Goal hungry Dubs destroy Rebels (U21 match report)

  • Jun 09,2014

Aisling McGing U21 All Ireland Semi-Final

Match report – Mary White (Evening Echo)

Dublin7-13

Cork 1-08  

ALL-IRELAND champions Cork relinquished their U21 crown to a far superior Dublin in Thurles yesterday. 


Perhaps the confusion at the turnstiles before the game set the tone, as fans were left waiting outside Semple Stadium 10 minutes prior to throw-in with no stewards manning the gates. That aside, many had to pay 25 just to see the ladies football All-Ireland semi-final which preceded the Munster SHC replay between Cork and Waterford. 


When the action did get underway, Dublin instantly looked sharper with the bulk of their players training with the senior squad under manager Gregory McGonigle. 


Cork managed to stay in touch until the 17th minute courtesy of points from Emma Farmer, Roberta Harrington and captain Doireann O’Sullivan (two), but when the hugely impressive Nicole Owens found the back of Jean O’Sullivan’s net on the 18th minute, the floodgates opened. 


The sin-binning of O’Sullivan four minutes later didn’t help Shane Ronayne’s troops, and Dublin went on to kick 1-4 without reply, with senior star Carla Rowe grabbing a second goal to put the Blues in front by 12 points at half-time — 2-10 to 0-4. 


Jessica O’Shea was the only Cork player who looked any way lively as Dublin’s pace constantly tripped up the 2013 champions, while Molly Lamb and Sarah McCaffrey dominated in midfield. 
Upon the restart, Evening Echo Ladies Sportsstar of the Month Roisín Phelan kicked two monstrous points to bring the Rebels within 10 (0-6 to 2-10), but Owens immediately killed the game off with two killer goals in as many minutes to complete her hat-trick. 


Farmer did manage to reply with a goal of her own, but it was well and truly over as a contest even with 20 minutes to go. 


Dublin managed to keep Cork scoreless for the remainder of the game, kicking 3-3 without reply to set up a final clash with Meath in next weekend’s All-Ireland final. 


It was a disappointing day in the office for the Reds, but you have to hand it to Dublin for their tenacity. 


The incident prior to the game put a dampner on things for both sets of fans who travelled ahead of the double header with the hurlers. It doesn’t exactly illustrate good communication between the three associations involved in yesterday’s fixtures — the Ladies Football Assocociation, the GAA or the Munster Council. 

@mary_white33


Scorers for Dublin: N Owens 3-3, C Rowe 2-3 (0-1f), S Woods 1-3, A Nolan 1-0, N Rickard 0-2, M Lamb and M Mohan 0-1 each. 

Cork: E Farmer 1-2 (0-1f), R Phelan and D O’Sullivan 0-2 each, R Harrington and S Kelly 0-1 each. 

DUBLIN: C Trant; O Carey, L Collins, L Caffery; E McDonagh, D Murphy, M Byrne, M Lamb, S McCaffrey, M Mohan, A Kavanagh, N Rickard, N Owens, S Woods (C), C Rowe. Subs: A Nolan for M Mohan (54), A King for A Kavanagh (56), C McGuigan for N Owens (59), L Colgan for N Rickard (60) and M Kenny for D Murphy (63). 

CORK: J O’Sullivan; S Cotter, R Phelan, A Walsh; Miriam O’Callaghan, Máire O’Callaghan, J O’Shea; J Barry, E Scally; D O’Sullivan, S Kelly, A O’Sullivan; K O’Dea, E Farmer, R Harrington. Subs: G O’Sullivan for Miriam O’Callaghan (HT), T McGuire for R Harrington (37) and M Murphy for D O’Sullivan (62, inj). 

Referee: G McMahon (Mayo).