HIGHLIGHTS | Dominant Limerick kick off Ladies National Football League with big win in Kilkenny

It was Kilkenny’s first competitive game since 2019 but last year’s League finalists proved too strong as they set out an early statement of intent.

The Limerick Ladies Footballers began their 2023 campaign with a dominant 23-point win away to Kilkenny in their Division 4 National League opener.

It finished 4-13 to 0-2 in Dunmore with Ballylanders duo Andrea O’Sullivan and Cathy Mee combining for the four Limerick goals, as they bagged a brace each.

It was Kilkenny’s first competitive game since 2019 but last year’s League finalists proved too strong as they set out an early statement of intent.

Limerick raced out of the blocks and opened up a 1-3 to 0-0 lead inside five minutes, kick started by captain Roisin Ambrose who opened the scoring. The Old Mill native then turned provider for Andrea O’Sullivan who marked her return with a fine score.

The Ballylanders player then found the net with her first goal before Laura Stack had Limerick six to the good.

Kilkenny got themselves off the mark with a free after eight minutes. However, that was undone by O’Sullivan who grabbed her second, racing clear of the Cats goalkeeper before applying the finish to the net.

A minute later, Stack made it 2-4 to 0-1. She pushed the margin out to ten points but it was Kilkenny who had the last point of the half in injury time.

Cathy Mee made an instant impact on her introduction, finding the net within 90 seconds of the restart with debutant Clare O’Meara getting her name on the scoresheet shortly after. Anna O’Dea followed suit for Limerick with Deborah Murphy adding to the margin with a trademark score from wing back that had it 3-7 to 0-2 heading into the final quarter.

Rose Hyland, Laoise Browne and Caoimhe McGrath all made scoring contributions from the bench in the final fifteen with Mee rounding out an impressive performance with her second goal in the 62nd minute.

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Graham Shine’s side will be next in action on February 12 as they travel to Wicklow.