Key moments: How Dublin's 'New Blue Crew' found their turbo

Leah Caffrey of Dublin in action against Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh of Kerry during the 2023 TG4 LGFA All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

THREE KEY MOMENTS

It’s fair to argue that this was the greatest victory of Mick Bohan’s managerial career.

Since managing Dublin to their four in a row he’d lost superstars like Sinead Goldrick, Lynsey Davey, Noelle Healy, Siobhan McGrath, Niamh McEvoy and Nicole Owens.

This year he blooded 16 new players. Two of yesterday’s starting defenders – Niamh Crowley and Niamh Donlon – were minors last year and yet his new-look side didn’t just stop the Kerry juggernaut, they completely derailed them.

In the previous two games the ‘New Blue Crew’ looked like they were finally clicking and they found a turbo gear yesterday.

It was so comprehensive a victory that it didn’t lurch majorly on any big incidents but there were a few occasions where the momentum took important swings.

Free in or out?

Leah Caffrey’s individual duel with Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh was always going to be the bellwether for how this game would evolve. The Kerry star had got the better of her twice this season but, as the championship hit the knock-out stages, Caffrey’s sticky marking skills became the highlight of Dublin’s victories.

First blows in this final went to the Dublin full-back when she won both of their first two exchanges but then the Kerry star won two frees off her and though she missed the second, it was clearly ‘game on’ between them.

In the 20th minute, after a tight tussle when they both ended up in a heap, referee Shane Curley gave what looked like a Kerry free the opposite way. That contributed to Kerry being kept scoreless for a full 16 minutes, until just before half-time, and seemed a pivotal moment in this fascinating face-off.

Rowe finds her shooting boots 

Two quick points on the restart were exactly the fillip that Kerry needed. Their press on Abby Shiels' kick-outs was starting to bring dividends too but, at the other end, they needed their own kick-outs to stick also at this vital stage.

Less than five minutes in, Ciara Butler put one straight out over the sideline. It was kicked into Hannah Tyrrell, she laid it off beautifully to give Carla Rowe her first score and the Dublin captain’s tail was up then until the final whistle.

A badly timed miss 

At the time it didn’t look like it could save the game but Ní Mhuircheartaigh uncharacteristically missed a very close-in free with 10 minutes remaining. If she’d scored it the deficit would still have been seven points and it looked unlikely that Kerry could claw it back.  

Yet you sensed the Kingdom’s grip on the cliff could have tightened, especially when she punched a goal five minutes later. When you’re under the cosh and your best forward misses ‘a gimme’ it does takes a bit of fire out of the belly though, in truth, they needed a far bigger lifeline than that.