Antrim turn up the heat to see off Sligo
14th July 2025
Maria O'Neill's two goals were the difference and Aoibheann Monaghan repeated her National League heroics as Antrim overcame a dogged Sligo at St Tiernach’s Park in Clones yesterday to qualify for the All-Ireland Junior Final on 3 August.
Antrim faced the Yeats County in sweltering heat at the County Monaghan venue on Sunday, aiming to qualify for their sixth All-Ireland decider and attempt to seal a fourth title at the grade.
In the opening game, Louth treated their fans to a barnstorming display of attacking football, running out 11-point victors over Longford, with Kate Flood registering ten points of the Wee County’s total haul.
With the mercury pushing 27 degrees, the Saffron ladies faced familiar foes Sligo, having bested the Connacht side in two previous encounters this season – including an eight-point victory back in January in round two of the National League.
Sligo’s Ellen Kelleher opened the scoring with a pointed free in the second minute but was cancelled out within thirty seconds by Antrim’s Lara Dahunsi. Leah Duffy for Sligo and Sarah O’Neill for Antrim both cancelled each other out, but two frees from Duffy stretched the Sligo lead to two. Not to be outdone on converting frees, captain Bronagh Devlin and Maria O’Neill each raised the white flag to have the sides level again in the 18th minute.
Lara Dahunsi put Antrim in front with an almost identical score to the one that opened her account, while St Paul’s clubmate Áine Tubridy stretched the lead to two just a minute later. Laura Agnew also slotted over the black spot, and Maria O’Neill closed out the scoring for the half with a free from an almost impossible angle far out on the right under the Gerry Arthur Stand.
Half Time Score: Antrim 0-8 Sligo 0-4
Sligo resumed the second half the way they had started the first, with Anna McDaniel pointing for the Yeats girls. One of Teresa Mellon’s lightning-fast runs down the left wing found her feeding Lara Dahunsi, who found Tubridy unmarked under the posts, with Tubridy duly obliging and restoring the gap to four.
Maria O’Neill found the back of the net after fighting her way past the attentions of two Sligo defenders, putting Antrim firmly in the driving seat. Sligo didn’t take it lying down but couldn’t find the accuracy needed, registering two wides before McDaniel got her second point of the half.
With six separating the sides, a Tubridy free found Dahunsi in acres of space, and a pinpoint pass to Bronagh Devlin saw the captain register Antrim’s tenth point. Sligo controlled the play for long periods but couldn’t break down the Saffron defence, being forced instead to shoot from distance and unable to find the range.
O’Neill grabbed her second goal of the day when Sligo fumbled a kick-out and the Antrim girls responded with furious pace. With Antrim’s lead now at nine points, Sligo struck back in the only manner possible, with Duffy capitalising on a mistake in front of the Town End to slide the ball past Áine Devlin in the Antrim goal.
With five minutes left on the clock, Sligo had narrowed the gap to just three, but were unable to press on, with Antrim punishing every mistake but just unable to find that crucial score. The two teams fought a battle of attrition, with heroic tackles and mistakes aplenty. With the 30 minutes up, Áine Tubridy found the teenage substitute Aoibheann Monaghan outpacing her marker, and the Moneyglass starlet shot from distance, finding the top corner and putting the game beyond doubt.
Final score: Antrim 3-10 Sligo 1-10
Antrim will now face Louth as the opening game on the LGFA Finals Day at Croke Park in a little under three weeks.
Scorers – Antrim: M O’Neill 2-2 (0-1f), A Monaghan 1-0, A Tubridy, B Devlin (1f), L Dahunsi 0-2 each, S O’Neill, L Agnew 0-1 each.
Sligo: L Duffy 1-4 (3fs), A McDaniel, R Smith 0-2 each, E Kelleher (f), S Curley 0-1 each.
ANTRIM: Á Devlin; N McIntosh, M Blaney, M Mulholland; S O’Neill, C Brown, C McKenna; A Mulholland, Á Tubridy; T Mellon, M O’Neill, A Kelly; B Devlin, L Dahunsi, L Agnew.
Subs: O Ní Corra for McKenna (55), A Monaghan for B Devlin (57), D Boyd for Agnew and O Todd for Kelly (60).
SLIGO: E Maguire; J Creegan, C Dunne, H Walsh; C King, C Walsh, T Breheny; S Regan, R Kennedy; M McCormack, A McDaniel, S Feeney; L Duffy, C Gilligan, E Kelleher.
Subs: N Brennan for Kelleher (38), C Gorman for McCormack (44), S Curley for Creegan (46), R Smith for Gilligan (50), L Normanly for Kennedy (60).
Referee: Paul McCaughey (Westmeath).
