Galway lost their final Lidl NFL Division 1 game against Kerry by 3-11 to 0-17 in Tuam Stadium.
The result was of little relevance with both sides having already qualified for the final which takes place on April 15 in Croke Park.
Galway led by 7-2 by the 20th minute before Kerry turned the game on its head with two goals from Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh to lead by 2-5 to 0-8 at the interval. When Hannah O’Donoghue scored their third goal after the restart, Galway produced a spirited rally but eventually ran out of time.
Managers Maghnus Breathnach and Fionna Wynne will now be looking ahead to the final, and the ease with which Kerry was able to score goals as they prepare for a rematch of greater importance. However they will have to do so without Ailish Morrissey who suffered an ACL tear.
Breathnach said it is now getting ready for the final.
“We have been building towards this since the first round of the league and the girls made a big impact coming off the bench for us. Very happy with the resolve. I suppose it’s like last year in the championship when we finished strong against Kerry, but we left ourselves too much work to do. It’s about learning from this and getting ourselves ready for three weeks time,” said Breathnach.
