Back in 1991 a glorious chapter in the history of Ladies
Football began when a team comprising mostly from the Ballymacarbry Club beat
Kerry to win a first ever Munster Senior Ladies Football Final, ending a ten
year period of dominance by the Ladies of the Kingdom after they had won ten
Munster Finals and nine All-Ireland Finals in a row.
That side, with additions along the way and with some dropping
out over the next decade achieved so much culminating in five All-Ireland
titles between 1991 and 1998.
This year’s league saw Waterford play some good football
along the way saved their very best for this game and from the off in this game
Ciaran Curran’s side were always the better of the two sides and were full
value for their eight point winning margin.
Waterford netted five goals for the second game in a row,
four of which came in the opening half and there were times we saw that this
present group of players can go on and have some even better days in the months
and years ahead. Whether however they will replicate what the great side of the
90’s achieved is very hard to tell. Just like that great team there is some
hugely talented players in this present team but the biggest thing that will
stop them is that right now there is more teams competing at the time than
there was in the 90’s when a team came along and for two or three years
challenging Waterford hardest and then broke up before another team came along.
We saw it with Kerry back in the 90’s then Laois, Monaghan and finally
Mayo.
If Waterford is to be successful in the years ahead then
they will have to be beating the likes of Monaghan, Tipperary, Kerry, Armagh,
Westmeath, Mayo, Donegal, Dublin, Galway and this year’s Division One champions
Cork. To beat one in any competition will be tough, to have to get the better
of all sides will be a big ask not just for Waterford but all sides playing in
the top flight.
Coincidently the two sides are to meet again in the Munster
Championship at Ennis on Saturday next in the first round of the Munster
Championship, a curtain raiser to the Waterford and Clare game in the Men’s
code and for that game both sides will know that the result of this game will
have little significance on the result of that game, but what this result will
do will give Waterford plenty of confidence going into the game.
Waterford were
outstanding in the first half and turned around with an incredible four clear
goal cushion showing on the score board as Michelle Ryan, Kelly Ann Hogan,
Maria Delahunty and Eimear Fennell all netted goals for Waterford in the
opening 30 minutes.
Waterford went in front inside the opening minute of the
game when Maria Delahunty pointed after she was picked out by Aileen Wall and
on three minutes the Waterford attack gave Kerry a taste of what was to come
for the remainder of the half as Roisin Tobin and Katie Murray combined to set
up hat-trick here from their semi final win over Cavan Michelle Ryan for the
Déise sides first green flag of the afternoon.
The industrious Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh pointed at the
other end before Chloe Fennell pointed for Waterford before Kelly Ann Hogan
scored a fine goal where she done much of the hard work herself on seven
minutes to give Waterford a seven point lead.
Hannah O’Donoghue and Maria Delahunty swapped scores before
Miriam O’Keefe and Amanda Brosnan hit points for the side from the Kingdom but
it was not enough to see them end the first quarter trailing 2-3 to 0-4.
Waterford over the next six minutes played some of their
best football in this game. Róisín Tobin and Maria Delahunty slotted points before
Róisín Tobin hit her second of the game and it was Maria Delahunty who scored
next a decisive third goal for Waterford after Aileen Wall had done some good
work in the build up, and when Katie Murray followed up with a point on 22
minutes Waterford had a 3-7 to 0-4 lead.
Kerry throughout the league this year made changes for the
second half but they were forced to make changes before the break here. After
Miriam O’Keeffe pointed for Kerry with six minutes of the first half remaining,
the Kerry selectors sent on Sophie Lynch for Sarah Murphy in defence and also
replaced goalkeeper Robyn White with Kayleigh Cronin after the keeper picked up
a hamstring injury.
Kerry did come more into the game after this. Michelle Ryan
pointed with five minutes to go and when the ball went up the other end the
crossbar came to Waterford’s rescue from a Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh effort and
when the ball fell back to her Caoimhe McGrath took the ball off the line and
cleared the danger.
Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh did point with Kerry’s next attack
from a free but within seconds Waterford had the ball in the Kerry net for a
fourth time when Aileen Wall played in Eimear Fennell who was unmarked in front
of the Kerry goal.
Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh and Sarah Houlihan added late
first half scores for the side from the Kingdom but it was not enough to stop
them turning around trailing Ciaran Curran’s side 4-8 to 0-8.
Waterford goalkeeper Rosie Landers made an excellent save
from Hannah O’Donoghue and when Katie Murray and Maria Delahunty followed up
with points things were looking extremely good for Waterford.
But Kerry did make Waterford work hard for this win. Sarah
Houlihan and Eimear Fennell swapped points before Hannah O’Donoghue and Aileen
Wall did likewise. Karen McGrath took an effort from Hannah O’Donoghue off the
Waterford goal line on 41 minutes which was followed with white flags from Louise
Ni Mhuircheartaigh and Sarah Houlihan on 44 minutes.
Waterford’s fifth goal came at the three quarter way mark in
this game when Eimear Fennell crashed the size 4 off the crossbar with Kelly
Cronin beating it fell nicely to Aileen Wall who slotted home from just inside
the small box to give Waterford a 5-12 to 0-12 lead.
Fiadhna Tagney and Sarah Houlihan pulled points back for
Kerry before substitute Aisling Mullaney hit Waterford’s last score of the game
on 51 minutes.
Kerry finished strong and while they scored a goal on 51
minutes when Lorraine Scanlon won a contest against Rosie Landers and Louise Ni
Mhuircheartaigh and Sarah Houlihan hit further minor scores for Kerry,
Waterford held on for an excellent win and will now compete in Division one of
next year’s league.
The players and Management of the Waterford side have to be
congratulated on this win and it would be nice to think that the side will receive
some recognition on the win when it comes to the various sporting awards handed
out in the county and in the region in the weeks and months ahead.
The Kerry side should also be recognised for the part that
they played in this fine sporting game. In every game there has to be a winner
and there has to be a side that does not win. To use the word loser at times is
too strong a word and it would certainly be the case here. Kerry at one point
found themselves 15 points down against Waterford but fought back to get within
eight. On another day things could be much closer. In this game both Caoimhe
and Karen McGrath took the ball off the Waterford goal line it looked as if a
goal was going to be scored.
And someone else deserves recognition. It is often very easy
to criticise the referee and the officials on duty at a game.
Today referee Gus Chapman refereed the game using a lot of
common sense. The players of course made it easy for him. But how often have we
seen in recent years a player issued with a yellow card and having to sit out
the next ten minutes in which time a game can often be won or lost. Today the
Sligo man did not have to flash any yellow card so well done to the referee on
his part in a sporting spectacle.
Waterford: Rosie Landers; Rebecca Casey, Caoimhe McGrath, Megan
Dunford; Róisín Tobin, Karen McGrath, Kate McGrath; Michelle Ryan, Kelly Ann
Hogan; Emma Murray, Katie Murray, Maria Delahunty; Eimear Fennell, Chloe
Fennell, Aileen Wall.
Subs: Aisling Mullaney for Megan Dunford (36), Shauna Dunphy for Eimear Fennell (60), Caragh
McCarthy for Róisín Tobin (63).
Scorers: M Delahunty 1-04 (0-01f), M Ryan, E Fennell, A
Wall 1-01 each, KA Hogan 1-00, R Tobin, K Murray 0-02 each, C Fennell, A
Mullaney 0-01 each.
Kerry: Robyn White; Tara Breen, Aislinn Desmond, Ciara
O’Brien; Sarah Murphy, Aisling O’Connell, Anna Galvin; Lorraine Scanlon, Amanda
Brosnan; Ciara Murphy, Hannah O’Donoghue, Niamh Carmody; Sarah Houlihan, Louise
Ní Mhuircheartaigh, Miriam O’Keeffe.
Subs: Kayleigh Cronin for Robyn White (26), Sophie Lynch
for Sarah Murphy (26), Fiadhna Tangney for Miriam O’Keeffe (34), Emma Dineen
for Anna Galvin (45), Eilis Lynch for Aislinn Desmond (60).
Referee: Gus Chapman (Sligo).
