Roche Emmets 2-10 Stabannon Parnells 2-10

Deadlock at Páirc de Róiste ensured both Roche and Stabannon kept alive their hopes of progression in this year’s senior football championship.

However, it was an outcome neither were particularly content with considering the number of wides that were tallied.

Roche, having trailed at the interval and lost captain Niamh Callan to a yellow card seven minutes from time, ought to be the happier under the circumstances. Indeed, it took a great finish by Sarah McArdle with the last kick of the ball to tie up proceedings after a scoring burst looked to have sealed the deal in Parnells’ favour.

That said, the girls in blue screwed 11 shots off target, four of which were frees, and having raced into a three-point lead after Louise Byrne hit the net, really ought to have made home advantage count.

Though Stabannon, with a plethora of returning stars, played the better, more composed football for much of the contest and it would have been a travesty had they been beaten.

OUT OF THE BLOCKS

The mid-Louth girls had 1-3 on the scoreboard prior to Roche breaking past the halfway line – Rachel McNally rifling their goal past Arlene Marmion.

It took Emmets until the 10th minute to open their account, but from the moment Jennifer McCourt lobbed over beautifully, their play was fluent, Shauna Finn touching home their first goal in the next attack.

Another McCourt notch and two from McArdle had Roche a point clear at the waterbreak, only for Danielle Sharkey to take control of the fixture and hand Stabannon a 1-6 to 1-5 half-time buffer.

Quarter three was all about Roche’s powerhouse midfielder Aoife Halligan. The Louth player was omnipresent, and it was her fabulous interception of a Parnells kick-out, and subsequent pass into Byrne, which yielded a three-pointer for the hosts.

It seemed as though Gerry Curran’s charges would press ahead at that juncture, Stabannon resembling a jaded outfit, but credit to the serial ‘queenpins’, they came charging back and having buried a ball in the net, moved a point clear with Emmets down a player.

McArdle levelled from a free, before Stabannon took the lead once more via substitute Amy Malone. But, ever-reliable, Roche’s No15 drove through and split the posts.

A game both should have won, and, equally, could have lost. A draw, the fairest outcome.

Roche: Arlene Marmion; Anna Murphy, Aoife Savage, Aisling Sloane; Caoimhe Treanor, Niamh Callan, Aisling Begley; Aoife Halligan, Claire McDonald; Seona Halligan (0-1), Shauna Finn (1-0), Louise Byrne (1-0); Abi Keenan (0-1), Jennifer McCourt (0-3), Sarah McArdle (0-5, two frees)

Stabannon: Sophie Smyth; Clare Keenan, Andrea Carney, Aoife Lowth; Kate Smyth, Caoimhe Boyle, Oonagh Crilly; Orlagh Byrne (1-0), Laura McNally (0-1); Ann Marie Kelly, Danielle Sharkey (0-6, five frees), Kim Lynch; Ciara McNally, Grace Lynch (0-1), Rachel McNally (1-1)

Subs: Ruth McNally for L McNally, Tara Greene for K Smyth, Amy Malone (0-1) for K Lynch, Lucy Smyth for Kelly

Referee: Stephen Devlin (Naomh Fionnbarra)