Dublin 3-11 Clare
1-14
Parnells
GAA club was awash with smiling Dublin faces after seeing their team capture
both points in the opening game of the Liberty Assurance All-Ireland
Championship for the first time in some years.
The
sod was splattered with wet patches after the heavy overnight rain.
But once referee Owen Elliott cleared the
pitch to play, it was all systems go.
With
the stiff breeze (Dublin elected to play into the breeze) at their back Clare
were first to break and full-forward Niamh O’Dea gave an immediate statement of
her quality with a fine point after 14 seconds.
But
Dublin hit a crucial purple patch between the 5
th
and 8
th
minutes saw then reap a vital 1-2.
The
first was a point from Emma Flanagan followed by a sweet Ali Twomey point that
began when goalkeeper Faye McCarthy found Eve O’Brien, she fed Eimear McCarthy
and the next ball was laid off to Siobhan Kehoe for the final telling
pass.
Dublin came bursting back again
when Hannah Hegarty had a go, her shot was partially blocked but it fell into
the hand of Siobhan Keogh and she netted.
Dublin were in front with 8 minutes gone and Eimear McCarthy and Ellen
McGovern were winning good possession around the middle of the field.
Back
came Niamh O’Dea for a Clare point almost immediately before a long range free
for Clare was touched home by Niamh O'Dea in the 10
th
minute.
Two more points from the ever-threatening
Niamh O’Dea put Clare back in the driving seat made even more comfortable by a
super catch and point by Orla Devitt.
17
minutes gone and Clare were on a roll.
O’Dea was bearing down on goal again a minute later but a super flick by
Eve O’Brien saved the day.
The
Dublin management responded with a telling switch.
Miriam Twomey has played in many positions
for Dublin but never at full-back but her pace would match that of Niamh
O’Dea.
With Gráinne Quinn sitting in front
of the full-back Dublin stopped the problem and O’Dea would not score
again.
Dublin
didn’t add much to their tally in that closing quarter with only well struck
point from a free by Aisling Maher momentarily halting the Clare roar.
But the Banner girls hit two more points
through Chloe Morey and Andrea O’Keeffe to move 1-7 to 1-3 clear by the break.
As
the scores dried up for Niamh O’Dea, Clare turned more and more to the accurate
stick of Chloe Morey to fill the gap.
This she did in style in the second with a six out of six tally from
frees, the first of which extended Clare’s lead to 5 points after only 51
seconds of the second period.
Miriam
Twomey was now back in more familiar territory and split the posts in the 31
st
minute from a pass by the hard-working Eimear McCarthy.
Another free from Aisling Maher and the gap
was down to three points.
But Clare were
digging deep and Clare Hehir, Aine O’Loughlin, Maire McGrath and the free
taking accuracy of Chloe Morey were keeping them in front.
Two Morey frees and a point from Orla Devitt,
their only score from play in the second half opened a sizeable 6 points lead
by the 38
th
minute and the situation was looking less than promising
from a Dublin perspective.
Even with 20
minutes to go and the breeze at their backs, Dublin already appeared to be in
need of goals if the Clare lead was to be hauled it.
Alison Maguire, Claire Donnelly and Zoe
O’Donoghue were introduced in the half and would play a telling part in the
closing quarter.
But crucial to that
revival was the superb long range free-taking of goalkeeper Faye McCarthy.
Her
puckouts were giving Dublin field position but with 20 minutes left the home
sided needed to show true grit if they were to win this vital game.
39,
40, and 43 mightn’t be the Lotto numbers but they mark the three pointed frees
that Faye McCarthy struck mostly from 50m and further.
The lead was down to three points by the 14
th
minute and Dublin’s cause was looking brighter.
But back came Chloe Morey with another pointed free to restore their 4
points advantage.
38
th
minutes and Faye McCarthy makes the journey from her goal to take a free some
90m from the posts, the accuracy was right, the distance a little short but
Aisling Maher got a touch and the ball was in the net.
Two minutes later, the match turning moment
came.
Alison
Maguire had been introduced early in the second half but following a fine catch
suffered what appeared to be a dislocated elbow.
Bravely she battled on and as Dublin launched
a high ball into the Clare box Ali won possession passed to Claire Donnelly who
laid off the ball to Zoe O’Donoghue – showing great composure she handpassed to
the net and Dublin were back in front for the first time since the 8
th
minute.
It
was nail-biting stuff.
Chloe Morey once
again split the posts and it was back to a one point game but from the moment
she hit her first free over the bar, Faye McCarthy was in positive mode when
she made the journey from the goals.
Another pointed free and it was 3-9 to 1-13 with four minutes of normal
time left.
All
over the field Dublin players put their hearts and souls into those last hectic
minutes.
Aine Woods, Arlene Cushen, Aisling
Carolan and Eva Marie Elliott put in some ferocious blocks as Dublin hung on to
that precarious two points lead.
The
stress levels rose further when Chloe Morey brought her tally to 1-7 for the hour
with 2 minutes left.
Then
we saw probably the most impressive feature of Dublin’s win – a clinical
finish.
Firstly a great catch and step
inside by Ali Twomey for a great point and the game was sealed in the last
seconds with a fifth pointed free from Faye McCarthy.
The workrate and camogie of Miriam Twomey
came to fore.
Winning great ball and
earning frees that were hugely important in the closing stages – an outstanding
display for the Master student who commutes from Edinburgh for the games.
Joy
and relief and an appetite for the next game – all in equal measure.
Dublin
Scorers:
Faye McCarthy (0-5), Aisling
Maher (1-2), Siobhan Kehoe (1-0), Zoe O’Donoghue (1-0), Ali Twomey (0-2),
Miriam Twomey (0-1), Emma Flanagan (0-1)
Clare
Scorers:
Chloe Morey (0-7), Niamh O’Dea
(1-4), Orla Devitt (0-2), Andrea O’Keeffe (0-1)
Referee:
Owen Elliott