Dublin 2-19 Cork 0-13
Dublin manager Mick Bohan said they know they will need a special performance if they are to topple Kerry in the historic 50th TG4 All-Ireland final on August 13 and capture the Brendan Martin Cup for the sixth time.
Bohan, who led Dublin to four All-Ireland titles in a row from 2017, said he was thrilled that they had made it back to the final after several alterations to his panel this year.
“If you had asked me last October would we be in the final I didn’t think so with so many changes to our panel. But the experienced players put in so much effort in helping the younger ones over the months which has us here now,” he said.
“To beat Cork any day is always an achievement as we have had some dark days against them.
“Whether it was one point it 10 points it didn’t matter as long as we won. The most important thing was to get there to the All-Ireland final.”
But Bohan knows that they will face a different challenge in the final as they meet Kerry in the decider for the first time in history.
“Kerry are the best team in the country in terms of physicality and skill levels. They bullied us in the league and I don’t mean that in a bad way. So we know what kind of a battle we are in in the final,” added Bohan.
Dublin laid the foundation for victory at FBD Semple Stadium in the opening half when they built up a 1-10 to 0-7 interval lead playing against the breeze.
The goal came eight minutes from the break with Dublin leading by 0-9 to 0-4 when Hannah Tyrrell exchanged passes with Jennifer Dunne before fisting to the net, the score eventually being flagged after a lengthy check by the officials to see if there was an infringement.
29 July 2023; Hannah Tyrrell of Dublin punches the ball to the net for her side's first goal during the TG4 LGFA All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final match between Dublin and Cork at Semple Stadium in Thurles, Tipperary. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Cork just couldn’t get a foothold and when they created chances they found Dublin goalkeeper Abby Sheils in superb form, most notably in producing stunning saves to deny Maire O’Callaghan and Orlaith Cahalane.
Dublin sealed the issue at the end of the third quarter after a good passing movement ended with Tyrrell setting up Carla Rowe to palm home their second goal to lead by 2-15 to 0-10 and canter home and end Cork’s hopes of a first title since 2016.
Cork manager Shane Ronayne said they paid a big price for not taking their chances.
“We didn’t play very well but I thought Dublin were outstanding,” he said.
“I thought it was Dublin’s best display of the season and they were an immense all over the pitch. It certainly wasn’t the Dublin we were analysing in the past few weeks.
“But we didn’t take 50% of the chances we created. We created about 30 scoring opportunities but we only took 13 of them and against teams like Dublin you can’t afford to do that.”
Scorers - Dublin: H Tyrrell 1-2 (1f), C Rowe 1-2 each, J Dunne 0-4, O Nolan 0-3, L Magee, O Gribben 0-2 each, K Sullivan, J Egan, S Aherne, N Donlon 0-1 each.
Cork: D O’Sullivan 0-8 (8f), C O’Sullivan, K Quirke, A Healy, D Kiely, O Cahalane 0-1 each.
DUBLIN: A Shiels; N Crowley, L Caffrey, A Kane; L Magee, M Byrne, N Donlon; J Dunne, E O’Dowd; C O’Connor, O Nolan, K Sullivan; H Tyrrell, C Rowe, J Egan.
Subs: E Gribben for J Egan (ht), N Hetherton for N Donlon (38), S Aherne for K Sullivan (55), S Wylde for H Tyrrell (56), C Darby for C O’Connor (58).
CORK: M O’Sullivan; M Duggan, E Meaney, R Phelan; A Ryan, S Kelly, A Healy; M O’Callaghan, H Looney; D Kiely, C O’Sullivan, K Quirke; L Coppinger, D O’Sullivan, E Cleary.
Subs: L O’Mahony for S Kelly, O Cahalane for E Cleary (both ht), L Fitzgerald for O Cahalane (inj), D Kiniry for A Ryan (both 48), A Ring for D O’Sullivan (55).
Referee: Jonathan Murphy, Carlow.
In Pictures: Dubs Celebrate Victory With Family And Teammates
