Galway 2-13
Kilkenny 2-7
Kilkenny’s long wait to end the O’Duffy Cup famine stretching back to 1994 continues for another year, as their championship hopes were ended by a powerful Galway outfit in Nowlan Park last Saturday afternoon.
Hopes were high that Kilkenny would get back into an All-Ireland final, as they had been improving steadily with each game throughout the championship.
However, it ended in major disappointment as Galway proved too strong – and in truth – they should have won by a far greater margin than the six-point gap that separated the sides at the end of playing time.
Galway shot ten wides to Kilkenny’s four, and the westerners squandered numerous scoring chances.
The most glaring goal chance that Galway missed was in bizarre circumstances.
In the 43rd minute, Veronica Curtin found herself unmarked in acres of space in front of goal. Her rasping shot appeared to have found the top right hand corner, and the Galway supporters were briefly celebrating.
However, the umpire waved the ball wide, yet the score was registered as a goal on the electronic scoreboard.
The correction was rectified, and it wasn’t a goal.
What disappointed Kilkenny most was that a number of their key players didn’t perform up to their usual high standards.
Catherine Doherty at full-back has been a revelation all year, but despite her best efforts, she endured a difficult afternoon against the power and strength of Galway captain, Brenda Hanney.
Elaine Aylward tried hard also, but she never managed to take the game by the scruff of the neck, while Anne Dalton didn’t endure her best afternoon, and she’ll be most disappointed with the fact that Galway’s outstanding player, the exceptional Niamh Kilkenny scored 0-5 from play.
Grace Walsh was Kilkenny’s best performer, almost single-handedly driving the Kilkenny defence forward during the second-half.
Claire Phelan was solid throughout, while Aisling Dunphy maintained her consistency throughout the championship, scoring 1-1. Aoife Neary was Kilkenny’s best attacker, but frustratingly lacked the support around her.
Kilkenny gave it everything in terms of fighting spirit and battling qualities, but the harsh reality of the situation was Galway were just too strong.
Their defensive unit dominated the Kilkenny attack led by the imperious Therese Maher at centre-back.
Galway have confirmed their status as the undoubted number two team in the county, behind All-Ireland champions, Wexford, who defeated Cork 2-11 to 1-9 in the second semi-final.
Kilkenny have enjoyed unprecedented success at under-16, minor, and colleges level along with National League and Intermediate All-Ireland since 2005, yet O’Duffy glory has eluded them since 1994.
Galway playing with a light first-half breeze advantage were worth more than full value for their six-point lead at half-time .
Niamh Kilkenny gave an exhibition all through, scoring 0-8 in total – with 0-3 from play in the opening 25 minutes. They confirmed their dominace with a well-taken goal from team captain Brenda Hanney.
Kilkenny responded through Aisling Dunphy to give them a glimmer of hope for the restart, and they were right back in contention. Aoife Neary’s free dropped short, and Edel Maher reacted quickest to rifle the ball home, to make it 1-8 to 2-2.
Neary pointed a free shortly afterwards, but substitute Noreen Coen pointed to ease Galway nerves.
Aisling Dunphy pointed from a narrow angle to narrow the gap, before Aoife Neary pointed a free to leave just the minimum between the sides. 1-9 to 2-5.
However, Kilkenny didn’t push on, and they failed to score for the remainder of the game, as Galway dominated the concluding stages, and never at any stage did they appear like surrendering the lead.
Victory was assured in the 58th minute when Niamh Kilkenny’s free dropped off the post, before Tara Routledge reacted quickly to pounce on the loose sliothar with a well driven ground shot to end Kilkenny hopes.
