Fermanagh hero Smyth wins golden boot award

Eimear and Bronagh Smith lift the trophy after Fermanagh's victory over Louth

Fermanagh's Eimear Smyth has won the golden boot award for the leading scorer in the All-Ireland Ladies Junior Football Championship following her match-winning display in Sunday's decider at Croke Park.

Smyth was player of the match for the Ulster county in Sunday's final after hitting a remarkable 1-9 in the 1-11 to 0-12 victory over Louth.

The Derrygonnelly woman's tally of 8-48 (72 points) was 39 points clear of her nearest challenger, Louth’s Kate Flood.

Smyth spoke of her joy following her performance which laid the foundation for their All-Ireland Ladies junior title success at Croke Park.

The Derrygonnelly attacker fired into an empty net for the only goal of the game after 10 minutes.

"It's unbelievable - I'm glad to get over the line," said Smyth.

"The ball thankfully landed into my hands and I couldn't believe it was an empty net. That gave us a good boost and settled us well into the match.

"It gave us a good platform to go on and attack for the rest of the game."

Fermanagh led 1-5 to 0-5 at the break and held firm to win the junior crown for the third time and first since 2020 despite a battling effort from Louth.

There was a special family moment for Smyth when she raised the cup with her sister Bronagh at the home of GAA.

"It's something you dream about as a kid and to lift the cup with my sister was really special. We've been in Croke Park a few times and not got over the line but we got over with a good Fermanagh crowd cheering us on and it was an unbelievable feeling.

"It was nice to contribute to the team like that and the frees went well. Louth weren't just going to lie down and let us have it. They were resurgent in the second half and I think we did well to weather the storm and ground it out."