Galway on course for crack at double

Galway 2-10 Dublin 0-7

And, on the evidence of this polished display in Portlaoise on Saturday, they will take a lot of stopping. A goal in each half from player-of-the-match Niamh Fahy helped inspire them against a Dublin team even less competitive than in last year’s decider. Losing manager John O’Leary admitted as much when he said that Galway had “more instinctive and more natural” footballers than they had at their disposal.

“We tried to counteract their strengths and their style of play and we fell short again,’’ he said. “We worked really hard. We have a great bunch players and they’re incredibly dedicated. You just wish you could get more on the sideboard for them.”