Dublin Ladies Make it Back to Back Wins

2 in a Row for Dublin

 

Dublin 0-14

Cork 1-08

 

Nenagh was the venue for a cracking Aisling McGing Under 21 Championship final as Dublin edged out Cork to retain the title they won last year. Carla Rowe lead the way for the young Dublin side who would have feared that a 2 point lead at half time was not enough facing into a strong wind but a brilliant defensive effort and plenty of leadership helped them over the line against a Cork side that battled bravely and will consider themselves unfortunate not to have claimed the crown themselves as Doireann O’Sullivan rattled the crossbar in the last minute.

21 June 2015; Dublin captain Carla Rowe lifts the trophy. Aisling McGing U21 ‘A’ Championship Final, Cork v Dublin, MacDonagh Park, Nenagh, Tipperary. Picture credit: Cody Glenn / SPORTSFILE
21 June 2015; Dublin captain Carla Rowe lifts the trophy. Aisling McGing U21 ‘A’ Championship Final, Cork v Dublin, MacDonagh Park, Nenagh, Tipperary. Picture credit: Cody Glenn / SPORTSFILE

 

There was a big blow for Dublin before the ball was even thrown in as they lost senior player, Eabha Routledge to injury where she was replaced by Oonagh White. Dublin’s captain, Carla Rowe, opened hers and Dublin’s account with a free but Laura Fitzgerald responded with two frees of her own  before Aine Terry O’Sullivan rattled the ball to the Dublin net but the referees whistle had already blown with Cahalane having to settle for a point from the resultant free. The Dublin Ladies seemed to respond to seeing their net bulge though and their response was swift as live wire wingforward Niamh Rickard kicked two lovely points from play along with a nice point from Oonagh White. The strong wind at Dublin’s backs was beginning to tell as Sarah McCaffrey registered her first point followed by another converted free from Rowe. Cork looked to be in all kinds of trouble but a brilliant move initiated by a typical driving run from Doireann O’Sullivan saw Ciara Trant pull off a brilliant save to deny Laura Fitzgerald a goal but from the resulting scramble the ball came back off the upright to Libby Coppinger who palmed to the Dublin net and suddenly the teams were level again. Laura Crowley pointed to give Cork the lead against the wind but Dublin responded as Carla Rowe scored her first 2 points from play. Siobhan Woods added her first score as Laura Fitzgerald and the impressive Sarah McCaffrey swapped points leaving Dublin with a slender two point lead facing into a strong wind for the second half.

Dublin must have feared the worst as Cork rattled off two very quick points from distance through Aine Terry O’Sullivan and Laura Crowley but Dublin dug deep as Rowe pointed another free to nudge Dublin back into the lead. Meabh O’Sullivan in the Cork goal pulled off a brilliant save to deny Niamh Ryan what seemed a certain goal to provide a huge boost for Cork but they were never able to get on top of the excellent Dublin defence who worked tirelessly throughout. Instead it was Dublin that got the next score as Siobhan Woods scored a lovely point from the right wing but Laura Fitzgerald kept Cork within the minimum with a converted free. Dublin continued to repulse wave after wave of Cork attacks before Niamh Ryan kicked over a great score to leave Dublin two ahead. The final score of the game fittingly went to the fantastic Carla Rowe who had been receiving attention but ran the length of the field supporting the attack before swinging over a brilliant point to leave 3 points between them. However, the last say of the match was to be from Cork as Jennifer Barry won a free on the 21. Doireann O’Sullivan lined up to take it knowing they needed a goal, her vicious arcing free seemed destined for the net but cannoned back off the crossbar as Dublin held out for the victory.

In truth it was a victory that Dublin deserved as the best performers were wearing sky blue. Cork failed to make use of the strong wind at their back as they carried into the breeze instead of shooting over the massed Dublin defence. Cork had plenty of strong performers with Meabh Cahalane proving to be a very solid and composed presence in goal. Marie Ambrose was flawless at centre back whilst Aine Terry O’Sullivan gave as good as she got in the middle of the field. Doireann O’Sullivan was a marked woman but she did plenty of hard work and always looked a threat even though she failed to score. On the Dublin side there were a few outstanding performers. Muireann Ni Scanail and Leah Caffrey marshalled the defence brilliantly and Olwen Carey ensured Doireann O’Sullivan was kept quiet. The midfield combination of Molly Lamb and Sarah McCaffrey were dominant throughout but Niamh Ryan, Niamh Rickard and Siobhan Woods were superb. However, it was the performance of the captain, Carla Rowe that will be the abiding memory of this match as she lead brilliantly from start to finish scoring the insurance point and rightly earning the player of the match accolade.

Cork Team: 1. Meabh O’Sullivan 2. Roisin Phelan 3. Sinead Cotter 4. Meabh Cahalane 5. Shauna Kelly 6. Marie Ambrose 7. Aoife O’Sullivan (for Healy 40’) 8. Marie O’Callaghan 9. Aine Terry O’Sullivan 10. Gemma Cashman 11. Doireann O’Sullivan 12. Claire Byrne (for Barry h/t)  13. Libby Coppinger  14. Laura Crowley  15. Laura Fitzgerald

Cork Scorers: Fitzgerald 0-5 (4 frees) Coppinger 1-00, A T O’Sullivan 0-01, Crowley 0-02

Cork Substitutes: 16. Seadna O’Sullivan 17. Katie Healy (capt) 18. Elaine Crowley 19. Laura O’Brien 20. Julie Buckley 21. Yvonne Burgoyne 22. Georgina Buckley 23. Aisling Lee 24. Niamh Kelly 25. Laura Hayes 26. Lydia Kenny 27. Jenny Quinn 28. Ann Coakley 29. Nikki Murray 30. Darra Martin 31. Jennifer Barry

 

Dublin Team: 1. Ciara Trant 2. Aoife Curran 3. Muireann Ni Scanail 4. Leah Caffrey 5. Martha Byrne 6. Deirdre Murphy  7. Olwen Carey 8. Molly Lamb 9. Sarah McCaffrey 10. Niamh Ryan 11. Leah Mullins 12. Niamh Rickard (for Fitzgibbon 60’) 18. Oonagh White 14. Siobhan Woods 15. Carla Rowe

Dublin Substitutes: 16. Emer Ni Eafa 17. Katie Murray 13. Eabha Routledge 19. Kate Fitzgibbon 20. Ciara McGuigan 21. Danielle Pugh 22. Ciara Purdy 23. Niamh McGoldrick 24. Katie Murphy 25. Margaret Mohan

Dublin Scorers: Rowe 0-6 (2 frees), White (0-01), Rickard (0-02), McCaffrey (0-02), Ryan (0-01) Woods (0-02)

Referee: Gerry Carmody (Mayo)

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