Waterford's Grainne Enright in action against Cavan's Rosie Crowe. | Photos: Stephen McCarthy-Sporstfile
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Cavan 4-13; Waterford 1-10
The Waterford ladies’ quest to win a first piece of silverware at a national level since defeating Mayo in the 2002 NFL Division 1 final must go on for another few months as they were defeated by a very good Cavan side in Division 3 decider at Parnell Park, Dublin on Saturday last.
Despite getting off to the best start, registering a point from a Michelle Ryan free, Waterford soon fell behind when the impressive Gráinne Smith blasted to the net after six minutes.
However, the Deise women quickly regained both their composure and the lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks mainly to a well-taken goal from Stephanie Power after eleven minutes and some accurate point-taking by Michelle Ryan.
Things, however could have been much worse for Waterford at this stage, being fortunate not to have conceded a second goal two minutes after letting in the first, as Gráinne Smith cut in from the right wing after collecting from Bronagh Sheridan only to shoot into the side-netting.
At the start of the second quarter, the Lakeland County took complete control. Róisín O’Keeffe hit a second Cavan goal with 18 minutes played and when the same player lobbed Aimee Jordan to raise a third Cavan green flag with nine minutes of the half to play the writing was on the wall from a Waterford point of view.
Player of the match Aisling Dooran, Sinead Ryan and Michelle Ryan added points for their respective sides in what was left of the first period to give Cavan a 3-4 to 1-5 lead as the teams retired to their dressing rooms.
See The Munster Express newspaper for full match report.
