Galway ease to eight-point victory over hosts Kerry  

Lidl NFL Division 1 Round 4

Galway 1-14 Kerry 1-6

GALWAY left Fitzgerald Stadium with the points in what turned out to be a one-sided affair as Stephen Glennon’s side secured an eight-point victory in this round 4 Lidl NFL clash against Kerry.

The contest which remained competitive until the 13th minute when a Sarah Houlihan free reduced the deficit to just one point as Galway led 0-3 to 0-2. A slick Tribeswomen outfit then scored 1-7 unanswered for the remainder of the half.

A quick brace on the 15th minute by Ailbhe Davoren and Sarah Conneally set the tone as Kerry struggled on more than one occasion to clear their lines from their kick-outs as the home side battled against a strong breeze.

By the 25th minute, the gap was out to seven (1-6 to 0-2) as Leanne Coen slotted past Laura Fitzgerald having been put clear by a great pass from Lisa Gannon. The Galway onslaught continued as McDonagh, Leonard, Coen and Conneally all added further scores to see them 1-10 to 0-2 ahead at the break.

Kerry’s only answer was two converted dead balls and a single wide as Galway left the field with five of their six starting forwards on the scoring charts.

The home side failed to score in the final 17 minutes of the half as they struggled to get control of their own kick outs as Galway seemed to pick up every breaking ball with ease.

The second half continued in a similar vein with Galway extending their lead to 14 at one stage (1-14 to 0-3) by the end of the third quarter with Leonard proving very efficient from dead balls. The Corofin player would end the day with all five of her shots on target.

Graham Shine rang the changes for Kerry in the final quarter and he took some solace in the fact that Eilish O’Callaghan’s first touch was a shot past Lisa Murphy to raise a Kerry green flag for their first score from play on the 52nd minute.

Another replacement Andrea Murphy had Kerry’s first point from play a minute later as the scoreboard began to balance somewhat.

Sarah Houlihan would add another brace of frees late on as Galway who proved so slick for most of the game failed to score in the last 14 minutes.

Kerry:

Laura Fitzgerald, Eilish Lynch Deirdre Kearney, Aisling O Connell, Sarah Murphy, Ciara Murphy Kate O’Sullivan, Lorraine Scanlon Eilish O’Leary, Brid Ryan, Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh, Emma Dineen, Amanda Brosnan, Deirdre Geaney, Sarah Houlihan

Scorers: Sarah Houlihan 0-5 (0-4F) Eilish O’Callaghan 1-0, Andrea Murphy 0-1

Subs: Amy Foley for Emma Dineen (19) Andrea Murphy 0-1 for Deirdre Geaney (44) Laoise Coghlan for Eilish Lynch (47) Eilish O’Callaghan 1-0 for Brid Ryan (51) Siobhan Goodwin for Kate O’Sullivan (56)

Galway: Lisa Murphy, Fabienne Cooney, Sarah Lynch, Shauna Molloy, Charlotte Cooney, Nicola Ward, Sinead Burke, Lisa Gannon, Siobhan Divilly, Ailbhe Davoren, Tracey Leonard, Aine McDonagh, Mairead Seoighe, Sarah Conneally, Leanne Coen

Scorers: Tracey Leonard 0-5 (All frees), Leanne Coen 1-2, Sarah Conneally 0-3, Ailbhe Davoren 0-2, Aine McDonagh 0-2

Subs: Chloe Crowe for Siobhan Divilly (H/T), Deirdre Brennan for Mairead Seoighe (H/T) Leanne Walsh for Sarah Conneally (45) Bronagh Quinn for Sarah Lynch (51), Noelle Connolly for Shauna Molloy (51) Eimile Gavin for Fabienne Cooney (60) Eimear O’Kane for Tracey Leonard (60 +2)

Referee: Jason Mullins (Limerick)