Kerry find visiting Dublin too hot to handle
NATIONAL CAMOGIE LEAGUE DIVISION 1B
Kerry 0-9 Dublin 2-14
KERRY lost out to Dublin’s senior team in Austin Stack Park last Saturday, but overall management and supporters will be pleased with a far better showing than against Limerick last week. Kerry couldn’t quite match Dublin’s fire-power and were a little bit too reliant on sharpshooter Jackie Horgan, but showed real grit and fight all through and Dublin only pulled away deep into the second half.
Kerry’s resistance was especially commendable after having conceded a goal after just twenty seconds of play. Right from the throw-in, Kerrie Finnegan found Niamh Comerford with a great pass and the wing forward sliced a little through easily through a static defence to hit the net.
Kerry responded superbly. Ann-Marie Leen drew a foul and Jackie Horgan split the posts impressively from long range. The puck-out was hit directly towards her and she instantly returned it with interest straight over the bar. Another poor enough puck-out was gobbled up by a hungry Kerry and Jackie Horgan’s second free had Kerry on level terms, 1-0 to 0-3.
All that hard work was undone in an instant though, when a lively Grace O’Shea flicked across the Kerry square for a good finish by Emma Flannigan for Dublin’s second goal. Jackie Horgan responded with a free but O’Shea pointed and a foul on Ashling O’Neill saw Dublin’s exceptional centre back Ashling Maher notch her first free of the day.
Dublin were gradually beginning to take control, with Ciara Moloney doing well to bat away Sineád Nolan’s rasper and Sara Murphy doing even better to anticipate Emma Flannigan on the rebound and clear off the goal-line.
Kerry had a few chances tail narrowly wide before Ashling Maher notched another free. Amy O’Sullivan exchanged scores with Maher to make it 2-4 to 0-5 and two more well-executed frees by Jackie Horgan cut the gap back to a single goal, 2-4 to 0-7. Dublin finished the half stronger though, with points from Kerrie Finnegan, Ashling O’Neill, and Maher again to have a slightly flattering six-point lead at the whistle, 2-7 to 0-7.
A Kerry defence in which Sara Murphy, Rachel McCarthy, and young Roisín Quinn were outstanding held Dublin to just three points in the third quarter, one from Ashling O’Neill and two more frees by Maher, who was as impressive with dead balls as in open play. Unfortunately, Kerry’s hard graft up front – and they did work extremely hard – wasn’t as effective in creating chances, and Dublin had two more points through O’Neill before Jackie Horgan opened our second half scoring from a free.
Maher and Grace O’Shea added two more points for the visitors and Ciara Moloney had to make a great save to deny Niamh Gannon a goal after good work by Maher.
Jackie Horgan, scorer of all bar one of Kerry’s points, closed out the game with one last free for Kerry. The game may have been out of reach by then, but Kerry showed enough here to show that they aren’t in this division just to make up the numbers.
KERRY: Ciara Moloney, Kate Buckley, Sara Murphy, Ciara O’Sullivan, Roisín Quinn, Aoife Behan, Rachel McCarthy, Ruth O’Connor, Ellen O’Donoghue, Caoimhe Spillane, Jackie Horgan 0-8 (7f), Ann-Marie Leen, Amy O’Sllivan (0-1), Laura Collins, Norette Casey. Subs: Sarah Walsh for Kate Buckley (20), Shannon Collins for Ellen O’Donoghue (h-t), Kate Lynch for Roisín Quinn (40), Niamh Quinn for Ciara O’Sullivan (47), Leonie Walz for Sara Murphy (54), Emma Conway for Norette Casey (54).
DUBLIN: Amy Gorman, Abby Ryan, Emma O’Bryne, Sarah Power, Aoife Heffernan, Ashling Maher 0-7 (6f, 1’45’), Kerrie Finnegan (0-1), Sineád Nolan, Niamh Gannon, Aoife McKearney (1-0), Orla Gray (0-1), Niamh Comerford, Grace O’Shea (0-2), Emma Flannigan (1-0), Ashling O’Neill (0-3). Subs: Zoe Couch for Sarah Power (h-t), Ash Gannon for Niamh Comerford (38), Claire Gannon for Sineád Nolan (39), Hannah O’Dea for Orla Gray (48), Elyse Jamieson-Murphy for Emma
Flannigan (48).
REFEREE: Michael Ryan (Tipperary)