Dublin girls can go all the way

THE
DUBLIN senior team are just 60 minutes away from
winning the top prize in ladies’ football. The
girls in blue travel to Croke Park this Sunday
hoping to win the Brendan Martin trophy for the
very first time. They take on a Galway team also
searching for their first major title.

Remarkably, Galway were only promoted to senior
degree in 2002 after they clinched the Junior
AII-Ireland crown. They beat Mayo in the Connacht
Final and All-Ireland semi-final this year to
end their reign as champions. Under manager PJ
Fahy, Galway have come of age this year and have
surprised many with their stylish flow of football.
They have a psychological advantage over the Dubs,
having convincingly beaten them in the National
League quarter- finals 3-14 to 1-3 last April.

Since then, Dublin, under manager John O’Leary
have got their act together and easily came through
the round-robin stages of the championship to
clinch the Leinster crown. They came up against
sterner opposition in the All-Ireland qualifiers,
struggling to beat Donegal in the quarter-finals
while a late goal from Fiona Nic Corcorain booked
them a place in the final.

The Dublin ladies’ senior football team celebrate their victory over Laois in the Cuckoo’s Nest Pub (official Dublin sponsors) last July. Pic courtesy The Echo

The
arrival of Noelle Comyn, Lindsay Davey and Siobhan
McGrath has certainly boosted the side’s chances
this year. Dublin have a well- established side
with stalwarts Martina Farrell and Angie McNally
having a big influence on the Blues’ impressive
run. Their defence has struggled at times, but
they have tightened up in recent games and will
have to be on their guard against players like
Niamh Duggan, Ger Conneally and Lisa Cohill. Duggan
accounted for 2-3 of her team’s tally in their
superb victory in the semis when the talented
forward netted a late winner. Fiona Nic Corcorain
has played her heart out for the Dubs at midfield
while her clubmate Martina Farrell has shown great
leadership.

In attack, Mary Nevin, Dublin’s top scorer, has
been superb and she is certainly a big contender
for the ‘Player of the Year’ Award. Louise Kelly
is another player Dublin will be relying on –
the Ballyboden star is recovering from injury
and will surely cause problems for Galway’s defence.
St Mark’s flying corner forward Ashling McCormack
is another player who has the ability to prise
open the Galway defence. While Dublin will be
slight favourites to claim the title, they can
take nothing for granted against a talented Galway
outfit. They qualified for the final, beating
current reigning champions Mayo and they will
also be hoping to win the crown for the very first
time. But Dublin’s experience should stand to
them after last year’s narrow defeat and if they
can step up a gear on the performance shown against
Kerry, they should have too much power for the
Connacht champions.

The ladies’ team are the only Dublin adult side
left in any championship, so it’s important that
the fans play their part by supporting the girls
in blue this Sunday.

This
article and photograph was kindly provided by
William O’ Brien and The Echo