Kerry’s TG4 Ladies Munster Senior Football Championship campaign has started with defeat.
They lost to Waterford in Austin Stack Park, Tralee by 0-17 to 2-9.
Kerry had led at half time by 2-6 to 0-7.
By Dan Kearney
A power-packed second half from Waterford propelled them to a two point victory over Kerry.
Waterford outscored the hosts by 0-10 to 0-3 in the second period as they used their running power to great effect.
In a repeat of last year’s final, it was Waterford who held the aces after a very entertaining contest where Brid McMaugh struck four points and KellyAnn Hogan hit 1-5.
Niamh Ní Chonchúir opened the scoring for Kerry but KellyAnn Hogan replied for the visitors three minutes later.
Kerry struck a brilliant goal in the fifth minute through Rachel Dwyer after some excellent work from the marauding Caoimhe Evans.
Hogan replied with a free for Waterford but then came Kerry’s second goal in the 10th minute. Anna Galvin played a ball into Leah McMahon and the speedster was fouled as she crashed the ball off the crossbar. Síofra Ó Shea stepped up and made no mistake from the resulting penalty.
Anna Galvin and Síofra O’Shea added further points but Eve Power replied for the Déise to make it 2-3 to 0-3 before O’Shea struck a brilliant two-point free for the Kingdom in the 23rd minute.
In a portent for what was to come in the second half, Waterford dominated the last 10 minutes of the game, outscoring Kerry by 0-4 to 0-1 with Hogan from a free and from play, Bríd McMaugh and Emma Murray slotting over, whilst the only Kerry reply came from Siofra O’Shea and Kerry led by 2-6 to 0-7.
Kerry started brightly in the second half with a Caoimhe Evans score but points from Brid McMaugh and a free from sub Chloe Fennell got Waterford going.
Aoife Dillane got a point back for Kerry when she might have gone for goal but soon Waterford took over around the middle of the field with McMaugh (2), McGregor, Chloe Fennell (2 frees), KellyAnn Hogan and Clare Walsh adding scores and Kerry’s only reply coming from the boot of Leah McMahon.
Waterford kept attacking and Karen McGrath was brought down for a penalty by Ciara Butler, who was sinbinned, in the 57th minute that McGregor struck off the butt of the post.
Now down to 14 players, Kerry attacked for all their worth but the final score of the contest fell to Eve Power to seal a brilliant win for the Déise.
Scorers for Waterford: KA Hogan 0-5 (3f), B McMaugh 0-4, C Fennell 0-3f, E Power 0-2, L McGregor 0-1, C Walsh 0-1, E Murray 0-1.
Kerry: S O’Shea 1-4 (1-0pen), R Dwyer 1-0, N Ní Chonchúir 0-1, L McMahon 0-1, A Galvin 0-1, A Dillane 0-1, C Evans 0-1.
WATERFORD: K Gardner; C Murray, L Mulcahy, A McGrath; R Browne, R Casey, K McGrath; E Murray, E Power; Á O’Neill, K Hogan, K Murray; M Daly, B McMaugh, L McGregor. Subs: C Fennell for A McGrath HT, C Walsh for M Daly 53, L Ní hArta for R Browne 60.
KERRY: C Butler; R Rahilly, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; A Galvin, M O’Connell; K Enright, N Ní Chonchúir, C Evans; L McMahon, S O’Shea , R Dwyer. Subs: N Carmody for K Enright 40, J lucey for R Dwyer 49, N Quinn for L McMahon 57, ME Bolger for C Evans 58, E Ní Lasighin for S O’Shea 63.
Referee: Conor McCarthy (Cork).
Kerry manager Mark Bourke
Kildare 0-12 Meath 0-8
By Daire Walsh
Aoife Rattigan kicked six points at Summerhill GFC as Kildare opened their TG4 Leinster senior football championship campaign for 2026 with a hard-earned victory over Meath.
Despite initially being second best in terms of possession, it was the Lilies who opened the scoring in this contest when Rattigan (who amassed an impressive tally of 0-7 when these sides met in Division 1 of the Lidl National Football League back in February) superbly curled over the bar in the sixth minute.
Molly Aspell was then on hand to double the Lilies lead, before Meath finally got up and running with quickfire points courtesy of Meadhbh Byrne and team captain Niamh Gallogly. While Alannah Prizeman restored Kildare’s slender advantage on the stroke of 10 minutes, Marion Farrelly subsequently levelled matters for Meath by knocking over a 25-metre free at the opposite end.
Although Navan O’Mahonys attacker Lauren Woods edged the Royals in front for the first time with a fine score from play, the hosts (who were missing the experienced Emma Duggan through injury) also spurned a number of scoring opportunities during the opening period. Kildare were proving to be more economical in front of the posts and following unanswered efforts from Rattigan (two) and Gillian Wheeler, Pat Sullivan’s visitors brought a 0-6 to 0-4 cushion into the interval.
