All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship Round-Up: Dublin, Galway, Armagh And Kerry All Make Winning Starts
By Daire Walsh
Dublin kick-started the defence of their All-Ireland senior ladies football championship crown with a hard-earned 2-13 to 2-10 victory against Donegal at Kingspan Breffni on Saturday evening.
Goals from Noelle Healy and Sinead Aherne – the latter a freakish effort in the second half – was enough to stave off the powerful challenge of Maxi Curran’s Ulster side. As ever, the attacking duo of Geraldine McLaughlin and Karen Guthrie led the charge for Donegal, contributing a combined haul of 1-8.
Healy and Aherne – Footballers of the Year in 2017 and 2018 respectively – amassed 2-8 between them for the champions, who will return to action next Saturday against Waterford in Baltinglass. This win puts them in the driving seat for top spot in Group Three, but their mettle was well and truly tested in the Breffni county.
The returning Yvonne Bonner and McLaughlin (free) gave Donegal an early advantage, before Dublin responded with a point from Aherne and a goal by Healy on 11 minutes. Their northern counterparts subsequently grabbed a major of their own through Nicole Gordon, but Dublin proceeded to dominate the latter stages of the opening period.
Sarah McCaffrey (sister of Jack), Aherne and Sinead Goldrick were all on target to give them a 1-7 to 1-2 interval buffer. Though it was looking ominous for Donegal, they received a lifeline on the restart when Guthrie released McLaughlin for a nicely-timed three-pointer.
This galvanised the O’Donnell County and they were just a single point in arrears for much of the third-quarter. However, the 2019 Ulster champions suffered a hammer blow 14 minutes from the end of the contest.
Aherne’s shot for a point smashed off the top of the post and somehow managed to creep into the back of the Donegal net. This created daylight between the teams once again and even though the influential triumvirate of McLaughlin, Guthrie and Bonner kept their opponents in the frame, Healy split the posts late on to wrap up a hard-earned Dublin win.
At the LIT Gaelic Grounds, 2019 finalists Galway held off a late surge from Tipperary to claim a 1-15 to 1-14 triumph against Tipperary in Group Two. The outstanding Aishling Moloney bagged an incredible tally of 1-10 for the Premier, but their quest for a dramatic comeback win just fell short in the end.
Having triumphed on a scoreline of 1-12 to 0-4 in their league meeting at Tuam Stadium back in March, the Tribeswomen looked set for another emphatic win when they led 1-10 to 0-5 at the midway point in this encounter. However, Tipperary rallied when the action resumed and made Tim Rabbitt’s charges work extremely hard for the spoils.
With a strong wind at their backs, Galway stormed in front with unanswered points courtesy of Tracey Leonard, Lynsey Noone and Olivia Divilly. Tipperary eventually fired back through Moloney’s 10th-minute free and the talented dual star later added a second score from open play.
Galway remained on top, however, and a Lucy Hannon goal offered them a powerful platform. Moloney and Caitlin Kennedy kept the Munster outfit in touch, but their western counterparts enjoyed a whirlwind end to the first half.
Five successive points in the space of seven minutes – including efforts from Nicola Ward and Mairéad Seoighe – put them eight clear in time for the break. Having suffered relegation from the senior championship in 2018, Tipperary are aiming to avoid a similar fate this year.
While Friday night will see them facing Monaghan at Parnell Park in their second game of the group, Tipperary were not prepared to give up the ghost in this maiden outing. With 46 minutes gone on the clock in Limerick, their deficit had been reduced to four points (1-12 to 0-11) – thanks in no small part to the excellence of Moloney.
A Galway win still appeared to be the most likely outcome, until Moloney punched past Lisa Murphy for a 55th-minute goal to cut the gap to the bare minimum. There was the potential for a draw in the closing moments, only for two-time All Star Sinead Burke to intervene and ensure that Galway survived this stern test by the skin of their teeth.
Tracey Leonard’s six-point contribution proved crucial on the day and with nine players getting their names on the scoresheet, the Tribes remain one of the live contenders for the Brendan Martin Cup.
