Carlow stage late comeback to reach Leinster LGFA Junior final
Carlow's Kate Burke and Longford's Aibhe Brady
Carlow’s bench made the difference as they staged a late comeback to beat Longford on Sunday and qualify for the Leinster final where they will reunite in a repeat of last year's final with Louth next Sunday in Mullingar.
Carlow didn't have it all their own way though and at half-time were three points down. With nine minutes to go, they trailed by three points, and an excellent last ten minutes saw them push over the line, thanks in no small part to a Megan Townsend goal with three minutes to go.
Carlow had a torrid first half, much like they did against Louth as Longford got in behind the midfield time after time to carve out opportunities for themselves, finding scoring opportunities easy.
However, Carlow kept pushing and never let themselves get too far behind. Cliodhna Nì Shé top scored as usual but the young stars like Megan Townsend, Kate Burke, Katie Tunstead and Maeve O'Neill deserve the plaudits for inspiring the comeback in the second half, whilst Nicole Hanley in the goal was excellent and pulled off some big saves to keep Carlow in the game.
A Leinster final awaits Carlow next week but if they're to stand any chance, they know they will have to improve their poor starts. But nonetheless, time to celebrate and look forward and give credit where credit is due.
