Meath lay down marker with Leinster win over Dublin

Emma Duggan's second-half goal proved to be the difference at Parnell Park as reigning All-Ireland Champions Meath again defeated rivals Dublin.

The sides, who contested last year's final, were level at four points apiece at the break but a strong attack in the third quarter pushed Meath over the line to victory.

This was Meath’s first game in the Leinster Senior Championship since 2016, and they dominated the early exchanges.

Stacey Grimes got them on the scoreboard first from a free on three minutes. Vikki Wall added the first point from play and another from some distance two minutes later after a well-timed pass from Niamh O’Sullivan.

While Dublin tried to get a foothold in the game, Meath pushed into a three-point lead with Grimes hitting a second free on 11 minutes. On the resumption, Nicole Owens curled a terrific effort around the posts to get Dublin off the mark.

In a game that was end to end, Sinead Wylde reduced the gap to two points when Lyndsey Davey found her in space. However, this was cancelled out when Niamh O’Sullivan supplied Aoibhin Cleary and the All- Star finished over the bar.

Kate Sullivan completed a terrific run when she split the posts to leave Dublin one adrift and the game was level on 28t minutes when Jennifer Dunne found her range. At half time, there was nothing to separate the sides.

On the resumption, Grimes converted her third free before Niamh O’Sullivan pushed Meath into a two-point lead a minute later.

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Meath opened up a five-point gap when Wall and