Ladies: Dublin see off Galway after extra time

By Daire Walsh Dublin 3-14

Galway 2-14

(after extra-time)

Dublin will face Meath in an all-Leinster TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship final on August 3 after the Metropolitan outfit secured an extra-time victory over Galway at Glenisk O’Connor Park in Tullamore.

While Dublin – who lost to Galway under the same circumstances at the quarter-final stage of last year’s competition – broke the deadlock with an early point from team skipper Carla Rowe, Galway moved into the ascendancy when Olivia Divilly and Roisin Leonard split the posts in quick succession. Niamh Hetherton swiftly restored parity at the opposite end, before their Connacht counterparts responded with a 0-2 salvo by Corofin attacker Leonard.

Yet after Rowe doubled her tally just shy of the first-quarter mark, Dublin edged back in front when Hannah Tyrrell coolly slotted a 17th minute penalty beyond the reach of Galway netminder Dearbhla Gower. The sides were back on level terms as a result of Kate Slevin and Leonard finding the range, however, and an impressive scoring free from the Tribeswomen followed a pointed free from Tyrrell on 23 minutes.

Eva Noone, Olivia Divilly and Leonard all raised white flags for Daniel Moynihan’s charges, but with Sinead Goldrick and Niamh Hetherton getting their names on the Dublin scoresheet, the teams were inseparable (1-6 to 0-9) at the break.

Although this left the tie delicately poised on the restart, almost 14 minutes passed before the next score of the game arrived through the boot of Dublin corner-forward Kate Sullivan.

There was a sense inside the final-quarter that every score was going to be vital and after Slevin levelled matters with a close-in free, Tyrrell responded with a similar effort to help the Jackies re-establish a slender lead.

However, there is plenty of resilience in this Galway team and the westerners swung the pendulum in their favour with a 0-2 salvo from Eva Noone. The 2004 All-Ireland champions looked set to prevail when substitute Andrea Trill kicked over in response to a Sophie McIntyre effort, but there was enough time left for Tyrrell to force extra-time with a nerveless pointed free.

Former Ireland women’s rugby international Tyrrell seized the initiative for Dublin in the additional periods with a brace of points and even though Olivia Divilly registered her third of the game, substitute Orlagh Nolan found the target to put the Jackies two clear (1-13 to 0-14) on the stroke of 70 minutes.

Dublin found themselves on course to set up a repeat of their 2021 decider against Meath when Rowe and Sullivan bagged goals in the second half of extra-time and while Trill and Olivia Divilly rattled the net for Galway in a chaotic finale, their place in a Croke Park showpiece was ultimately secured.

Scorers – Dublin: H Tyrrell 1-6 (1-0 pen, 0-5f), C Rowe 1-2, K Sullivan 1-1, N Hetherton 0-2, S Goldrick, S McIntyre, O Nolan 0-1 each.

Galway: O Divilly 1-3, R Leonard 0-5 (4f), A Trill 1-1, E Noone 0-3 (1f), K Slevin 0-2 (1f).

DUBLIN: A Shiels; J Tobin, L Caffrey, N Donlon; S Goldrick, M Byrne, N Crowley; E O’Dowd, N Hetherton; N Owens, C O’Connor, H McGinnis; H Tyrrell, C Rowe, K Sullivan. Subs: O Nolan for O’Connor (27), L Grendon for Rowe (40),S McIntyre for Owens (47), Rowe for Hetherton (52), Hetherton for McGinnis (61), A Kane for Byrne (74), H Leahy for Donlon (75), C Darby for Rowe (76), A Timothy for Sullivan (76).

GALWAY: D Gower; B Quinn, A Molloy, K Geraghty; H Noone, N Ward, C Trill; L Ward, S Divilly; N Divilly, O Divilly, A Davoren; E Noone, R Leonard, K Slevin. Subs: L Noone for N Divilly (h-t), K Thompson for Leonard (41), L Coen for Davoren (50), A Trill for Slevin (58), M Glynn for S Divilly (70), Slevin for L Noone, Davoren for Coen, M Banek for Quinn (all 71), C Cooney for Molloy (75), S Ni Loingsigh for Banek (77).

Referee: Seamus Mulvihill (Kerry).