Dublins Journey to Croke Park..

  • Sep 21,2010

Dublin’s – Journey to Croke Park 2010


After a disappointing Bord Gáis Energy NFL campaign Dublin turned their attention to the defence of their Leinster crown first up for the metropolitans was a meeting with neighbours Kildare which was a home tie for the defending champions. Kildare had progressed well in the NFL having reached the Div 2 final thus gaining promotion to Div 1 for 2011. Dublin therefore was taking nothing for granted when the two sides meet in the Leinster semi-final on the 4th of July.

The blustery conditions where a huge factor in this game with Dublin the only team to have points on the score board at half time, Dublin 0-05 Kildare 0-00. The second half was similar as the first with scores hard to come by but to their credit Kildare battled hard but when Amy McGuinness rattled the back of the lily white net midway through the second half the game was over as a contest.
The win set Dublin up for a Leinster final show down with old foes Laois who had a comfortable win over Meath in their semi-final.

The Leinster Final was played in Dr Cullen Park Carlow on a wet, damp and windy day both teams had meet in the last game of the league with Laois winning that encounter with a late goal that result condemned Dublin to Div 2 football in 2011.
Dublin had a point to prove and started the game with gusto. Possession was key and Dublin dominated the first half leading at the break 0-08 to 0-02 on the restart Laois dug deep and took the game to Dublin however as the old saying goes “goals win games” and this indeed proved to be true when Orla Egan and Lyndsey Peate raised the green flag twice for Dublin in the second half. Amy McGuinness was on fire from both play and free and was award the Player of the Match accolade for her performance, final score Dublin 2-13 Laois 0-09.

A month later Dublin took on new kids on the block Clare in the TG4 quarter final. Clare who had won the Intermediate All Ireland title last September had lost to Cork in the Munster final but had impressed a lot of people with their energetic style of play.

This game was played at a frantic pace with both sides giving their all however bad luck fell upon Dublin when they lost full back Noelle Comyn to a serious knee injury after just 16 minutes. The teams scored tit for tact and where level three times in the first 30 minutes. One of the turning points came when Dublin where awarded a penalty which Sinead Aherne coolly converted but to their credit Clare hit back almost immediately with an Eimear Considine goal. The Dub’s took a one point lead into the dressing room at half time.

The spectators who had made the trip to Banagher where treated to an exhibition of football in the second half and nail biting was at a premium for both sets of supporters.  Dublin began well on the restart and raised the white flag five times and looked to be on their way to a win however Clare’s never say die attitude served them well and they came back fighting, Niamh O’Dea scored a superb goal then two further Clare points where added leaving just two points between the sides. All-star goal keeper Cliodhna O Connor showed why she is an award winner when she stopped a thundering Considine shot on goal this crucial save was to be the catalyst for Dublin to drive on and indeed they did. Within minutes left on the clock Sinead Aherne stepped up to slot the ball past the Clare keeper thus securing Dublin’s place in the 2010 All Ireland semi-final the sighs of relieve from the Dublin supporters was clearly audible all around Banagher!

In more ways than one the semi-final was a repeat of the Leinster final same teams same venue, however the large crowd would witness a different game of football altogether!
Laois really took the game to Dublin and showed everyone just how much they had improved on their journey through the qualifiers.
Despite having 90% of possession in the first half Dublin could not break down a formidable Laois defence with the Laois players work rate a total credit to all concerned  at the interval Laois lead 0-04 to 0-02. 
Despite having a player sin binned in the second half it was Laois who looked to be on their way to Croke Park as with 8 minutes remaining on the clock Dublin trailed by 3 points was the dream over?
Gemma Fay went on a run down the left hand side of the pitch and sent a speculative ball across the Laois square. Lorraine Muckian the Laois full back and Dublin corner forward Lyndsey Davey both contested the ball which broke loose and it was Davey who soccer style toe picked the ball to the back of the Laois net.

The Dubs in the crowd who had been silent for long periods of the second half suddenly found their voices urging their team on.
All Star corner forward Sinead Aherne who remarkably hadn’t scored yet in the game stepped up and slotted over two points one from play and one from a free these scores broke every Laois player’s heart and sent Dublin back to Croke Park for the second year in a row, final score Dublin 1-08 Laois 0-09.

So here we go again the Dub’s are back in Croke Park the heartbreak of last year and indeed previous finals are still vivid in people’s minds but as the great Muhammad Ali once said “Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win”.