TG4 All Ireland LGFA Junior Championship
Antrim 6-20
Longford 1-7
At Whitehill, Randalstown

THERESA Mellon found the net with 22 seconds on the clock and from there the signs were clear that there was only going to be one winner in Sunday's All-Ireland Junior Championship clash at Randalstown.

The Saffrons responded to their shock defeat last time out against Ulster rivals Derry and did so in emphatic fashion when they hit Longford for six goals and got their campaign back on track.

The early goal was aided by multiple scores between the posts from Monaghan, O'Neill and a terrific long-range effort from Lara Dahunsi who was terrific in the middle of the park for the Saffrons.

Longford did show some fightback in the early moments with Aoife Darcy and Katherine Kilduff both managing to find their efforts earn white flags from the umpires, but it did not take long for Antrim to establish their healthy lead when the Saffrons were awarded a penalty on the 14th minute.

Bronagh Devlin stepped up and dispatched her effort into the top corner and kept her dad busy who was on scoreboard duties at Randalstown on Father's Day afternoon.

The scores kept coming for Antrim with Aiobheann Monaghan and O'Neill both firing over a number of points to keep increasing their side's lead.

Monaghan once again proved a threat when she used the solo-and-go to her advantage to split the Longford backline and after a great link-up with Dahusni her curled effort soared between the sticks for yet another Antrim score and double digits separated the sides.

Maria O'Neill managed to grab her second goal of the half as the forward latched onto a great pass from Bronagh Devlin with the Moneyglass goal machine flicking the ball over Aoife Cooney and into the back of the net on the stroke of half-time.

Speaking at full-time, co-manager Chris Scullion mentioned how important it was for his side to bounce back from the defeat to Derry.

"Yeah, absolutely, we were very proud of the response from the players. We addressed what went wrong in the Derry game, got back to work in training and focused on the areas we felt we needed to improve. The attitude and application from the girls over the last couple of weeks was phenomenal.

"What pleased us most was how well they bought into the game plan and how hard they worked for each other.

"It wasn't just the starting team either, the whole squad contributed. The players who came on made a real impact and maintained the same intensity and standards, which is exactly what you want to see at this stage of the season."

Onto the second-half and Antrim looked to continue their superb scoring tally when Aine Turbridy and Aoibheann Monaghan once again fired scores between the posts.

O'Neill found her hat-trick goal when she blasted home just shortly after the restart, and Antrim were looking to flex their muscles when Orlaith Prenter entered the fray from the bench and managed to tally four great scores in the second period.

Aoife Taggart also found a green flag before Aileen McDonnell marked her return in the Saffron jersey with a terrific clipped score.

Longford did find the net from Fumni Talabi in the second-half but it proved to be a mere consolation and slight dip in concentration from the hosts.

Devlin found another score with Maria O'Neill topping off her excellent performance with another tally of white flags from play and the Saffron ladies returned to winning ways once more something that manager Chris Scullion believes was crucial if they are to reach a consecutive Junior All-Ireland final.

"Performance and results go hand in hand for us. We always believe that if we consistently produce performances that meet our standards, the results will generally take care of themselves," said Chris.

"Our focus now turns to Kilkenny this weekend. We know what we want to achieve and the target has already been set and we know the level of performance it will take to get there. We know what we have to do to put ourselves in the best chance of qualifying for the semis.

"Our job now is to make sure we deliver the type of performance that gives us the best opportunity of reaching them. If we can do that, hopefully we'll put ourselves in a strong position heading into the knockout stages all being well."

The Glenavy man also referenced the defeat to Derry as being a good chance for a reality check and helping the girls reset their focus ahead of the next few ties.

"Look, nobody enjoys losing and we certainly weren't happy with our performance against Derry.

"As management and players, we were honest with ourselves afterwards. We sat down, analysed the game and looked at where it got away from us.

"A big part of that was recognising the chances we created but didn't convert, and understanding how much of an impact that had on the final result. We looked at what we could have done differently and how we could improve those areas going forward.

"Whether you call it a reset or a refocus, it certainly sharpened our minds. Full credit to the players because their response in training over the two weeks leading into the Longford game was excellent.

"We were pleased with a lot of what we produced. We had done our homework on Longford and set ourselves a number of targets going into the game, and I thought the players applied themselves really well to the task.

"We know that in a group format, score difference can become important here, so it was about achieving our objectives while still delivering a strong performance. What stood out was the relentlessness of the group.

"The players maintained their standards throughout and when we made changes, those coming in brought exactly the same attitude and energy.

"That said, there are still areas we can improve. There are definitely a few learnings we'll take from the game and work on in training this week."

Antrim will face Kilkenny in their next outing, and will hope to clinch at least a semi-final berth as the group phase comes to it's conclusion.

Antrim XV: Aine Devlin; Maeve Mulholland, Maeve Blaney, Emily Kearns; Carla McKenna, Duana Coleman, Laura Agnew; Aine Tubridy 0-1, Omolara Dahunsi 0-1; Theresa Mellon 1-1, Bronagh Devlin 1-2, Alyssa Davidson 0-1; Aoibheann Monaghan 0-4, Maria O'Neill 3-5, Aileen McDonnell 0-1

Subs: Aoife Taggart 1-0, Orlaith Prenter 0-4

Longford XV: Aoife Cooney; Amy Creegan, Leanne Keegan, Emma Doris; Sorcha Dawson 0-1, Emma Bleakley, Aoife Nolan; Sian Gallagher, Fumni Talabi 1-1; Shauna Madden 0-2, Katie Crawford 0-1, Emma Farrell; Aoife Darcy 0-1, Ailbhe Brady, Katherine KIlduff 0-1