Cork 2-8 Armagh 1-9
By Elaine Ingram
Cork made the long trip to Crossmaglen on Sunday for this rescheduled Lidl National Football League Division 1 fixture after the match was postponed last weekend due to a waterlogged pitch in Dromintee and they made the journey worthwhile as they edged out Armagh in tough conditions.
The sun was shining in Oliver Plunkett Park but a strong swirling wind, which somewhat favoured Cork in the opening half, nonetheless made scoring tricky, with the wide count high.
It was Armagh who led by two points at the break, thanks to a goal on 26 minutes provided by Alana Donnelly.
Cork had most of the ball up to then however, with points from play courtesy of Abigail Ring and Aimee Corcoran, following traded frees between Armagh's Kelly Mallon and Katie Quirke.
A third Mallon free had the sides level before the super run and goal from Donnelly but Aine O'Sullivan, who travelled the whole way from the Beara Peninsula on Sunday, pointed from play leaving the half-time score 1-3 to 0-4 in favour of Armagh.
Some great defending at both ends denied further scores from materialising, until a couple of Cork points levelled proceedings at 1-3 to 0-6 with 10 minutes of the half played.
Brianna Mathers in the Orchard goal did well from a couple of high balls but after Mallon had nudged Armagh in front again Rachel O’Regan netted on 48 minutes, giving the Leesiders a 1-6 to 1-4 lead.
Rachel Leahy added a second goal for Cork and while the home side got within a point with a free from outside the arc by Mallon, Cork had done enough for a two point victory.
Scorers - Cork: R O'Regan 1-0, R Leahy 1-0, K Quirke 0-2 (1f), A Corcoran 0-2, A O'Sullivan 0-2, A Ring 0-1, A Kennedy 0-1.
Armagh: K Mallon 0-8 (6f, 1tpf), A Donnelly 1-0, A McCoy 0-1.
CORK: S Murphy; M Duggan, D Kinlry, S Kelly; A Corcoran, S McGoldrick, R Corkery; A Healy, A O'Mahony; R Leahy, G Ni Mhurchu, E Cleary; A Ring, K Quirke, A O'Sullivan. Subs: A McKennedy for Ring (40), R O'Regan for O'Sullivan (40), C Hughes for Ni Murchu (40).
ARMAGH: B Mathers; M Ferguson, C McCambridge, A Donnelly; E Druse, L McConville, R Mulligan; C Towe, G Ferguson; L Marsden, C Marley, L Kavanagh; M Lennon, A McCoy, K Mallon. Subs: T O'Reilly for R Mulligan (20), C O'Hanlon for Lennon (41), K Shields for Towe (48), E McGeown for Marley (55).
Referee: Gavin Finnegan (Down).
In Division 4, Leitrim maintained their perfect start with an 8-20 to 1-1 victory over Kilkenny, while Carlow also kept their 100% record intact when they edged out Offaly by 2-8 to 0-12.
Sligo notched their second win with a 2-8 to 3-2 triumph over Longford, while Wicklow got their first victory of the campaign when they pipped Derry by a poin
Lidl NFL Division 4
Leitrim 8-20 Kilkenny 1-1
Sligo 2-8 Longford 3-2
Carlow 2-8 Offaly 0-12
Wicklow 0-10 Derry 0-9
