Noonan and O’Leary on form for Cork
LADIES FOOTBALL
CORK………………………5-11
GALWAY…………………….1-4
Daire Walsh
SAOIRSE NOONAN and Sadhbh O’Leary delivered outstanding displays at O’Connor Park, Tullamore yesterday, when John Cleary’s Cork secured their third consecutive All-Ireland Minor ‘A’ Ladies Football Championship title with a comprehensive triumph over Galway.
The lethal attacking duo amassed a magnificent combined tally of 5-7, and with centre-back Jenny Brewdinan also producing a superb performance, the Leesiders retained their crown in ruthless fashion.
Galway were hoping for a repeat of their 2014 success over the Rebel County, and they opened the scoring with a third-minute point from Lara Finnegan. The Cork full-back line was coming under pressure during the early exchanges, but some wasteful shooting by the westerners ensured that they didn’t fall further behind.
Noonan had featured for Cork City in the Women’s National League just two days earlier, and a neat lay-off from the international soccer star set-up an equalising score for O’Leary. The lively Amy O’Donovan was on target for Galway, but following another eye-catching effort by O’Leary, the sides remained delicately poised.
However, Cork moved into the ascendancy for the very first time on 14 minutes, when a sublime pass by Noonan put O’Leary through on goal. The Kinsale corner-forward cooly dispatched the ball to the right-hand corner of the Galway net, and after Noonan opening her account with a 0-2 salvo, Cork established a five-point cushion.
The introduction of Andrea Trill did spark some life into the Galway attack, but a spectacular end to the opening period ultimately propelled Cork into an insurmountable position.
Brewdinan picked out Noonan at the end of a powerful break on 28 minutes, and the dynamic Cork full-forward made no mistake with a low finish past the stranded Hession. This was supplemented by another three-pointer by the outstanding Noonan from the resulting attack, and with Grace Culloty also adding her name to the scoresheet, Cork brought a 3-5 to 0-2 lead into the interval.
The half-time introductions of Ciara McCarthy and Grace Sheridan did shore up the Galway defence to an extent, and 11 minutes of the second-half had elapsed before Cork added to their tally.
Brewdinan split the posts at the end of a patient move on this occasion, and even though Galway finally ended their scoring drought with a 45th-minute pointed free from Coen, Cork continued to search for scores heading into the final-quarter.
Points from substitute Aisling Healy (two) and Noonan ensured that all of 15 points now separated the sides, and with just eight minutes remaining on the clock, O’Leary was on hand to claim her second major of the contest.
It was a case of damage limitation for their opponents by this point, but after O’Leary brought her personal haul up to 2-3, Galway’s Niamh Daly raised a cheer for her supporters by firing to the roof of the Cork net.
This was only a temporary respite for Brian O’Donovan’s charges, however, as a composed 58th-minute score meant the excellent Noonan finished with a hat-trick of goals for the victorious Munster outfit.
Scorers for Cork: Saoirse Noonan 3-4 (0-2f), Sadhbh O’Leary 2-3, Aisling Healy 0-2, Jenny Brewdinan, Grace Culloty 0-1 each.
Scorers for Galway: Niamh Daly 1-0, Leanne Coen 0-2 (1f), Lara Finnegan, Amy O’Donovan 0-1 each.
CORK: Sarah Murphy; Katie Horgan, Clare O’Shea, Sarah Leahy; Eimear Kiely, Jenny Brewdinan, Ciara Hughes; Ciara McCarthy, Nicole Quinn; Rachel Murphy, Emma Cleary, Laura O’Mahony; Grace Culloty, Saoirse Noonan, Sadhbh O’Leary.
Subs: Aisling Healy for Culloty (46), Chloe Collins for Cleary (50), Georgia Gould for O’Mahony (52), Ciara Ryan for Murphy (53), Aoife Kelleher for Quinn (54).
GALWAY: Laura Hession; Chloe Langan, Kate Screene, Andrea Glynn; Linda Booth, Bronagh Quinn, Aoife Molloy; Amy Coen, Regina Naughton; Lara Finnegan, Niamh Daly, Lyndsey Noone; Leanne Coen, Niamh Coleman, Amy O’Donovan.
Subs: Andrea Trill for Coleman (17), Maria Mitchell for Langan, Grace Sheridan for Booth (both h-t), Ciara McCarthy for O’Donovan (40), Niamh Daly for Noone (51).
Referee: Seamus Mulvihill (Kerry).