Tipp and Westmeath secure silver in contrasting replay deciders
Having lost Division 2 deciders in 2014 and again last year, the Lake County finally gained promotion to the top flight.
In a surprisingly one-sided rematch at St Brendan’s Park in Birr, Westmeath scored all but one point of their big tally from play, in a 3-15 to 0-11 win.
They also lost Karen McDermott to the sin-bin shortly before half-time but coped admirably in her absence as Cavan struggled to reproduce the kind of football that saw them go close to victory in the drawn match at Parnell Park.
Aisling Doonan did well, notching six points, but Westmeath had the better spread of scorers. At the break, and having played with the wind from the start, Westmeath had much of the hard work done, leading by 2-11 to 0-4.
Archibold took advantage of a defensive error for the game’s opening goal, before Laura Brennan netted three minutes before half-time.
Cavan rarely showed signs of mounting a second-half revival and Westmeath put the game beyond any lingering doubt with a third goal in the 46th minute.
Archibold was the inadvertent creator on this occasion as her pointed effort was palmed out by Walsh.
Ciara Blundell, who scored two goals in the drawn match, was on hand to put away the rebound and hand Westmeath a 3-13 to 0-7 lead.
Meanwhile, Tipperary were crowned Division 3 champions following 0-15 to 1-10 victory over Wexford.
Aishling Moloney and Aisling McCarthy contributed 0-11 between them as Tipp edged an enthralling encounter, despite losing three players to sin-binnings in the second half.
Beaten finalists after a replay with Waterford last year, Tipp got over the line this time to secure promotion to Division 2.
And they had to do it the hard way, coming from six points down in the first half to hold on with two to spare.
Ultimately, it was a strong second-half display from Tipp that ensured silverware for the Premier County.
Tipp were 0-5 to 1-8 behind at half-time, Fiona Rochford netting Wexford’s goal, but the Premier County bagged seven unanswered points after the break to gain control.
Wexford rallied to level again but two late frees from McCarthy secured the win for Shane Ronayne’s Tipp.
On Saturday, the TG4 senior championship produced its first shock result of the campaign — and on the opening day.
Waterford beat Kerry by 2-9 to 1-9 at Fraher Field, Dungarvan, with Michelle Ryan and Roisin Tobin scoring the crucial second half goals.
Laura Rogers netted for the Kingdom deep in stoppage time but Waterford held out to claim their first victory in the Munster championship since returning to the senior ranks last year.
On a famous day for Waterford, Maria Delahunty led the way in the scoring stakes with a haul of seven points.
In the intermediate championship opener, Clare enjoyed a 7-11 to 2-3 victory against Limerick in Kilmallock.
