Jackies Through to Final

Jackies Through to Final

Dublin are through to meet Cork next Saturday in the final of the Aisling McGing Memorial Cup after struggling to overcome Kildare at Mobhi Road on Sunday last. The surface of the pitch was made greasy by the pre-match rain but the home side adapted better to the conditions in the opening eleven minutes and led by 2-2 to 1-0. Dublin’s best moves were starting deep in defence and then on through midfielder, Sinead Finnegan. Her surging runs created numerous problems for the Kildare defence. Then Kildare got a hold on midfield with Joanne Timmons being particularly impressive and had the Jackies defence under pressure from there to half-time. The Dublin backs stood up to the pressure and only conceded five points in that time. Sarah Stritch, Trish Gordan, Niamh Keane and Siobhan Kennedy defended gallantly as did Karen Halpin who had her hands full marking Kildare danger woman, Emma McCartney. Most of Kildare’s best attacks came through her but her shooting let her down on a number of occasions.

Dublin started brightly and had the opening score after two minutes when left corner forward, Sarah Denvir, cut inside her marker and slotted over the first of her four points. Five minutes later full forward, Catherine Kearney, won possession inside the twenty-one and set up right corner forward, Helen Cliffe, who crashed the ball to the Kildare net. Denvir then added another point and the Jackies were in cruise control. Then a mistake at the other end by goalkeeper, Deirdre Kelleher, gave the visitors their first score. The goalkeeper appeared to have safely collected the ball but then dropped it in front of corner forward, Aodhin McBride, who gratefully accepted and drove it to the back of the net. The Jackies response was immediate and following a misjudgement of the bouncing ball by fullback, Sile Boylan, full forward, Kearney pounced and lobbed goalkeeper, Aisling O Donovan from an acute angle. Dublin had restored their five point lead. But that was as good as it got for them in the first half.

The supply of ball to the full forward line dried up and the Kildare half back line of Trish Delahunty, Karen O Shea and Siobhan Tierney began to dominate their opponents. Kildare swarmed forward in droves with most of the attacks coming through McCartney, Timmons and Aisling Lambe. In the thirteenth minute the Dublin defence conceded a penalty but Karen O Shea’s kick went high and over the bar for a point. They followed that with a further four points before the interval, the last of which came back off the post from a rasping shot by Lambe and rebounded over the bar off a Dublin defender. The Jackies had gone seventeen minutes without a score until Denvir kicked a useful point two minutes from half time. Dublin led by 2-3 to 1-5 at half time and were lucky to do so.

Dublin started the second half impressively and had two points on the scoreboard after five minutes through Helen Cliffe and right half forward, Teresa Molohan. The latter player really came into the game in the second half and combined well with Cliffe to cause panic in the Kildare defence. Despite dominating the early exchanges the Jackies were unable to put away their opponents and it took a superb save from goalkeeper, Kelleher, to deny the Lillies a goal. This restored her confidence and she dealt comfortably with the remaining shots that came her way. It was from one such save that a Dublin counter-attack produced a point from Sarah Denvir. Kildare kept nibbling away at the lead and points from Emma Hannon and sub Sue Brosnan had the lead down to the bare minimum again. But this was one of these occasions when a substitution makes a difference and the introduction of Hannah Tyrrell on eighteen minutes helped turn the game Dublin’s way. She got stuck in straight away and won valuable possession in the half forward line and put the Kildare defence under pressure.

Two points in quick succession from a Molohan free and another from Denvir in the twenty-first minute eased Dublin’s lead back to three points. Kildare reduced the deficit by one two minutes later but two points from Tyrrell, in the final two minutes of normal time gave the Jackies a four point lead, a lead they wouldn’t surrender. Kildare piled on the pressure for the seven minutes of injury time but there only response was a from point form Hannon as they tried to manufacture a goal from a thirteen metre free. The Jackies just about did enough to claim victory but will have to up their performance for the final against Cork which will be live on TG4. Kildare will look back on this fixture and feel they let it slip due to poor kicking on occasion, taking the wrong option or putting the final pass astray. Dublin’s defence on the day saw them through along with the full forward line’s contribution and also that of sub Hannah Tyrrell.

Player of the Match – Niamh Keane, Clann Mhuire.

Dublin – D. Kelleher, S. Stritch, T. Gordan, K. Halpin, Á. Burke, S. Kennedy, N. Keane, S. Murray, S. Finnegan, T. Molohan, (0-2, 1 free), A. Molloy, M. Wynne, H. Cliffe, (1-1), C. Kearney, (1-0), S. Denvir, (0-4).
Subs – H. Tyrell, (0-2), for A. Molloy, V. Browne for H. Cliffe and O. Egan for M. Wynne.

Kildare – A. O Donovan, P. Keatley, S. Boylan, E. Coffey, T. Delahunty, (0-1), K. O Shea, (0-1) pen, S. Tierney, J. Timmons, K. Turner, E. O Connell, E. Hannon, (0-2), E. McCartney, (0-2), A. Lambe, (0-1), N. Cunningham, (0-1), A. McBride, (1-0).
Subs – D. Harris for E. O Connell, S. Brosnan for E. McCartney and L. Tutty, (0-1), for A. McBride.

Referee – P. Kehoe, Carlow.