All-Ireland Ladies Football: Cavan relegated after heavy defeat by Waterford
- Published
Cavan ladies will drop down to the intermediate grade for 2024 after nine seasons in the championship top flight
Cavan ladies footballers dropped down to the All-Ireland Intermediate grade after a heavy 1-19 to 0-8 relegation play-off defeat by Waterford.
Waterford were in total control by half-time after a Sadhba Hallinan goal helped them lead 1-8 to 0-3 despite having played against the wind.
Despite four frees from Cara McCaffrey, the Breffni women never got closer than seven down in the second half.
Cavan will intermediate football for the first time in nine seasons in 2024.
The Breffni women started well after points from Aishling Sheridan and Aisling Gilsenan in the opening eight minutes in Crettyard in county Laois.
But they only managed one more score in the remainder of the half, an effort from Áine Smith after 19 minutes, as Waterford took control.
Kellyann Hogan kicked five excellent Waterford points off both feet in the opening half and Lauren McGregor, Kate Murray and Hallinan also landed points.
Waterford got a huge boost after 19 minutes when Hallinan finished a McGregor effort to the net and might had got a second goal moments later but Cavan goalkeeper Róisín McGregor did superbly to save from Hallinan.
Waterford continued to maintain a strong lead after the restart despite McCaffrey landing four frees for Cavan after Annie Deneher got the Breffni County's first score after the restart.
But the Breffni women never got within less than seven points and they will drop to the intermediate grade in 2024 after nine seasons in the top flight.
Fermanagh's hopes of repeating their 2017 and 2020 All-Ireland Junior Football championship triumphs were dashed as they were edged out 0-10 to 1-6 by Limerick in Saturday's semi-final at Longford's Pearse Park.
The game's first score didn't come until the 27th minute as Danielle Maguire pointed a free for Fermanagh and Maguire then netted for the Erne women to help them lead 1-2 to 0-1 at half-time.
Sarah McCarville's sin-binning was exploited by Limerick as two Caoimhe McGrath frees and a Andrea O'Sullivan score helped them level.
Two Cathy Mee points enabled the Treaty County move two ahead and while a Blaithin Bogue score cut the margin to the minimum, Limerick held on despite having Ava Quaid sin-binned after Fermanagh's Aisling O'Brien had also suffered the same fate in the closing stages.