Meath 4-4 Tyrone 0-2
TWO first-half goals from Meath forward Kerrie Cole laid the platform for victory against newly promoted Tyrone in the opening round of the Lidl Division One at blustery Newtownstewart.
Played in testing conditions, both teams can take positives from their efforts on the day but Meath were largely comfortable and the result was never really in doubt.
Pre-match favourites Meath powered out of the traps even though they faced into an unforgiving breeze, racing into a 1-2 to no score lead with only seven minutes on the clock.
Their goal was extremely well-worked, Cole making no mistake after incisive build-up play from Megan Thynne.
Tyrone were struggling to stitch together attacks but they did get their account up and running via a Maria Canavan free, with Aoife Horisk and Sasha Byrne using their physical presence to good effect at the back to help stem the tide.
However, Meath still looked the more potent outfit with their slickness through the hands exemplified by the efforts of half-back Niamh Gollogly, who was a constant threat on their raids forward.
The Royals compounded their advantage when Cole blasted to the net for her second goal of the game after a clever hand pass over the top from Marion Farrelly, helping her side into a deserved 2-4 to 0-2 lead into the second-half.
The opening 10 minutes of the second period saw neither side trouble the scoreboard, though Meath had their chances to extend their lead, a combination of the blustery weather and tenacious Tyrone defending ensuring that the deficit remained intact.
There were no scores in the middle portion of the half either but Meath made their move for home in the final 10 minutes, sub Megan Collins palming to the net with 54 minutes gone after a speculative shot dropped short.
Collins added another a minute late, using her height and physical presence to get effect as she rose highest to get her hands on a diagonal ball.
That left Meath with an insurmountable 4-4 to 0-2 advantage on the home straight as they made sure of a resounding opening round victory.
Scorers – Meath: K Cole 2-0, Megan Collins 2-0, M Farrelly 0-3 (0-2f), C Smyth 0-1.
Tyrone: M Canavan 0-2 (0-1f).
Meath: R Murray; A Sheridan, S Wall, N Troy; N Gallogly, M.K Lynch, C Millington; A Cleary (capt), E Moyles; M Thynne, O Sheehy, C Smyth; M Byrne, M Farrelly, K Cole. Subs: M Collins for Cole, K Newe for Byrne, N McEntee for Millington.
Tyrone: A Coyle; J Lyons, J Barrett, G McKenna, C Canavan, M Corrigan, M Mallon; A McHugh (capt), A Grimes; A Horisk, S Byrne, E McNamee; C McCaffrey, M Canavan, S Gormley. Subs: S McCarroll for S Gormley, A Quinn for A Horisk, C Campbell for C Canavan.
Referee: Brendan Rice.
