Kate Slevin, Galway, and Dara Kiniry, Cork, in action at Croke Park. Photo by Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
Ladies National Football League Division Two Final
Galway 2-8 Cork 1-5
By Daire Walsh
Lynsey Noone and player of the match Roisin Leonard bagged second half goals at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon as Galway came from behind against Cork to secure the National Football League Division 2 title.
A TG4 All Star winner in 2024, Katie Quirke had provided Cork with a perfect start to the action when she drilled a low shot to the bottom right-hand corner of the Galway net in the third minute. Although Leonard got Daniel Moynihan’s westerners up and running with a pointed free, their Leeside counterparts moved four points clear with back-to-back efforts from Quirke and centre-forward Laura O’Mahony.
Galway kept in touch courtesy of a 0-2 salvo by the reliable Leonard – including a majestic long-distance strike off the ground – only for Quirke’s second successful free of half to propel Cork into a 1-3 to 0-3 lead at the end of a low-scoring opening period. Yet this was a long way off being an unassailable deficit and a highly-motivated Galway swung the pendulum in their favour within two minutes of the restart.
Moments after Ailbhe Davoren had kicked a point at a left-hand angle, Lynsey Noone (one of six players from AIB All-Ireland senior club football champions Kilkerrin-Clonberne in Galway’s starting line-up) impressively fired beyond the reach of Cork netminder Sarah Murphy for a 32nd minute goal.
The Leesiders twice got themselves on level terms with points from Emma Cleary and Quirke either side of another place-ball contribution by Leonard, before Galway subsequently pounced for their second goal just shy of the third-quarter.
Following a neat dispossession by Kate Slevin on opposition custodian Murphy, Corofin attacker Leonard clinically rifled the ball to the back of the net and this score was immediately supplemented by a well-taken Olivia Divilly point.
This left their Munster rivals with a mountain to climb and after Aoife Healy (one of three players in the Cork team who is in line to feature in a camogie league final against the same county tomorrow) was sin-binned on 48 minutes, Galway were very much in the driving seat at Jones’ Road.
As the final whistle approached, wing-back Hannah Noone got forward for an excellent point and with Leonard pointing a late free to bring her final tally to 1-5, Galway ultimately sealed their first Division 2 title since 2014 in fine style.
Scorers for Galway: R Leonard 1-5 (0-5f), L Noone 1-0, H Noone, O Divilly, A Davoren 0-1 each.
Scorers for Cork: K Quirke 1-3 (0-3f), L O’Mahony, E Cleary 0-1 each.
Galway: D Gower; A Ní Cheallaigh, S Ní Loingsigh, K Geraghty; H Noone, N Ward, C Trill; L Ward, S Divilly; O Divilly, S Hynes, A Davoren; L Noone, R Leonard, K Slevin. Subs: E Noone for Hynes, L Coen for Davoren (both 41), K Thompson for L Noone (44), B Quinn for Trill (51), C Cooney for Slevin (54).
Cork: S Murphy; D Kiniry, S Kelly, M Duggan; E O’Shea, S Leahy, R Corkery; A Corcoran, A Healy; A O’Mahony, L O’Mahony, E Cleary; H Looney, L Coppinger, K Quirke. Subs: S Cronin for Corcoran (39), A O’Sullivan for Coppinger (43), A Ring for O’Mahony (48), L Hallihan for Cleary (56), A Ryan for (58).
Referee: Philip Conway (Armagh).
