gaelic-football-aTHE Mayo ladies senior footballers made it three wins out of three in the national league following their hard fought victory over Waterford in Waterford on Sunday.

Mayo3-13

Waterford 3-9

This latest victory keeps them joint leaders of the division with Kerry who also secured their third straight win.

However, this was far from Mayo at their best and in the end they had to dig deep before edging out a determined home side.

If Mayo hope to return to division one for next season they will have to show a lot of improvement as on this display it would be hard to see them beating Kerry, against whom they will have home advantage in the final rounds of the league.

Joint team manager Jimmy Corbett admitted after the game that they were a bit below par against Waterford and it was probably the wake-up call the team needed for the tougher games which lie ahead.

We might have taken Waterford a bit for granted and nearly paid the price. They were really up for the game and produced their best performance so far in the league.

However, we will have to show improvement in our next games, and especially the one against Kerry. With just one team being promoted this year the Kerry game, which we will have at home, will be crucial.

But I suppose we managed to get the two league points, which was the most important thing. The team played a lot better in the second half where they fought bravely before carving out a victory.

Cora Staunton and Sarah Rowe were in great form. Cora finished the game by scoring 1-13, which is a great feat, and Sarah scored two crucial second-half goals, the second with just four minutes remaining when the game was there to be won and lost.

The most important thing is we got the two league points and we will now plan for our next game which is against Tipperary at home on Sunday week, said Jimmy.

In the opening half the home side were the better team and fully deserved their two-point half time lead. Both sides scored a goal in this opening half, with Cora finding the back of the net for Mayo. Indeed, Cora kept Mayo in the game by also scoring some delightful points both from frees and frees.

In the second half Mayo showed a big improvement and while their opponents kept battling away they were unable to stop Cora and Sarah.

Rowe scored a great goal to put Mayo in front midway through the second half. However, Waterford were back in the game six minutes from time when they converted a penalty. But 60 seconds later Rowe had the ball in the back of the Waterford net for a second time to put Mayo in the driving seat. They held on to their four-point lead, which made the long journey back home that little easier.

 

Scorers for Mayo: C. Staunton 1-13, S. Rowe 2-0.

Mayo: F. McLoughlin, M. Corbett, N. Tierney, E. Roddy, S. Tierney, C. Egan, F. Ryder, M. Carter, K. Sullivan, F. McHale, C. Staunton, N. Conlon, S. Rowe, Y. Byrne, T. McNicholas.

Subs used: N. Cunningham, D. Doherty.