Bennekerry/Tinryland (Carlow) 2-10
Annaghdown (Galway) 1-7
By Daire Walsh
Lauren Dwyer said she was hopeful that Bennekerry/Tinryland would deal with the pressure of being the first side from Carlow to reach an All-Ireland LGFA club final and she is just delighted that they produced the goods at Croke Park.
Dwyer shot 0-4 as Bennekerry/Tinryland saw off former champions Annaghdown to make history and claim the AIB All-Ireland IFC title at Croke Park.
“When you’re coming into an All-Ireland final and you’re playing in Croke Park, playing in the biggest Gaelic grounds in Ireland, everyone is going to be nervous,” said Dwyer.
“But I think we took it in our stride. We got on the ball and when we got on the ball, we made sure our first pass was a good pass. Everyone is unreal at football, they’re so comfortable on the ball.
“We’re a fit team and we knew we could go all the way to the end. We’ve players that can come on and do the job for us. It’s not just 15 players that start. It’s the people that are on the bench, it’s the people that are finishing. We know what we’re capable of and I’m just so glad we got over the line.”
Annaghdown manager Martin O’Neill, whose side won this crown in 2016, congratuled the new champions and said he was very proud of his own side.
“It’s disappointing. Very proud of the team,” said O’Neill. “The game could easily have gone away from us, but in fairness to them, they stuck in there to the end and battled. Got it down to six points at the end. I’m very proud of the girls. They gave it everything on the day, it just wasn’t good enough.”
Cliodhna Ní Shé hit an impressive haul of 2-4 to lead them on the way to their historic success.
In a bright opening to the contest, Ní Shé (free) and Lauren Dwyer kicked unanswered points to give Bennekerry/Tinryland an early advantage over their Connacht counterparts. Annaghdown initially struggled to find their feet at the Jones’ Road venue, but after raiding wing-back Bronagh Quinn got them up and running with a fine white flag effort, the Tribeswomen edged in front when Ciara McCarthy rifled a low shot to the opposition net just shy of the first-quarter mark.
But a goal from Carlow inter-county star Ní Shé saw them build up a 1-5 to 1-1 interval lead.
Despite Annaghdown cutting their deficit to three with a Ciara Hegarty point just 15 seconds after the restart, Bennekerry/Tinryland established a powerful platform when Dwyer, Sinead Hayden and Ní Shé all pointed.
The latter brought her personal tally up to 1-4 through a routine free on 38 minutes and while Annaghdown eventually responded with a similar score from Hegarty inside the final-quarter, Bennekerry/Tinryland reinforced their authority with Dwyer’s fourth point of the action.
Chris Townsend’s side were already well on course for victory at this stage, but the outcome was effectively placed beyond doubt when Ní Shé emphatically drilled a 51st minute penalty beyond the reach of Annaghdown’s Eleanor Lynch.
To their credit, Annaghdown did reduce the gap with four consecutive points from Hegarty (three) and skipper Riona Quinn in the closing moments, but it wasn’t enough to spoil the Bennekerry/Tinryland party.
Scorers – Bennekerry/Tinryland: C Ní Shé 2-4 (1-0 pen, 0-3f), L Dwyer 0-4, S Hayden 0-2.
Annaghdown: C Hegarty 0-5 (2f), C McCarthy 1-0, B Quinn, R Quinn 0-1 each.
BENNEKERRY/TINRYLAND: S Cotter; K Bullen, L Corcoran, L Mullins; R Bermingham, N Mohan, M Cranny; E Lowry, E Ware; A Webb, C Ní Shé, L Dwyer; O Woods, S Nolan, S Hayden. Subs: M O’Neill for Bullen (34), D Tomlinson for Nolan (56).
ANNAGHDOWN: E Lynch; R Fahy, I Claffey, M Canavan; Chelsie Crowe, Chloe Crowe, B Quinn; S O’Grady, R Naughton; R Quinn, C Hegarty, J Burke; E Keane, C McCarthy, B Naughton. Subs: I Killilea for B Naughton (h-t), C O’Neill for Keane (43).
Referee: Patrick Smith (Waterford).