Donegal Ladies produced an excellent performance in Navan to beat All Ireland champions Meath and earn themselves a match-up with Dublin in an All Ireland quarter -final for the third year in a row.
And this time Maxi Curran’s side will have the luxury of a home draw.
Donegal 1-12 Meath 0-14
Donegal led by three at half-time and increased that to four but Meath got back on level terms to set up a dramatic finish which saw Suzanne White and Karen Guthrie convert frees to win it for a team comprised of a mixture youth and experience.
Meath scored two early points Niamh O Sullivan and Emma Duggan and two late points from Duggan and Meave Byrne in the opening half but only managed two others in between, both from Duggan, as Donegal had the better of things, scoring 1-05 between Meath’s second and fourth points.
Kathy Herron set Niamh Hegarty up for a super opening goal in the eighth minute , Herron’s pass giving Hegarty to hammer the ball to the net after a move which Herron began on her own 20m line.
Suzanne White converted two frees , Niamh Hegarty two from play and Katie Long also from play put DOnegal ahead by 1-05 to 0-03 in the 20th minute.
Emma Duggan converted two frees , Byrne added a point but Suzanne White converted her third free to leave Donegal ahead at half-time 1-06 to 0-06.
Niamh Hegarty opened the second-half scoring but Vicky Wall and Emma Duggan quickly replied to leave two in it. Suzanne White’s fourth free restored Donegal’s three point lead, 1-08 to 0-08.
Meath then hit a purple patch with three points in a row from O Sullivan , Duggan and Wall to level the game 1-08 to 0-11 points and anybody’s game.
And what an exciting last ten minutes we had as Donegal snatched a super one point victory.
Suzanne White converted her fifth free to restore the lead and then a super move to re-introduced Karen Guthrie just as Donegal were awarded a free way out on the right side and as she’s done for so long Guthrie guided the ball between the posts to make it a two point game as time ran out.
Emma Duggan knocked over another free to leave one in it but Donegal saw it out to the buzzer to clinch a home Quarter-Final.
It was brilliant stuff for the Donegal Ladies who have really turned their season around after a disappointing league campaign.
Meath ; M McGuirk; A Sheridan, MK Lynch, K Newe , M Byrne (0-01), S Ennis, Emma Duggan ( 0-07), M O’Shaughnessy, A Minogue, M Thynne , Vicky Wall (0-02), V Gallogly, O Lally , S Grimes , N O Sullivan (0-02), .
Donegal: Clare Friel; Niamh Carr, Abigail Temple Asoko, Emer Gallagher , Amy Boyle Carr , Nicole McLaughlin , Tara Hegarty , Roisin Rodgers, Niamh McLaughlin , Katie Long (0-01), Katie Dowds , Suzanne White ( 0-05/f’s), Niamh Hegarty (1-03), Kathy Herron , Shannon McGroddy
Subs ; Karen Guthrie (0-01f), for McGroddy (20mins), Niamh Boyle for Guthrie ( h/t), Ciara McGarvey for Long (52mins),
Referee ; Declan Carolan ( Armagh).
