GALWAY STAR LEANNE Coen laughs when she’s asked which was her favourite of her two All-Ireland winning goals.
“I think the second one! No, delighted to get the win.”
While Eva Noone scored a superb winning point before a chaotic finish, the green flags Coen raised were crucial in Galway’s 2-7 to 0-12 victory over Kerry, which ended a 22-year wait for the Brendan Martin Cup.
Coen’s second goal arrived in the 54th minute, and moved the Tribe into a one-point lead, 2-6 to 0-11.
The Corofin 26-year-old collected from the rampaging Nicola Ward on the loop, shook off Deirdre Kearney and rifled home.
“I saw the scoreboard, I saw Nic coming and I thought this has to be a goal,” she recalls.
“We were saying that we have the beating of our players if we just take them on. Just to do that was the thing then.”
Coen’s first was similarly impressive in the 16th minute. She showed for a long ball from Noone in acres of space, before taking off on a mazy solo run. Again leaving Kearney and Niamh Ní Chonchúir in her wake, Coen despatched with the outside of her right boot to put Galway ahead for the first time, 1-3 to 0-2.
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Coen was one of six Galway scorers, with Olivia Divilly accounting for 0-3 (2 frees) and Noone, soccer stars Kate Slevin and Kate Thompson, and Róisín Leonard all raising white flags.
“It’s enjoyable in there but the girls I have off me make it enjoyable. Like Nic today with that run, it was a great run to set me up. Fair play to the girls.”
Leanne Coen celebrates scoring her second goal with Nicola Ward in the background. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“This is brilliant for the likes of Róisín (Leonard) and Sarah (Ní Loingsigh),” she adds on the long-serving duo.
“They’re over the moon. It’s great for them. With the amount of years they’ve put into it, it’s great to give something back to them.”
While Coen and Noone commanded the headlines as the scoring stars, the Player of the Match award went to a defender in Galway captain Kate Geraghty.
She was part of a full-back line which vitally avoided conceding a goal in a tight and tense battle, while her marking jobs across the championship have been key for the Tribe.
It was a memorable day for the Tuam Cortoon ace, becoming just the second Galway woman after Annette Clarke to lift the silverware while also finishing with the personal accolade.
“It was just an amazing feeling. It’s been a dream come true I suppose. That’s what you’ve trained for all year and that’s what you want to do at the end of the day, win an All-Ireland in Croke Park. It’s the best feeling in the world.”
As captain, Geraghty was the first to speak publicly on the dramatic ending amidst a whirlwind of emotion on the pitch with N17 and Galway Girl blaring through the PA.
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“I haven’t watched it back, but we’ll see,” she told TG4. That remained the case some time later in the Hogan Stand press conference room, having somewhat gathered her thoughts.
Kate Geraghty and Aoife Ní Ruairc celebrate. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“Yeah, I suppose I’ll have to watch it back now. I don’t know who touched it or what happened but yeah, when (the referee) brought it out for the two-pointer I suppose it could have gone any way but I’m glad it happened the way it did and it wasn’t an ending like last year (losing to Dublin after extra-time in the semi-final).”
On that, she added: “I think sometimes you learn more from losing a game but we knew we didn’t want to be back in a position where we had that feeling. It’s not a nice feeling and I think the group that we had, we were just playing well together and everyone I don’t think has been more confident for a game ever. We were just so well prepared.”
While Coen beside her spoke about Galway’s attacking game, Geraghty hailed the defensive performance.
“People probably doubted us but we knew ourselves and we believed in ourselves. We have great man-markers and I suppose we have a bit of a sweeper system there, having Siobhán (Divilly) drop it back and it worked for us today.
“You never know what way a game is going to go and to be honest, I said before the game, whether we won by 10 points or whether we scraped it like we did today, as long as we won, I didn’t care how we won it.”
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'Winning an All-Ireland in Croke Park, it's the best feeling in the world'
GALWAY STAR LEANNE Coen laughs when she’s asked which was her favourite of her two All-Ireland winning goals.
“I think the second one! No, delighted to get the win.”
While Eva Noone scored a superb winning point before a chaotic finish, the green flags Coen raised were crucial in Galway’s 2-7 to 0-12 victory over Kerry, which ended a 22-year wait for the Brendan Martin Cup.
Coen’s second goal arrived in the 54th minute, and moved the Tribe into a one-point lead, 2-6 to 0-11.
The Corofin 26-year-old collected from the rampaging Nicola Ward on the loop, shook off Deirdre Kearney and rifled home.
“I saw the scoreboard, I saw Nic coming and I thought this has to be a goal,” she recalls.
“We were saying that we have the beating of our players if we just take them on. Just to do that was the thing then.”
Coen’s first was similarly impressive in the 16th minute. She showed for a long ball from Noone in acres of space, before taking off on a mazy solo run. Again leaving Kearney and Niamh Ní Chonchúir in her wake, Coen despatched with the outside of her right boot to put Galway ahead for the first time, 1-3 to 0-2.
Coen was one of six Galway scorers, with Olivia Divilly accounting for 0-3 (2 frees) and Noone, soccer stars Kate Slevin and Kate Thompson, and Róisín Leonard all raising white flags.
“It’s enjoyable in there but the girls I have off me make it enjoyable. Like Nic today with that run, it was a great run to set me up. Fair play to the girls.”
“This is brilliant for the likes of Róisín (Leonard) and Sarah (Ní Loingsigh),” she adds on the long-serving duo.
“They’re over the moon. It’s great for them. With the amount of years they’ve put into it, it’s great to give something back to them.”
While Coen and Noone commanded the headlines as the scoring stars, the Player of the Match award went to a defender in Galway captain Kate Geraghty.
She was part of a full-back line which vitally avoided conceding a goal in a tight and tense battle, while her marking jobs across the championship have been key for the Tribe.
It was a memorable day for the Tuam Cortoon ace, becoming just the second Galway woman after Annette Clarke to lift the silverware while also finishing with the personal accolade.
“It was just an amazing feeling. It’s been a dream come true I suppose. That’s what you’ve trained for all year and that’s what you want to do at the end of the day, win an All-Ireland in Croke Park. It’s the best feeling in the world.”
As captain, Geraghty was the first to speak publicly on the dramatic ending amidst a whirlwind of emotion on the pitch with N17 and Galway Girl blaring through the PA.
“I haven’t watched it back, but we’ll see,” she told TG4. That remained the case some time later in the Hogan Stand press conference room, having somewhat gathered her thoughts.
“Yeah, I suppose I’ll have to watch it back now. I don’t know who touched it or what happened but yeah, when (the referee) brought it out for the two-pointer I suppose it could have gone any way but I’m glad it happened the way it did and it wasn’t an ending like last year (losing to Dublin after extra-time in the semi-final).”
On that, she added: “I think sometimes you learn more from losing a game but we knew we didn’t want to be back in a position where we had that feeling. It’s not a nice feeling and I think the group that we had, we were just playing well together and everyone I don’t think has been more confident for a game ever. We were just so well prepared.”
While Coen beside her spoke about Galway’s attacking game, Geraghty hailed the defensive performance.
“People probably doubted us but we knew ourselves and we believed in ourselves. We have great man-markers and I suppose we have a bit of a sweeper system there, having Siobhán (Divilly) drop it back and it worked for us today.
“You never know what way a game is going to go and to be honest, I said before the game, whether we won by 10 points or whether we scraped it like we did today, as long as we won, I didn’t care how we won it.”
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