Two frees from Carrie Dolan either side of an equalising point from Aoife Donohue carried Galway across the finish line in a tense and dramatic Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie championship semi-final at UPMC Nowlan Park this afternoon, sending the Tribeswomen back to Croke Park for their first final in three years.
Galway started with three points in a row, they finished with three points in a row and they got a much-needed boost of 1-2 without reply from Niamh Mallon either side of half-time.
Those proved crucial as aside from those three mini-purple patches, they struggled to contain a more powerful and direct Tipperary side that had very strong performances from Karen Kennedy at centre back, Caoimhe McCarthy at midfield and Eimear McGrath at full-forward.
Once Cáit Devane was introduced midway through the second half, she fired over a point with her first possession and it looked as the former All-Star winner would be the player that would tip the scales in favour of the blue and gold, but even as Tipp piled on the pressure, Galway’s defence was able to hold up enough to leave them still within striking distance at the death.
The Wwsterners also had Tipperary in a defensive stranglehold for the first 12 minutes, during which time Niamh Kilkenny’s opening point and two more Dolan frees saw them take a commanding lead.
McGrath fumbled possession to allow Róisín Black to clear her lines with one early attack and then hit the upright with another attempt, while a fantastic block from Rachael Hanniffy to deny Grace O’Brien only heightened the tension in the Tipperary contingent within the crowd of approximately 6,000 supporters, as they struggled to put their first score on the board.
A move of real quality then shifted the game’s momentum completely. Kennedy’s interception in the half-back line gave Tipperary the chance to wrong-foot the Galway defence and a sublime touch and pass from O’Brien fed McGrath close to the Galway goal. The Drom & Inch player still had a lot of work to do but she held off two tackles and rifled a perfect shot to the roof of the net, and the sense of relief among the Tipp players was palpable.
Six of the next eight points went the way of the Premier County, including gorgeous strikes from distance from Eimear Heffernan and Eimear Loughman, but after she briefly had to leave the field due to an injury, Mallon came back on and fired over two crucial points in first half stoppage time.
The former Down player, who is a nutritionist for the Galway footballers playing in the All-Ireland final against Armagh, further underlined her value to the Galway cause when she sprinted clear of the Tipp defence and batted a goal after two minutes of the second half, and while Tipp levelled through Clodagh McIntyre, well-crafted points from Niamh McPeake and Nimh Kilkenny pushed Galway two clear with 37 minutes gone.
Once again however, Tipperary took over, in no small part because of Devane’s injection of quality. She fired over a point that could have been even more if an initial pass attempt didn’t fly a yard too far behind her, then after McGrath nudged Tipp back in front, Devane also played a key role in the 56th minute point that saw Tipperary move 1-11 to 1-9 ahead.
On a day when the wide count was relatively even (7-6 to Galway ), a couple of spurned opportunities during this run of four consecutive Tipperary points looked like they might prove very costly, but Galway held their nerve, crafted the chances they needed, and both Dolan and Donohue were able to deliver the finishes.
There was time for one last Tipperary attack from a sideline that McGrath cut perfectly into the heart of the Galway goalmouth, but Dervla Higgins’ brave catch in traffic was the final ingredient in Galway setting up a clash with All-Ireland champions Cork on Sunday, August 11.
SCORERS FOR GALWAY: N Mallon 1-2; C Dolan 0-5 (fs ); N Kilkenny 0-2; A O’Reilly, N McPeake, A Donohue 0-1 each
SCORERS FOR TIPPERARY: E McGrath 1-6 (0-3fs, 0-2 45s ); C McIntyre 0-2; E Loughman, E Heffernan, C Devane 0-1 each
GALWAY: S Healy; D Higgins, R Black, R Hanniffy; AM Starr, C Hickey, N Hanniffy; Á Keane, O Rabbitte; N McPeake, A O’Reilly, N Kilkenny; C Dolan, N Mallon, A Donohue. Subs: O McGrath for Mallon (27-30 temp ), N Niland for Rabbitte (50 ), A Hesnan for N Hanniffy (52 ), O McGrath for Starr (58 ).
TIPPERARY: N Walsh; E Loughman, J Bourke, K Blair; C Quirke, K Kennedy, M Eviston; C Hennessy, C McCarthy; R Howard, E Heffernan, C McIntyre; G O’Brien, E McGrath, C Maher. Subs: T Ryan for Hennessy (half-time ), A McGrath for Bourke (40 ), C Devane for Heffernan (42 ), M Burke for Howard (50 ), C Perdue for O’Brien (57 ).
REFEREE: Liz Dempsey (Kilkenny )
