Rowe goals do for the Rebels

Dublin 3-11 Cork 1-12

IT wasn’t to be two All Irelands in two weeks for Cork’s senior ladies GAA stars as Dublin held on to the All-Ireland football title for another year at headquarters.

In front of a record crowd of over 50,000 paying customers Mick Bohan’s Sky Blues rounded off what has been another magnificent year for the county with a powerful display that a relatively young Cork side just couldn’t handle.

A brace of goals from Carla Rowe will ultimately go down as the difference between the sides but in reality Dublin looked winners good for this one from a long way out, such was their ability to go through the gears at will.

Corner-forward Sinead Aherne was the main score getter for the champions with a personal tally of 1-7.

Cork came into the tie as underdogs, but their never say die attitude aligned to exceptional talent and a history like few others put them right in the mix from well before this one ever threw in.

Cork captain Ciara O’Sullivan gave a real leaders display, but Dublin had the numbers and the composure to halt the rampaging half-forward along with her sister and serious scoring threat Doireann.

Áine O’Sullivan and Orla Finn were always going to score and with 1-10 between them few could question their impact however on this day, above all other days, that tally wasn’t enough to keep Cork in the hunt.

Cork came flying out of the traps with Libby Coppinger almost in on goal inside 60 seconds only to be halted by a collective Dublin rear-guard action.

Dublin’s Lauren McGee was the early threat for the dubs with the midfield star’s surge towards goal almost enough to open the scoring however we had to wait till the seventh minute for that moment and the history books recording Aherne as the first scorer of the game.

Corner-forward Nicole Owens bagged Dublin’s second score from the resulting kick out – a point that could have been a goal.

Moments later the same player struck another wide when a point looked on, but the signs looked ominous for Cork at this point as the All Ireland Champions dominated in most areas of the pitch.

Cork responded, as one would expect with their first score of the game, Orla Finn free, as the sun-drenched pitch at headquarters played host to an ever improving cup tie. Finn levelled proceedings with a long range free on 12 minutes and we were back to where we started – no wiser as to who would take the spoils.

Cork started to put their collective foot on the gas with Doireann O’Sullivan earning her side a free thanks to a challenge by six players on the Mourneabbey number 14. Finn again raised white and Cork led for the first time.

Dublin’s Owen responded with the best point of the first quarter before Lyndsey Davey was taken down when through on goal resulting in a Dublin penalty, which was despatched to the cork net by Captain Sinead Aherne.

Cork again showed they were unlikely to be pushed aside with a point from Áine O’Sullivan however some subsequent moves in the next five minutes saw cork looking too much for the killer pass while Dublin, through Aherne, were content to take any score.

Seven minutes before the interval another promising Cork attack broke down, but when Dublin defenders tried to clear the ball they gifted it to Áine O’Sullivan who spectacularly lobbed Dublin keeper Ciara Trant to level things up for the third time.

Another Aherne score, this time a pointed free was followed by Dublin’s second major. A powerful break from midfield saw Dublin’s Olwen Carey open and when the midfielder drew in the defence she was able to setup Carla Rowe who was clinical with the chance.

Dublin’s Aherne rounded off proceedings with another score to send the Dubs in leading by four – 2-6 to 1-5.

Cork needed to keep their heads if they were to get back into this one and credit the Leesiders they did just that with the first two scores of the second period from Aine O’Sullivan and Finn.

Some dogged defending kept Dublin at bay until Owens hit her third of the afternoon on 38 minutes.

A goal line save by Dublin’s Niamh Collins from a Saoirse Noonan effort kept Dublin in front as this one started to head down the final straight.

Cork’s keeper Martina O’Brien had to intervene to halt one of the best passages of play from the girls in blue as they cut through a Rebel rear-guard that was stretched, but still functioning.

Two frees from Finn after brilliant work from Ciara O’Sullivan and Eimear Scally got Cork back to within one but Rowe popped up with another magnificent goal to nearly lift the roof off the home of the GAA.

Cork huffed and puffed but in reality never really looked like catching a Dublin side that were beginning to dominate all over the field.

A difficult day for Ephie Fitzgerald and his team, but on the day few complaints as the best team in the country in 2018 rounded off their season with the ultimate scalp.

DUBLIN: C Trant; N Collins, L Caffrey, M Byrne; S Goldrick 0-1, L Magee, S Finnegan; O Carey, N McEvoy 0-1; L Davey, S McGrath, C Rowe 2-0; S Aherne 1-7 (1-0 pen, 0-4f), N Healy, N Owens 0-2 Subs: J Dunne for Owens (52), H O’Neill for McEvoy (53), A Connolly for Healy (59)

CORK: M O’Brien; R Phelan, M Duggan, E Spillane; M O’Callaghan, E Meaney, S Kelly; A O’Sullivan 1-2, H Looney; D O’Sullivan 0-1f, A Hutchings, C O’Sullivan 0-1; L Coppinger, E Scally, O Finn 0-8f Subs: S Noonan for Coppinger (half-time), O Farmer for Looney (54), C Collins for Spillane (54)

REFEREE: G McMahon (Mayo)