Cork can't deny Dublin four-in-a-row of All-Ireland titles
Cork's Eimear Meaney gets a pass away from Carla Rowe of Dublin. Picture: INPHO/Tommy Dickson
Scoring just two second-half points was the undoing of Cork as Dublin powered home to claim a fourth consecutive All-Ireland senior ladies football title.
Although Dublin were incredibly wasteful in the first half, Cork were good value for their half-time lead, 1-3 to 0-3. But then they had manufactured that advantage playing second fiddle to Dublin in terms of possession and territory.
Come the resumption, Dublin’s incessancy was matched by execution. Pressing up on Cork’s restarts and passes across their defence, they looked a more certain team than the first-half version. Cork’s lead was reduced to two points by an Aoife Kane point and then came the turning point, Carla Rowe’s 35th-minute penalty goal.
Running powerfully through the middle, Jennifer Dunne passed the ball to Rowe who was adjudged to have been taken down by Martina O’Brien. Rowe’s finish couldn’t have been better placed and with it Dublin jumped into the lead for the first time and didn’t look back.
With Sinead Aherne having made way at half-time with a hamstring injury, Rowe added a free to her collection when Lyndsey Davey was upended and added another free three minutes later.
Cork were dazed by the ability of the Dublin midfielders Lauren Magee and Dunne to run with purpose and stretch them as well as the lightning reactions of Dublin's wing-backs. Cork manager Ephie Fitzgerald sensed they were being strangled in that third quarter when they were outscored 1-3 to 0-1.
“They put massive pressure on. They showed that level of experience and physicality that they have, they are definitely the strongest team in the country. That was a huge factor.”
Fitzgerald noted that Cork weren’t as efficient as they had been in the first half when they registered their first wide in the 24th minute. An Orla Finn free after the half-time break hit the post and she later sent another wide.
Cork could more than survive on scraps in the first half but in the second that wasn't sufficient. Too often players were isolated and had to turn back for support. Finn was one player not given enough backing when she went forward.
Ciara O’Sullivan’s point at least gave them some hope going into the final quarter but then Dublin’s depth began to show as Kate Sullivan cancelled it out. O’Sullivan again threatened and should have been given advantage as she honed in on goal only for the play to be called back and Finn to convert the free.
However, Dublin once more responded with Nicole Owens’ second point, a great finish from a well-worked attack. Doireann O’Sullivan’s yellow card in the 56th minute was deserved following two poor fouls and Noelle Healy provided the insurance score for Dublin a minute later. Rowe’s third free put a little more gloss on a Jekyll and Hyde display by the champions.
Cork had got off to a flier in the second minute when Áine O’Sullivan finished empathically past Ciara Trant. A strong run by Ciara O’Sullivan had Dublin on the back foot and when she offloaded to Doireann O’Sullivan she showed quick hands to feed her fellow full-forward.
An Owens point followed at the other end but Dublin were making little of their possession dominance count. A goal chance looked on in the fifth minute when Sinead Goldrick had a clear sight of goal but chose instead to handpass and the attack broke down.
Cork were far more economical and scored the next two points, O’Sullivan adding to her earlier goal following a driving run by Hannah Looney in the eighth minute. Finn opened her account four minutes later.
Cork were living dangerously for the remainder of the half, Owens shooting straight at O’Brien and then the usually cool Healy pulling a low shot wide when she was put through by Niamh McEvoy.
At the other end, Niamh Collins did well to intercept following some good work by Finn and Ciara O’Sullivan but the clearer chances were being created by Dublin, who racked up six wides by the break.
An Aherne free followed by a Healy point brought Dublin to within two points. Cork wing-back Melissa Duggan then had a sniff of goal only to be thwarted by Trant. But Cork at least finished out the half with a point, Finn punishing a foul by Collins on Duggan.
Coughing up so many first-half scoring chances could have knocked the stuffing out of Dublin, but the experience of champions illuminated the place in the second half.
“Realistically, we didn’t play well in the opening quarter,” accepted Mick Bohan. “We made loads of mistakes. They came with an intensity and a fervour that really puts the competition up for grabs.
“To wrestle that back off them — and I felt we controlled the second half — that was hugely pleasing. Particularly in the season we’ve had, because it’s obviously a much shortened season and there’s a lot of stuff you’d normally get covered that we may not have covered.”
Carla Rowe’s penalty goal four minutes into the second half. Aside from it being such a terrific strike, it put Dublin into the lead for the first time and they never relinquished it.
The might of yet another Dublin team. Four-in-a-row is a splendid feat for Mick Bohan’s side and while they were misfiring in the first half they looked like champions after the break.
Bohan said he would not have the time to take the senior men’s position but then Dessie Farrell said that too only to succeed Jim Gavin. Down the line, Bohan may just be an option given what he is achieving with the ladies, leading them to a fourth straight title having appeared in the last seven finals.
As Cork captain Doireann O’Sullivan said prior to this game, they used to be ones to knock off the perch. Now they find themselves again in their shadow and it’s a shade that will be difficult to leave.
Sinead Aherne, who had been carrying a hamstring injury, was called ashore at half-time but when the result was in no doubt she was brought back on by Bohan to experience the final whistle on the field before lifting the Brendan Martin Cup for a fourth year in succession.
Dublin have to be patient with themselves as much as anything else. Although Cork were getting back their banks of defenders, it was Dublin’s own failings that saw them trail at the interval. Hard running from midfield opened up several scoring opportunities for them.
Up to half-time, we would have said Melissa Duggan who, despite Dublin bossing possession, was causing them difficulty with her running when Cork attacked. Overall, though, it was the Dublin midfield that shone for us, Lauren Magee and Jennifer Dunne. Rowe’s scores were the changing of the game too.
Jonathan Murphy did try to play advantage a few times but why he didn’t afford it to Ciara O’Sullivan as she looked set for a goal chance in the 50th minute is a mystery. A solid game otherwise.
A 2021 master fixtures calendar is in the offing with the league first on the agenda in the spring.
C Rowe (1-3, 1-0 pen, 0-3 frees); N Owens, N Healy (0-2 each); S Aherne (free), A Kane, K Sullivan (0-1 each).
Á O’Sullivan (1-1); O Finn (0-3, 2 frees); C O’Sullivan (0-1).
C Trant; M Byrne, N Collins, L Caffrey; A Kane, S McGrath, S Goldrick; L Magee, J Dunne; N Healy, L Davey, C Rowe; S Aherne (c), N McEvoy, N Owens.
K Sullivan for S Aherne (inj h-t); O Nolan for A Kane, S McCaffrey for N McEvoy (both 47); C O’Connor for N Owens (58); S Aherne for L Davey (59).
Yellow card: L Magee (60).
M O’Brien; M Duggan, R Phelan, E Meaney; E O’Shea, A Hutchings, S Kelly; M O’Callaghan, H Looney; E Kiely, C O’Sullivan, O Finn; Á O’Sullivan, D O’Sullivan (c), S Noonan.
N Cotter for E Kiely (42); S O’Leary for O Finn, L Coppinger for S Noonan (both 53); A Kelleher for E Meaney, M Cahalane for S Kelly (both 59.
D O’Sullivan (56).
J Murphy (Carlow).
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