All-Ireland Ladies Football Championship: Donegal top group to set up Dublin quarter-final
- Published
Throw-in in Navan was delayed because of a protest which saw the Donegal and Meath players wear #UnitedForEquality t-shirts
Donegal will face Dublin in the All-Ireland Ladies Football quarter-finals after the Ulster county stunned Meath to claim top spot in Group Two.
Susanne White and Karen Guthrie kicked late points as Donegal edged the reigning champions 1-10 to 0-12 at Pairc Tailteann.
The result means the Royals will face an away trip to Kerry in the last eight after finishing second in the group.
Armagh will play Cork in the quarters with Galway set to face Mayo.
Throw-in in Navan was delayed due to protests with the Donegal and Meath players lining up together in #UnitedForEquality t-shirts.
They returned to the dressing rooms and reappeared in a demonstration after women's inter-county camogie and football panels said they will play the rest of the 2023 championships "under protest" because of continuing concerns over how they are being treated.
White ended the game with 0-5 for Donegal, while the impressive Niamh Hegarty hit 1-3.
Emma Duggan (0-7), Vikki Wall and Niamh O'Sullivan (0-2 each) flew the flag for Meath, who will hope to once again get the better of Kerry having beaten the Kingdom in the 2022 final.
Donegal are aiming to reach the semi-finals for the second year in a row after losing to Meath in the last four 12 months ago.
Donegal will face Ulster rivals Armagh - who they beat in this year's Ulster decider - in the semi-finals if both counties win their respective last-eight ties.
Meanwhile, a relegation play-off awaits Cavan following a 2-21 to 2-5 defeat by Kerry in Tralee on Saturday.
Cavan will secure their senior status for 2024 if they beat Laois in the play-off, with defeat meaning they will have to defeat Waterford or Tipperary to avoid the drop to the intermediate grade.
All-Ireland Ladies quarter-finals
Donegal (H) v Dublin
Kerry (H) v Meath
Armagh (H) v Cork
Galway (H) v Mayo
Matches will be played on the weekend of 15/16 July.
Semi-final pairings:
Winner QF 1 v Winner QF 3
Winner QF 2 v Winner QF 4