Foxrock-Cabinteely 1-7 Na Fianna 0-7

Daire Walsh

Katie McNally struck a 55th-minute goal at Parnell Park last night to guide Foxrock/Cabinteely towards a seventh successive Dublin senior ladies football championship title.

With inter-county star Hannah Tyrrell exerting a strong influence, Na Fianna had threatened to dethrone the southside giants for large stretches. However, in the absence of talismanic Dublin defender Sinead Goldrick, Fox/Cab dug deep to secure another capital crown.

Na Fianna got up and running in a cagey opening with points from Orlaith Egan and Tyrrell, before Andrea Murphy, Jodi Egan and Niamh Ryan responded to give the champions a slender advantage.

After dead-ball specialists Tyrrell and Egan knocked over a brace of efforts at either end of the field, a stoppage-time point by Na Fianna attacker Orla Martin left the sides level at 0-5 apiece during the interval.

Despite dragging a 35th-minute penalty past the target, Tyrrell added a fourth free on the restart to complement Egan’s second point of the game.

This moved the challengers into the driving seat, but extra-time loomed large when Egan fired back with a 0-2 salvo for Fox/Cab. That was until Murphy passed across the goalmouth for her inside partner McNally to flick home the decisive score of the action five minutes from time.

Scorers – Foxrock/Cabinteely: J Egan 0-5 (4f), K McNally 1-0, N Ryan, A Murphy 0-1 each. Na Fianna: H Tyrrell 0-4 (4f), O Egan 0-2, O Martin 0-1.

FOXROCK/CABINTEELY – A Tarpey; S Quinn, N Collins, A Murray; L Fusciardi, T O’Sullivan, F O’Connell Bell; F Claffey, N Ryan; H O’Neill, C O’Riordan, S Dillon; J Egan, A Murphy, K McNally. Subs: S Loughran for O’Riordan (32), C Murphy for O’Connell Bell (40), A Egan for Fusciardi (60).

NA FIANNA – K O’Connell; E Nolan, R Baker, S Aherne; N Daly, E O’Dowd, A Nolan; L Caffrey, H Tyrrell; E Deeley, L Collins, O Martin; C Purdy, E Jameson Murphy, O Egan. Subs: A Caffrey for Purdy (36), K Conway for Deeley (42), E McAleer for Jameson Murphy (49), N Gleeson for Nolan (52), E Aherne for Nolan (58).

Ref – G Donegan (Trinity Gaels).