Intermediates prove too strong for Westmeath to book semi final date with Carlow

Leinster Intermediate Championship Quarter Final

Kilkenny 6-09      Westmeath 0-07

Noelle Maher finished with 2-02 as the Kilkenny intermediate team began the defence of there Leinster title with a 6-09 to 0-07 point victory over Westmeath in Cusack Park Mullingar on Sunday.

Westmeath began the game  brighter and opened the scoring in the fourth minute through a Dinah Loughlin free. Aine Fahey responded for Kilkenny with a well taken point from twenty one meters in the sixth minute. Katie Heffernan responded to put Westmeath in the lead again with a point from thirty five meters in the tenth minute. Aine Fahey then got in for Kilkenny’s first goal in the eleventh minute when she latched onto a Catherine Walsh pass to tap the sliotar home from fourteen meters. Noelle Maher continued Kilkenny’s good run with a point from twenty one meters after latching onto a Angela Kenneally pass in the seventeenth minute. Dinah Loughlin responded for Westmeath with a brilliantly taken long range free from sixty meters in the twenty first minute to make it 1-02 to 0-03 points. Kilkenny responded brilliantly with there second goal of the contest when Noelle Maher latched onto a Catherine Walsh pass to blast home from twenty one meters. Aoife Doherty responded for Westmeath with a well taken point from twenty one meters in the twenty seventh minute. Keeva Fennelly closed out the first half scoring with a free from thirty meters in the first minute of injury time to see her side lead at the interval 2-03 to 0-04. The Kilkenny management team would of being pleased with the way the team dealt with the early Westmeath onslaught where they cause some early headaches for the Kilkenny defence to bounce back and enjoy a five point lead at the break.

Kilkenny began the new half brilliantly and got in for there third goal of the contest when Aine Fahey latched onto a breaking ball at the edge of the small square to kick the sliotar home in the thirty third minute. Mairead McCormack responded for Westmeath with a well taken point from forty five meters in the thirty fifth minute. Catherine Walsh then pointed for the victors with a well taken point from twenty one meters in the thirty ninth minute. Pamela Greville responded for Westmeath with a free from forty five meters in the forty third minute to narrow the gap to seven points 3-04 to 0-06, unfortunately for the Lake county this was as good as it got in the second half as Kilkenny hit back with 2-04 on the spin. Keeva Fennelly started the run with well taken free from forty five meters in the forty fifth minute. Noelle Maher put the game to bed in the forty sixth minute when she got in for her second and Kilkenny’s fourth goal when she latched onto a breaking ball to blast home from twenty one meters. Jenny Clifford continued the good Kilkenny run with a point from twenty one meters in the forty eight minute. She followed this up with Kilkenny’s fifth goal a minute later when she latched onto a breaking ball twenty one meters from goal to tap the sliotar home. Keeva Fennelly then tapped over two frees. The first was an excellent long range free from sixty meters in the fifty fourth minute. She then tapped over a further free from forty meters in the fifty sixth minute after Roisin Breen was fouled to make it 5-08 to 0-06 points. Great credit to Westmeath they kept plugging away in the contest and responded with a Katie Heffernan point in the fifty seventh minute. It was Kilkenny’s day and they closed out the scoring with 1-01 on the spin. Noelle Maher started the run with an excellent point from fifty meters in the fifty eight minute. Angela Kenneally rounded off a good afternoon for Kilkenny with there sixth goal of the contest in the first minute of injury time when she latched onto a breaking ball on the twenty one meter line to tap home to see Kilkenny through to the Leinster semi finals on a 6-09 to 0-07 point scoreline. Kilkenny will play Carlow in the semi final next weekend after Carlow proved too strong for Laois in there replay this evening 0-12 points to 1-07.

Scorers – Kilkenny: Noelle Maher 2-02, Aine Fahey 2-01, Keeva Fennelly 0-04 (4f), Jenny Clifford 1-01, Angela Kenneally 1-00, Catherine Walsh 0-01. Westmeath: Dinah Loughlin 0-02 (2f), Katie Heffernan 0-02, Aoife Doherty 0-01, Mairead McCormack 0-01, Pamela Greville 0-01.

Kilkenny: Kirsty Maher, Katie Nolan, Jennifer Norris, Miriam Bambrick, Niamh Leahy, Eilish Regan, Edel Frisby, Keeva Fennelly, Edel Coonan, Margaurite Hoynes,  Catherine Walsh, Angela Kenneally, Noelle Maher, Aine Fahey (C),  Jenny Clifford.

Sub: Roisin Breen,   Jenny Clifford. Lydia Phelan, Sabrina Walsh, Eimear Corr,  Aisling O Farrell, Laura Greene, Niamh Bambrick, Megan Walsh,  Ciara Holden, Sarah Walsh, Roisin Phelan, Ciara Phelan.

Westmeath: Fiona Keating, Sarah King, Edel McCormack, Katie Egan, Fiona Leavy, Aoife Higgins, Muireann Scally, Caoimhe McCrossan, Joanne McCormack, Mairead McCormack, Dinah Loughlin, Pamela Grevillea (C), Aoife Corcoran, Denise McGrath, Katie Heffernan.

Subs: Kelly Dobson, Aisling Egerton, Louise O’Connor,  Roisin Scally, Jade McKeogh, Aoife Doherty, Karen Gaffney, Orla Lynch, Niamh Horan,  Aoife Boyle, Aisling Boyhan, Rebecca Croash, Rachael Maloney,  Olivia Kelleghan, Julie McLoughlin., Ciara Corcoran.

Referee: Peter Dowd (Meath)