Ronan Murphy’s Armagh are viewed as one of the dark horses in the competition and their reputation was enhanced by a 6-16 to 3-13 victory at the expense of provincial rivals Tyrone at Kingspan Breffni on Friday evening.
The first game of the 2020 All-Ireland senior series, this fast-paced encounter was the perfect launchpad for a unique winter championship. It says a lot about Armagh’s performance that Aoife McCoy bagged a hat-trick of goals and still didn’t come away with TG4’s Player of the Match award.
That honour went to Aimee Mackin, who recently returned to the Orchard set-up after a lengthy injury lay-off. She recorded 1-6 in a scintillating individual display, while Kelly Mallon (1-3) and Caroline O’Hanlon (1-2) were also in fine scoring form.
Four-time All-Ireland champions Mayo will face Tyrone in Carrick-on-Shannon next Saturday, before squaring off against Armagh seven days later. If this opening salvo is anything to go by, Group Four should produce plenty of drama prior to reaching its crescendo.
In response to a Chloe McCaffrey goal on 10 minutes, McCoy and Aimee Mackin majors gave Armagh a slender 2-3 to 1-4 lead in the opening half. Though McCoy did follow up with her second goal, Tyrone actually moved a point ahead (2-7 to 3-3) with the help of a clinical Niamh O’Neill finish.
Yet having scored no fewer than 11 goals in three games during last year’s All-Ireland championship, Armagh are a formidable attacking outfit when performing at their optimum level. A Northern Ireland netball international, O’Hanlon produced a composed finish that was supplemented by a similar strike from Mallon.
This meant Armagh were 5-7 to 2-9 in front moving into the second period. Despite the best efforts of the Red Hand, the 2006 runners-up maintained their stranglehold on the proceedings. McCoy completed a memorable display with her third goal in the 47th-minute.
Tyrone’s O’Neill found the net in the closing moments to give the inside forward a magnificent final tally of 2-4 – all from open play. McCaffrey also finished with 1-4 to her name, but Gerry Mone’s side ultimately fell to a 12-point reversal.
In the final game of the weekend, Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh and Síofra O’Shea turned on the style to give them Kerry a 5-14 to 0-13 Group One win over Cavan at St Brendan’s Park, Birr.
While the Kingdom ultimately dominated the proceedings, there had been little to separate the sides during the opening quarter. Managed by former men’s footballer Declan Quill, Kerry broke the deadlock through Danielle O’Leary.
Yet with Lauren McVeety, Aisling Gilsenan and Aishling Sheridan (who was playing alongside her sisters Geraldine and Mona) all finding the target, Cavan twice found themselves in a narrow lead.
A Ní Mhuircheartaigh point left the sides on level terms (0-3 apiece) in time for the first half water break and when the action recommenced, Kerry displayed their mettle to move six points clear. Following Siofra O’Shea’s superb close-range finish, the exceptional Ní Mhuircheartaigh completed a fantastic team move for a 23rd minute goal.
The Munster side ultimately brought a 2-7 to 0-6 advantage into the dressing rooms and a brace of goals after the restart effectively placed the outcome beyond doubt. Ní Mhuircheartaigh palmed a Hannah O’Donoghue pass to the net and turned provider for a major from substitute Andrea Murphy – who plays her club football with Dublin powerhouses Foxrock/Cabinteely – in the 36th-minute.
Gilsenan, Aishling Sheridan and Donna English were doing their utmost to stem the rising Kerry tide, but the Breffni women conceded another goal to O’Shea just shy of the third-quarter mark.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh and O’Shea finished with a combined haul, while there was also a handsome 1-4 contribution from the substitutes’ bench. They now face into a crunch with provincial foes Cork next weekend, who were idle on the opening weekend of the championship.
It has been a tough couple of weeks for the Cavan management, with a large chunk of their squad ruled out of this game owing to Covid or injury-related reasons. Still, they deserve great credit for persevering with their challenge in the closing moments of their 2020 All-Ireland bow.
Gilsenan (two), substitute Emma Halton and Sheridan all found the range and they can at least take this positive ending into their own encounter with the Leesiders at the same venue in a fortnight’s time.