Milford turn on the magic

Milford 5-17 Ballincollig 0-07

Ballincollig, playing in their first final, sought to become the seventh first-time winners of the senior crown in the past 11 years, but the Cork, Munster and All-Ireland champions had virtually sealed victory as early as first-half injury time, when they reeled off a pair of goals, from Orlaith O’Mahony and Maria Watson, to stretch the interval-gap to 10 points.

“The way the championship has gone this year, a lot of the teams have played nine or 10 against us in the backs,” said captain and player-of-the-match Elaine O’Riordan, “so I’ve ended up being the free-player sweeping at the back. It’s the way the games are going against us, but we’re learning to deal with it so it’s grand.”