This offered Kildare plenty of momentum heading into the second half and their prospects were enhanced courtesy of successive fisted points from Lara Curran and the roving Lisa Shaw. Kildare netminder Rachel Fennin was soon called into action to turn away a Byrne strike from close-range, however, and Meath managed to bring the gap back down to two with points from Ciara Smyth and Byrne.
While Meath were still coming up short from a number of attacks, the increasingly-prominent Smyth kept them in contention by registering points in response to single efforts from Kildare’s inside duo of Rattigan and Prizeman.
Yet the Lilies continued to hold the edge over their Royal counterparts and a brace of successful frees via the reliable boot of Rattigan propelled them towards a win that leaves them in a strong position to book a provincial decider spot ahead of their round two visit to defending Leinster and All-Ireland champions Dublin next weekend.
Scorers – Kildare: A Rattigan 0-6 (4f), A Prizeman 0-2, L Shaw, G Wheeler, M Aspell, L Curran 0-1 each. Meath: C Smyth 0-3 (1f), M Byrne 0-2, M Farrelly 0-1 (f), N Gallogly, L Woods 0-1 each.
KILDARE: R Fennin; A Mernagh, E Wheeler, L Shaw; H McLoughlin, R Sargent, L Lenehan; A Irhue, G Wheeler; L Curran, C Wheeler, M Aspell; A Rattigan, M Doyle, A Prizeman. Subs: M Doherty for Shaw (40), J Harney for C Wheeler (48), A Murnane for Doyle (51), A Cahill for Irhue (66).
MEATH: R Murray; K Kealy, A Sheridan, MK Lynch; O Sheehy, O Gore, K Bermingham; S Murphy, N Gallogly; M Farrelly, M Byrne, M Thynne; C Smyth, L Woods, R Casserly. Subs: O Finnegan for Woods (44), O Mallon for Casserly (49), A Sherlock for Thynne, O Smith for Murphy (both 56), C McPeake for Bermingham (63).
Referee: Barry Redmond (Wexford).
Armagh 0-10 Donegal 1-4
By Kieran Lynch
Armagh triumphed over Donegal 0-10 to 1-4 in the TG4 Ulster Senior Championship opener at the Box-It Athletic Grounds.
The opening quarter of the game was keenly contested, with chances at both ends. Armagh got the better of it with Aimee and Blaithin Mackin scoring either side of a Caroline O'Hanlon point, before Donegal's Evelyn McGinley got them up and running with what proved to be their only score of the first half.
However, the visitors were left to rue missing three goal chances. Susanne White and Ciara McGarvey both came inches away, both hitting the inside of the post, before Feena McManamon got in behind and looked certain to score but was denied by an excellent Cait Towe block.
The second quarter belonged to the home side, as they rattled off five points in a row. Blaithin Mackin started the run, with Aoife McCoy and Catherine Marley also getting in on the act.
Blaithin Mackin put the icing on the cake for a superb first half performance with a two-pointer.
After Blaithin stole the show in the first half, it was her older sister Aimee who opened the second half's scoring. At the other end, Donegal finally broke their barren run, having gone 30 minutes of football without a score when half-time substitute Eva Gallgher fired over.
Armagh could have put the result beyond all doubt 10 minutes into the second half when Caoimhe McNally narrowly missed the top corner. It looked as though she was shooting for a point, but her attempt flew across the face of goal and beat Donegal goalkeeper Clare Friel and went just wide.
The next score went Donegal's via a White free, but Armagh continued to control the contest, often holding the ball for prolonged periods of time, to prevent Donegal from building any momentum. One such move saw Armagh methodically keep possession before paying off the move with a Niamh Reel point.
Armagh looked comfortable, leading 0-10 to 0-3 late on, but Donegal kept fighting and a point from Mia Bennett and a Roisin Rodgers goal made it a one-score game in the dying seconds. However, they ran out of time and Armagh held on for the win.
Scorers: Armagh: B Mackin 0-4, (1tp), A Mackin 0-2, C O'Hanlon 0-1, A McCoy 0-1, C Marley 0-1, N Reel 0-1.
Donegal: R Rodgers 1-0, E McGinley 0-1, E Gallagher 0-1, S White 0-1 (1f), M Bennett 0-1.
ARMAGH: B Mathers; M Ferguson, C McCambridge, C Towe; Emily Druse, A Donnelly, L Marsden; B Mackin, C O’Reilly; C McNally, A McCoy, C Marley; A Mackin, C O’Hanlon, M Lennon. Subs: S Quigley for B Mackin (42), N Reel for Lennon (46), Elsie Druse for Marsden (55), C Nugent for O'Reilly (56), E Lavery for Marley (57).
DONEGAL: C Friel; N Carr, E McGinley, S McFeely; T Hegarty, F McManamon, S McFadden; U Boyle, R Rodgers (capt.); A Caulfield, K Dowds, N Boyle; S White, J McFadden, C McGarvey. Subs: E Gallagher for McFadden (HT), C Brennan for McManamon (40), Cait Gillespie for White (46), R McColgan for Caulfield (55), M Bennett for McGarvey (55).
Referee: David Hurson (Monaghan).
