DONEGAL CAPTAIN NIAMH HEGARTY was sporting the scars of battle after the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 2 semi-final.
The Moville woman took a heavy blow to the head late in the game and wore a gash above her left eye.
It was worth it, though, as Donegal ground up the levels in the second half to win 0-13 to 0-6.
Picture caption: Niamh Hegarty, Donegal, in action against Rosin Crowe, Cavan. Picture by Oliver McVeigh / Sportsfile
“We knew that Cavan would be tough,” Hegarty said.
“There is never much between us so it was always going to be a big battle.
“We knew coming out in the second half that we had a great chance and we took our points well. It was pretty even in the first half, but we started getting the ball in quicker in the second half.”
The teams were level at half-time, 0-4 to 0-4, but with Geraldine McLaughlin posting eight points Micheál Naughton’s team advance to meet Westmeath in the final.
The memories are still fresh from last year when Donegal swept the early-League boards before losing to Armagh in the final – and missing out on promotion as a result.
Hegarty said: “We know from last year that we have work to do. We have Westmeath now and we’re well aware of what happened last year when we fell apart in the final against Armagh.
“We’ll have to knuckle down now and get that right.
“Division 2 is grand, but it’s not great – we want to be up in the main division.”
Listen to the full interview below …
https://soundcloud.com/donegalsporthub-club-notes/niamh-hegarty-after-donegal-ladies-win-division-2-semi-final
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