LGFA All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final: Armagh 3-8 Dublin 3-13
From Andy Watters at Kingspan Breffni
THE Armagh players trudged out into the cold, dark car park, some of them had tears in their eyes. Meanwhile, in stark contrast, the delighted Dublin dressingroom was rocking to the sound of a Mariah Carey festive favourite.
“All-I-want-for-Christmasssss… is youoooooooooo...,” sang the Dubs cheerfully after they’d won a semi-final that could have gone either way and you know who ‘youoooooooooo’ is, of course? It’s the Brendan Martin Cup for the fourth time in-a-row.
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In their seventh All-Ireland final on-the-trot, the Dubs get the chance to bring home ‘Brendan’ for Christmas on December 20 against the winners of next weekend’s Cork versus Galway semi-final. The Armagh players will be looking on enviously because they will know that, with a tweak here and a bit of luck there, it could have been them in the final. They’ll also know that, for all their admirable spirit, they did not help themselves on Saturday evening.
For starters, the Orchardwomen were 2-2 to a point behind before they battled their way back into the game in the second quarter. They briefly held the lead against the well-drilled, pacey Dubs but losing Clodagh McCambridge to the sin-bin was a bodyblow from which they didn’t recover.
McCambridge was booked for a foul on Niamh McEvoy and the Dubs scored the penalty she conceded and four points as well during a 10-minute spell.
Even then, Armagh hauled themselves back into the game. Aimee Mackin – always a threat in a two-player inside forward line with Kelly Mallon – scored a stunning goal to leave just three in it going into the final straight but the Shane O’Neill’s forward barely touched the ball in the closing stages.
Disappointed Armagh manager Ronan Murphy admitted that his side had played into Dublin’s hands.
“We just have to get better, we had plenty of possession but got turned over around the middle of the field which is very disappointing,” he said.
“We got ourselves back into the game but just didn’t get enough shots and that is a disappointing aspect. We made mistakes, we got off to a poor start and we got back level and went a point in front but we didn’t push home and you have to credit Dublin, they are not All-Ireland champions going for four in-a-row for nothing.
“We are disappointed that we went into the tackle far, far too much, which is one of the things that we worked on, but we just have to live with it.”
Armagh had gone into the semi-final after beating Tyrone and Mayo and Dublin manager Mick Bohan said he’d expected a battle on Saturday which is exactly what his side got.
“They were really, really good and in fairness they asked everything of us out there and we’re delighted that our group came up with the answers,” he said.
“That’s very pleasing but that was a real Championship game, a really good game of football. The game shifted so many time but probably in the final quarter we controlled it really well. Up to then it was up for grabs.”
Barely two minutes had gone when Noelle Healy collected a Lyndsey Davey pass and fisted the ball to the back post where Nicole Owens arrived to thump it into the back of the Armagh net via Anna Carr’s fingertips. Carla Rowe added another goal on the 20-minute mark which left Armagh trailing by 2-2 to point (an Aimee Mackin free) and looking in serious trouble.
Points from Aimee Mackin and Mallon breathed life into the Ulster side before Mackin was bundled over in the square and smashed the resulting penalty into the Dublin net. It was ‘panic stations’ in the Dublin defence every time double-marked Mackin got near the ball and although Dublin, who had the equally-talented Carla Rowe leading their attack, registered the next three points, Armagh hit back and had their noses in front before the break.
Catherine Marley and Blaithin Mackin both hit points either side of superb goal from Aoife McCoy who had run onto a pass from hard-working Caroline O’Hanlon. A Mallon free sent Armagh briefly ahead and holding the lead at the interval would have been a significant psychological boost for them but the Dubs countered just on the hooter and it was 2-6 apiece at the break.
Armagh continued their high press on the Dublin kick-outs in the second half. Every restart went short and the Orchardwomen challenged the Dubs to run through them. With midfielder Jennifer Dunne and Aoife Kane outstanding, they did that too often and, with the help of Rowe’s penalty after McCambridge had been sin-binned, they surged into a five-point (3-9 to 2-7) lead.
Armagh’s sole response was an Aimee Mackin point. For long spells she and Mallon stood alone in the Dublin half with only their markers and sweeper Siobhan McGrath for company but Armagh, trapped inside their own 45-yard line, were unable to get the ball up to them. On the rare occasions they did, Mackin in particular looked unstoppable.
There were just over 10 minutes left when she sliced through the Dublin defence and smashed home a left foot shot to leave her county just three points in arrears. Sadly for Armagh, she barely touched leather again and the Dubs played keep ball as they moved on to yet another Brendan Martin Cup final.
Armagh: A Carr; S Marley, C McCambridge, S Grey; T Grimes, B Mackin (0-1), G Ferguson; N Coleman, A Bellew; C Marley (0-1), A McCoy (1-0), A Mackin (2-4, 1-0 pen, 0-2 frees); C O’Hanlon, K Mallon (0-2 frees), E Lavery
Subs: T McVeigh for Ferguson (46), N Reel for Lavery (55)
Yellow card: McCambridge (39)
Dublin: C Trant; A Byrne, N Collins, L Caffrey; A Kane, S McGrath, S Goldrick; L Magee, J Dunne; C Rowe (2-4, 1-0 pen, 0-2 frees), L Davey (0-2), S McCaffrey (0-1); S Aherne (0-1), N Owens (1-0), N Healy (0-3)
Subs: S Kileen (0-1) for Aherne (25), N McEvoy for McCaffrey (HT), K Sullivan (0-1) for J Dunne (53), C O’Connor for Owens (53), O Nolan for Kane (56)
Referee: Garryowen McMahon (Mayo)
