All-Ireland Senior Camogie final: Cork 1-16 Galway 0-16
Cork’s bench-press made all the difference as the Rebels responded to a second-half Galway rally to claim a record 30th All-Ireland senior camogie title.
Galway, who led 0-10 to 0-9 at the interval, fell six points adrift following a blistering Cork start to the second half but they clawed back to draw level with nine minutes of normal time remaining.
It set up a grandstand finish to what was a pulsating contest in front of 27,811 spectators at Croke Park, but Galway failed to trouble the scoreboard for the remainder of the game while Cork hit three match-winning scores – all coming from subs, Sorcha McCartan with 0-2 and the lively Clodagh Finn with the other.
“We got a couple of great scores from the subs again,” said Cork manager Ger Manley.
“Sorcha did very well when she came on, and Clodagh Finn got a great score. We probably made the panel a little bit more competitive [this year] and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Those scores ensured Cork would retain the O’Duffy Cup and also pushed them further out in front at the top of the roll of honour with 30 titles. Dublin are second on the list with 26.
The defeat sees Galway garner an unwanted piece of history – becoming only the second county to lose three senior All-Ireland finals in the same year. Cork had suffered that fate in 1956 but Galway join them in that select circle now after losing the men’s and women’s football finals and the camogie decider this year, all in the space of just 14 days.
“To be honest with you, you can only look after your own corner. Look, whether they won or lost it was never going to impact in what we were doing,” said Galway camogie manager Cathal Murray.
“It has been a good year for Galway, getting to three All-Ireland finals is nice to see, but obviously it’s all about winning them and unfortunately that wasn’t the case.”
Cork, having hammered Galway by 12 points when the sides met in the group stages at the end of June, entered this final as strong favourites but Murray’s side threatened to rip up the script with a performance full of character, belief and skill to lead by the minimum at the break.
Galway made some positional switches at the throw-in as midfielder Niamh Hanniffy started in the full-forward line, with number five Annmarie Starr moving to the middle of the field.
Full-forward Niamh Mallon dropped further out the field to the half-forward line while Aoife Donohue effectively had a roaming role, which left Cork centre-back Laura Treacy as a sweeper in the heart of their defence.
Katrina Mackey and Saoirse McCarthy popped over the game’s opening scores but Galway refused to buy the pre-game offering that the O’Duffy Cup was already predestined for a trip back to Leeside.
A brace of Carrie Dolan frees had them level by the seventh minute and that set the tone for how the rest of the opening half would play out, the sides exchanging point for point. They were level eight times in the first half.
Galway’s accuracy in front of the posts was faultless in that first half with not a single wide registered.
All six of Cork’s forwards had scored by the 27th minute but Dolan’s accuracy from frees and a great Donohue score from out under the Hogan Stand in first-half injury-time sent Galway in with the slenderest of leads at the turnaround.
But having shown exemplary accuracy in the first half, during the opening five minutes after the restart Galway hit three wides.
Cork started the second half like a steam train and hit 1-4 to lead by six by the 41st minute.
Galway can feel aggrieved at Cork’s goal, with the legitimacy of Mackey’s 36th-minute score questionable as she did not appear to touch the sliotar with her hurl before it crossed the line.
Mackey did appear to be fouled by Sarah Healy as she barrelled through, but either way the goal was awarded. Cork quickly added two further points to lead 1-13 to 1-10 and that should have been that. But Galway refused to go away.
They responded by scoring the next six points to bring the game level for the 10th time. They appeared to have all the momentum but Cork started to unload their bench. In contrast, two of Galway’s three subs were made in injury-time. Cork’s strength in depth was pivotal.
Galway started the second half with three wides and they finished with another three – their shooting letting them down at crucial stages.
“We just probably didn’t take our chances coming down the stretch,” said Murray. “That’s going to haunt us for a while. We missed chances. Just didn’t finish it off.”
McCartan and Finn did though. McCartan, daughter of Down football great Greg, showed great strength and poise to shake off both Róisín Black and Dervla Higgins before clipping over the score that nudged Cork back in front in the 54th minute.
Finn, only on the pitch three minutes, showed Higgins a lovely sidestep moments later and extended Cork’s lead to two. The tide had turned decisively.
In the fifth of six injury-time minutes, Finn picked out a lovely pass to McCartan for the score that sealed the victory. The Cork backs defended heroically in the closing stages as Galway pushed for a goal.
It never came.
“That’s the spirit that we’ve shown all year really,” added Manley. “This was our aim, to get back, and we got back.”
They might be there for a while now.
Cork: Amy Lee; Meabh Murphy, Izzy O’Regan, Pamela Mackey; Hannah Looney, Laura Treacy, Laura Hayes; Ashling Thompson (0-1), Aoife Healy; Cliona Healy (0-1), Fiona Keating (0-1), Saoirse McCarthy (0-3, one free); Amy O’Connor (0-3, three frees), Katrina Mackey (1-2), Orlaith Cahalane (0-2). Subs: Sorcha McCartan (0-2) for Mackey (39 mins); Ciara O’Sullivan for Healy (48 mins); Meabh Cahalane for Looney (51 mins); Clodagh Finn (0-1) for Keating (53 mins); Emma Murphy for O Cahalane (63 mins).
Galway: Sarah Healy; Rachael Hanniffy, Róisín Black, Dervla Higgins; Olwen Rabbitte, Áine Keane, Ciara Hickey (0-1); Annmarie Starr, Niamh Kilkenny; Niamh Mallon (0-1), Niamh McPeake, Ailish O’Reilly (0-2); Carrie Dolan (0-8, seven frees), Niamh Hanniffy, Aoife Donohue (0-4). Subs: Orlaith McGrath for O’Reilly (49 mins); Niamh Niland for N Hanniffy (62 mins); Ally Hesnan for Rabbitte (65 mins).
Referee: Liz Dempsey (Kilkenny).
