing and excellent last-ditch Roscommon defending preventing them from adding more goals to their final tally.

When these sides met in the semi-finals of the league, Laois came through a thriller, 3-15 to 4-9, when a yellow card to Roscommon’s Laure Fleming was crucial to the O’Moore county mounting a serious last quarter come back.

The gulf between the sides today was summed up by the fact that it was Laois midfielder Jane Moore who was the only player to receive a yellow card, and during her ten-minute absence at the start of the second half, Laois scored the only point of the game.

Once she returned, she exchanged passes with Erone Fitzpatrick to crash in the game’s final goal and make sure of the victory.

The win now means Laois top their group after overcoming Kildare in their opening game while although they squandered goal opportunities, the O’Moore county looked menacing up front throughout and will pose problems to any defence they face.

It was Roscommon who carved out the first goal opportunity when Róisín Wynne saw her effort saved by Eimear Barry, but Laois possessed the greater firepower, with Mo Nerney rattling the crossbar as her shot flew over.

Fiona Dooley grabbed the first Laois goal before Rachel Fitzmaurice exchanged passes with Rebecca Finan, with the former finishing decisively to the net to give Roscommon a foothold.

However, Laois always had a solid platform in the game, based on their control of their own kickout, and their strong running from deep positions.

One such run saw Laura Nerney crash in their second goal, and Laois were never again less than four points in front, even through a flat second quarter where Orla Hennessy registered their only score.

Despite Jane Moore’s sin bin, Laois managed to keep Roscommon scoreless during this period, and could have gone further clear had Mo Nerney not fired her penalty off the post, before Moore returned from her sin bin to rattle the net after an exquisite pass from Erone Fitzpatrick.

While Roscommon ended their scoring drought with points from Sarah Scally and Aoife Gavin in the final quarter, Laois continued to strike freely on the break and eased over the line to secure their sixth win in seven competitive starts this year.

SCORERS – Laois: Fiona Dooley, Laura Nerney and Jane Moore 1-0 each; Mo Nerney 0-3 (one free), Alannah Havill 0-2, Orla Hennessy, Sarah Ann Fitzgerald (free), Joyce Dunne 0-1 each. Roscommon: Rachel Fitzmaurice 1-0, Aisling Hanly 0-3, Sarah Scally 0-2, Kate Nolan (free) and Aoife Gavin 0-1 each.

LAOIS: Eimear Barry; Anna Healy, Amy Potts, Aimee Kelly; Rachel Williams, Ellen Healy, Laura Nerney; Fiona Dooley, Jane Moore; Joyce Dunne, Erone Fitzpatrick, Orla Hennessy; Mo Nerney, Sarah Ann Fitzgerald, Alannah Havill. Subs: Leah Tarpey for Orla Hennessey (47 mins), Andrea Moran for Sarah Ann Fitzgerald (53 mins), Roisin Larkin for Alannah Hamill (55 mins), Emily Mulhall for Fiona Dooley (61 mins).

ROSCOMMON: Helena Cummins; Rachel Brady, Sinead Kenny, Megan Kelly; Róisín Wynne, Aisling McAuliffe, Sarah McVeigh; Caroline Conway, Laura Fleming; Ellen Irwin, Kate Nolan, Rachel Fitzmaurice; Rebecca Finan, Aisling Hanly, Sinead Glennon.

Subs: Joanne Cregg for Megan Kelly (21 mins), Jennifer Higgins for Sinead Glennon (28 mins), Christina Beirne for Aisling McAuliffe (h-t), Sarah Scally for Kate Nolan (40 mins), Aoife Gavin for Caroline Conway (48 mins).

Referee: Brendan Rice

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source https://www.laoistoday.ie/2021/07/25/laois-cruise-into-all-ireland-quarter-final-stages-with-comfortable-win-over-roscommon/