BY HALF-TIME of their respective All-Ireland semi-finals in Thurles, Kerry were leading Mayo by nine points, while Dublin were six points clear of Cork. That’s where the pairing for the 2023 All-Ireland final was determined. Tickets booked.
Mayo attempted a reboot in the second half, but they couldn’t cut the gap to a low enough margin that could really trouble Kerry in the first semi-final of the Thurles double-header. Dublin kept Cork at arm’s length for the duration of the second match.
The impending final between Dublin and Kerry will be the second meeting between the sides in this year’s All-Ireland championship. In June, they collided in Parnell Park for the opening Group 3 match, where a Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh masterclass of 1-6 helped secure a two-point win on Dublin’s home turf.
Unsurprisingly, Ní Mhuircheartaigh was in prolific form again in Thurles on Saturday as she clocked up 1-10 against Mayo, 1-6 of which came from play. The Kingdom got to work in the opening quarter, hitting 1-6 without reply to put them 1-7 to 0-2 in front. That impressive burst punched a hole through Mayo hearts, and the damage was irreversible.
Hannah O’Donoghue, Danielle O’Leary and centre-back Emma Costello all picked off scores during that period.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh was prominent too, her goal coming in the 18th minute of the first half. The move began with Kerry winning possession from a Mayo kickout before Niamh Carmody delivered a perfect pass into the hands of Kerry full-forward Danielle O’Leary who had slipped in behind the Mayo defence. She palmed the ball across to Ní Mhuircheartaigh at the edge of the square to apply the final touch to the net.
The Mayo kickout was something Kerry targeted from the outset, and this was where they got maximum reward from the plan.
“We put huge pressure on it,” said Kerry joint manager Darragh Long after the win which sees Kerry return to the All-Ireland final for the second year-in-a-row.
“I think our press and kickout strategy is really good. We’ve been working at it a long time and the girls have honed their skills at it. We tried to attack their kickout and thought we’d get some scores out of it, which we did.”
#PROPERFAN 15 nóim@Mayo_LGFA 0-02@kerryladiesfoot 1-08 (11)
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) July 29, 2023
Thar barr ó Chiarraí 👏👏👏
GOAL!!!!!!@LadiesFootball @GAA_BEO #LadiesFootball #GAABEO
BEO/LIVE ar @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/SBScQffGzF
Mayo could only add two more points before the end of the half through Sinéad Cafferky and Ciara Needham, although Cafferky could also have added a goal just before the break which could have redirected the momentum of the game at a crucial time.
To Mayo’s credit, they advanced on Kerry’s gates relentlessly in the second half and their pursuit of a goal paid off when Deirdre Doherty was introduced for Rachel Kearns. Shauna Howley and Tara Needham initiated the attack with some quick link play before midfielder Ciara Geraghty arrived to switch the play over to the incoming Doherty who drilled her shot into the bottom corner.
That was the scare Kerry needed as Ní Mhuircheartaigh and O’Leary tagged on the insurance points to kill off any remaining hopes of a Mayo revival. Ní Mhuircheartaigh tagged over four frees throughout the contest too, although she received some complaints in the crowd over the length of time she allocated to each kick.
Captain Síofra O’Shea was a major absentee in the Kerry team for the game after sufferig an ACL tear, while long serving Mayo midfielder Fiona McHale was also unable to start. The loss of her workrate was keenly felt until her second-half introduction, as Mayo bow out at the semi-final stage for the third year-in-a-row.
Dublin were clinical in their semi-final too, crushing Cork by 12 points to get back to the All-Ireland final after a two-year absence in the decider. Like Kerry, Dublin put the foundations of their win in place from early doors. Midfielder Jennifer Dunne was instrumental in that charge as she kicked three points in the first 15 minutes while Player of the Match Lauren Magee found a leak in the Cork defence to go for a goal. She was fouled on her way through, allowing Hannah Tyrrell to compliment the move with a pointed free.
Cork were reliant on frees from Doireann O’Sullivan and went over 20 minutes of the first half without a score from play until Katie Quirke split the posts. But by then, Dublin had their first goal of their two goals. Dunne combined with Tyrrell in a counter-attack which ended with Tyrrell palming the ball to the net. However, the score was almost ruled out for a square due to too much passing between the two. Dublin were guilty of that again in the second half when Dunne was in for a third goal. This time, the score was ruled out for a square ball.
#PROPERFAN 22 nóim@dublinladiesg 1-09 (12)@CorkLGFA 0-04
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) July 29, 2023
Ábhar conspóid anseo i nDúrlas
After much deliberation - GOAL awarded 🥅🥅🥅@LadiesFootball @GAA_BEO #LadiesFootball #GAABEO
BEO/LIVE ar @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/RSclL6h2hd
Their second goal, scored by Carla Rowe, was a far better example of efficient Dublin passing as she too pushed the ball into the net with her gloves.
“The third goal should have stood,” said manager Mick Bohan after the game, who was delighted with his side’s application in such a convincing win over their old rivals.
“The first goal looked like it was across the square. If it’s across the square, it’s not a square ball. No argument there. From where I was standing, I thought the player passed the ball across the square to a player coming into the square.
“We were a bit frustrated ourselves, we thought they were messing around with it when it should have been just stuck in the net. But, so be it.”
Cork could do little to push Dublin back, although they did engineer a few goal scoring opportunities which goalkeeper Abby Shiels was more than equal to.
“I’ve been told the saves were top drawer” added Bohan, “but we’re probably seeing that all the time from her. She is that type of goalkeeper. And she’s a girl who has made incredible strides and obviously being an understudy to Ciara [Trant] is difficult because as a goalkeeper, you’re wondering if you will see any game time. It’s taken her a little bit of time but she’s turned into a top drawer goalkeeper.”
Both Dublin and Kerry sent out messages of intent to each other with their performances. Kerry are chasing history when they come into Croke Park on 13 August, looking to win a first All-Ireland for the county since 1993. Dublin were the dominant side in Ladies Football, winning four All-Irelands on the bounce between 2017 and 2020.
Kerry have turned Dublin over once in this championship. It will take an even bigger push to repeat the trick.
The 42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
