TG4 Junior All-Ireland Group B
Antrim 3-18 Londain 0-0
At  Randalstown

ANTRIM’S Ladies booked their All-Ireland Junior semi-final spot on Saturday afternoon after an impressive victory over London at Randalstown.

The Ulster champions proved to be far too strong for their opponents as they completed a shut-out as the Saffrons scored 27 points without reply in the rain-soaked home of Tír na nÓg.

The victory makes it 14 unbeaten for the Saffrons since management duo Chris Scullion and Mickey Devlin took over at the season’s beginning.

Antrim entered the tie as strong favourites against Group B’s bottom side London having previously hammered their opponents by a margin of 31 points in this season’s Ulster Championship semi-final back in May.

The Saffs opened their All-Ireland Junior campaign with an equally impressive victory away to Longford on June 1 as they struck 27 points in consecutive games in the group.

The game proceeded to unfold as expected, with Antrim opening the scoring after Theresa Mellon struck her effort between the posts within the first three minutes of play. 

From then the Saffron ladies never looked back and Blaithin Nic Cathail and Maria O’Neill added to their side's tally early on.

The weather was miserable, but not as grim as the look on the opposition when Lucine Adams knocked her effort over the black spot after Mellon hit consecutive scores to have Antrim leading by eight points in the opening ten minutes of play. 

Maria O’Neill took it upon herself to really send London packing, the Antrim forward struck three scores either side of Ana Mulholland’s and Nicole Jones’ points to extend the Saffrons lead to 0-13 without reply as the whistle went for the break.

The ladies were all but there as they looked to carry the torch for the Saffron County in Gaelic sports after their male counterparts had their season ended in last weekend's Tailteann Cup defeat to Wexford.

Antrim started the second period just as they left the first, Nicole Jones and Maria O’Neill were on hand to punt efforts between the posts before the first of three goals for Antrim hit the net on the 35th minute of play thanks once again to the Moneyglass stalwart O’Neill after her effort from close range had the net bulge.

Then in the closing stages Ana Mulholland struck an effort from distance once again before Nic Cathail and O’Neill saw white flags raised after their efforts looked to sink London once and for all.

Antrim sealed the victory after two goals late on courtesy of Maeve Blaney and Blaithin Nic Cathail saw their efforts increase the Saffrons' goal tally to three, ensuring a second 27-point victory over London in the last month.

For Antrim, collectively they have cruised to an All-Ireland semi-final, but it was the Moneyglass native O'Neill who stole the show.

The forward replicated her Ulster Championship semi-final showing after another stand-out performance from the half-forward. The star-player scored a personal tally of 1-5 in Saturday’s victory, similarly, managing a solo scoring spree of 1-9 in May’s championship clash against Saturday’s opponents.

Antrim’s eyes will be firmly set on Group A, as the trio of Limerick, Sligo and Louth continue to battle it out for the top two spots as the Saffron ladies await to see their opponents.

The early qualification allows the Antrim coaches the chance to rotate in their final fixture, which could prove invaluable for Scullion and Devlin as the knockout phase approaches.

The ladies still have one final fixture to fulfil in Group B despite already clinching qualification, and they will certainly be looking to remain unbeaten as they face Carlow at Netwatch Cullen Park at the month’s end.

ANTRIM: A Devlin, G Shannon, G McGroarty, A Kelly, N McIntosh, M Blaney 1-1, M Mulholland, A Mulholland 0-3, A Turley, T Mellon 0-4, M O'Neill 1-5, O Dahunsi, B Devlin, B Nic Cathail 1-3, L Adams 0-1

Subs: A Bickerstaff, A Tubridy, N Munce, E Rogers Duffy, L Agnew, C Brown, C McKenna, A Monaghan, D Boyd, O Todd, S O'Neill, O Ní Corra, R Tubridy, N Jones 0-1

LONDON: H Dike-Lawlor, O Reilly, L Harrold, K Allenby, C Cottrell, E Gray, A Spain, E Creedon, A Healy, C Flanagan, S Munnelly, Coombs, E Bartley, A Ryan, M Harney-Noaln

Subs: E Mooney, M Jordan, N Cunningham, C Murphy, A Sexton, M Jones, A McLaughlin