TG4 All-Ireland Ladies’ SFC semi-final Armagh 0-7 Kerry 1-8
ARMAGH manager Greg McGonigle was full of praise for his players after their hopes of All-Ireland glory ended in disappointing fashion against Kerry in Glenisk O’Connor Park on Saturday evening.
The Orchard county were immense in the first quarter in Tullamore and deservedly led 0-5 to 0-2 as Kerry struggled to deal with their intensity. However, two points over the remaining three-quarters of the game tells its own story.
After rattling off five points in 14 minutes, the Orchard side failed to score again until 10 minutes into the second half, and their two remaining scores came within a minute of each other.
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Kerry’s second quarter was the difference as they hit 1-5 without reply, Niamh Ní Chonchúir’s 16th-minute goal the turning point, even at such an early stage. They led 1-7 to 0-5 at the break, adding just a point themselves in what proved to be a very low-scoring second half.
“We have to give great credit to the girls,” said McGonigle at the end of a season in which he saw his side capture the Division One title at the first attempt after promotion and also regain their Ulster title. They then brought their fine form into the TG4 All-Ireland series.
“Obviously when we came in Armagh were in Division One for the first time since 2017. To go and win seven out of eight games and win a first-ever Division One final, you’d be happy enough with that.
“Obviously winning back an Ulster title, which they’d lost the previous year after extra-time, and getting over the quarter-final stage. There’s three ones, but at the same time, I didn’t come into Armagh to be beaten in a semi-final. I came in to try and get them to an All-Ireland final and see where we go from there.”
Armagh will rue five first-half wides, a couple of them poor ones, which on another day probably would have gone over. Kerry just had one in the opening half.
Scores dried up for both sides in the second half as defences stood firm, but both were creating chances, just not converting them. Armagh registered three more wides and Kerry brought their tally to six.
Both managers made changes to the starting line-up. Meabh McCambridge came in for Kelly Mallon in the full-forward line for Armagh and Siofra O’Shea replaced Hannah O’Donoghue up front for Kerry.
O’Shea was outstanding and picked up the player-of-the-match award. She covered almost every blade of grass, hit a super point, was in the heart of her defence winning balls and breaking out and then winning frees up at the other end, a foul on her leading to Kerry’s only score of the second half.
It looked like it could be Armagh’s day early on and that they would join Galway in the All-Ireland final in two weeks’ time, making it the same final two opponents as the men.
An Eve Lavery brace sandwiched between a Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh free had them 0-2 to 0-1 ahead after seven minutes.
Kerry were struggling to deal with their movement and pace, with Lauren McConville racing forward from centre half-back and Grace Ferguson doing the same from the full-back line.
Blaithin Mackin was heavily involved in all Armagh’s play and she converted a free, after McConville was fouled during one of her driving runs, before Dearbhla Coleman added another and after 10 minutes the Ulster champions led 0-4 to 0-1.
Orchard captain Clodagh McCambridge and Aisling O’Connell clashed heads with both needing to leave the field temporarily for treatment and it was during that time, Kerry went direct with the long ball.
They had tried a few times before without success, but with the Armagh full-back off the field, number 14 Emma Dineen won a high ball, laid it off to the onrushing Ní Chonchúir, who had slipped through unnoticed.
She fired to the back of the net and suddenly the game was level, 1-2 to 0-5. O’Shea and Niamh Henderson had traded points just minutes before that.
Armagh’s struggles began then as Kerry somehow found a way to deal with that early pressure that Armagh had applied.
Danielle O’Leary put Kerry ahead for the first time in the game in the 18th minute. Ní Mhuircheartaigh added a free and captain Niamh Carmody a brace of points – the first an inspirational score coming from a turnover from an Armagh kick-out.
Carmody was then shown a yellow card and sin-binned in the 29th minute for a high tackle on Ferguson, but Armagh would fail to make the numerical advantage count.
O’Connell, who had returned to the field of play with McCambridge, was afforded too much space as she carried the ball forward, ending in her fisting over the bar to make it 1-7 to 0-5 and put Kerry in the driving seat for the second half.
Ní Mhuircheartaigh was wide from a free for Kerry two minutes into the second half, while at the other end, Lavery saw her free come back off the upright.
Armagh introduced Mallon early in the second half as they looked to try and turn the game back in their favour. The substitution seemed to have the desired effect with Niamh Coleman ending their drought in the 40th minute to register their first score in 26 minutes.
That was immediately followed by a Mackin point from a free after Mallon had been fouled and the gap was back to three, 1-7 to 0-7.
However, that was it for Armagh as they failed to score again. Kerry were finding it equally as tough, Armagh goalkeeper Anna Carr and Lauren McConville combining to stop Dineen grabbing a second goal in the 44th minute.
O’Leary, who was also impressive for the Kingdom, claimed their solitary second-half score, pointing from a free in the 49th minute to push the gap back out to four and they were able to hold out comfortably.
Armagh just did not look like being able to close the gap and their day was summed up when Mackin was sin-binned nine minutes from time for a high tackle.
Kerry now progress to a third All-Ireland final in a row, hoping to bridge a 31-year gap when they face Galway in the decider on Sunday, August 4.
Armagh A Carr; G Ferguson, C McCambridge, R Mulligan; C Towe, L McConville, D Coleman (0-1); N Coleman (0-1), C O’Hanlon; E Druse, A McCoy, B Mackin (0-2f); E Lavery (0-2), N Henderson (0-1), M McCambridge
Subs L Kenny for C McCambridge (13-18), K Mallon for Lavery (38), N Reel for Henderson (50), L Kenny for Druse (54), M Feehan for O’Hanlon (58)
Kerry C Butler; E Lynch, K Cronin, C Murphy; A O’Connell (0-1), D Kearney, A Dillane; M O’Connell, A Galvin; N Carmody (capt) (0-2), D O’Leary (0-2, 0-1f), N Ní Chonchúir (1-0); S O’Shea (0-1), E Dineen, L Ní Mhuircheartaigh (0-2f)
Subs A Harrington for A O’Connell (13-18), H O’Donoghue for Ní Mhuircheartaigh (46), L Scanlon for Carmody (49), K Brosnan for Ní Chonchúir (58)
Referee Shane Curley (Galway)
