Meath impressively dethrone Kerry to book All-Ireland Ladies football final spot

Irish Examiner

4 days ago

TG4 LGFA All-Ireland Semi-Final: Meath 2-12 Kerry 1-9
A huge Meath crowd travelled in expectation, but not even the most wildly optimistic Royal County supporter could have anticipated the manner in which their heroes relentlessly, aggressively and emphatically wrestled Kerry's fingers off the Brendan Martin Cup with a fantastic display.
Even fewer would have imagined that a six-point win for Meath would have featured Emma Duggan and Vikki Wall scoring one point from play between them, that a fine strike from Duggan with the very last play that only served as the icing on a well-made cake.
The flour, the eggs and the sugar? That was a dominant defensive showing, anchored by a towering display from Sarah Wall at six, and with Robyn Murray sweeping up brilliantly behind her defenders; it was a solid kickout structure that gave the 2021 and 2022 All-Ireland champions a solid foothold in terms of possession.
And it was an all-action display from their half-forward line, with Ciara Smyth and Megan Thynne running the Kerry backline ragged, while Niamh Gallogly dropped deep to help ensure that Niamh Ní Conchúir never got the chance to build on her early scores for the Kingdom.
A significant breeze favoured Kerry in the first half and two early points for the reigning champions suggested they were about to use that advantage, but once Marion Farrelly got Meath off the mark in the sixth minute, it's no exaggeration to say that Meath looked stronger and better for the remainder of the game.
The main stand in Tullamore was a sea of green and gold, and once Ciara Smyth cut in from the left wing to give them their first lead, it was patently clear that the overwhelming majority were overwhelmingly behind the side wearing white.
Meath's Shauna Ennis scores a point for her side. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon.
When Kerrie Cole exploded through two tackles and hammered the ball into the roof of the Kerry net shortly after the midway point in the first half, the crowd's roar would have been every bit as much of an adrenaline shot to the players as the green flag was to the fans.
Ó Conchúir and Siofra O'Shea pointed before half-time and a sensational strike from Danielle O'Leary three minutes after the restart made it 1-6 to 1-5 and offered Mark Bourke's side a path back out of trouble.
But in the absence of a steady flow of possession, or even any attacker that was on top of their direct opponent to serve as an outlet, that proved a bit too challenging.
Smyth won a free that Duggan converted to tie up the game, a fine team score was finished by team captain Aoibhín Cleary to get the crowd back involved, and Meath's momentum was inexorable when Cole played in Sarah Wall and after ghosting in from the right corner, she had just Mary Ellen Bolger to beat.
Niamh Carmody set up Caoimhe Evans for a score and O'Shea's fifth point of the afternoon made it 2-8 to 1-9, but the final quarter was a four-point hammering.
Points from Shauna Ennis and Cleary gave Meath the freedom to play with more than a one-score lead, and at the other end, turnover wins from Sarah Wall, Karla Kealy and Gallogly heightened the sense of a team turning the screw, squeezing the life out of their opponents without ever surging across the finish line.
The goal chance Kerry needed never came, and the half-chance they might have hoped to turn into something more was flatly denied when Robyn Murray darted off her line and simultaneously collected the lateral pass that was intended for Danielle O'Leary, while leaving the Rathmore attacker sprawled on the turf.
After that moment, Duggan's two points to round off the afternoon were only late excuses for Meath's joy to spill over that little bit more.
Scorers for Meath: E Duggan (0-5, 4f), K Cole (1-0), S Wall (1-0), C Smyth (0-2), M Farrelly (0-2), A Cleary (0-2), S Ennis (0-1).
Scorers for Kerry: S O'Shea (0-5, 4f), D O'Leary (1-0), N Ní Conchúir (0-2), A Galvin (0-1), C Evans (0-1).
MEATH: R Murray; MK Lynch, Á Sheridan, K Newe; A Cleary, S Wall, K Kealy; O Sheehy, M Farrelly; M Thynne, N Gallogly, C Smyth; E Duggan, V Wall, K Cole.
Subs: S Ennis for Newe (32), K Bermingham for Sheehy (40), N McEntee for Cole (56).
KERRY: ME Bolger; E Lynch, C Lynch, D Kearney; A O'Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; M O'Connell, A Galvin; N Carmody, N Ní Conchúir, C Evans; D O'Leary, S Ó'Shea, J Lucey.
Subs: R Dwyer for Lucey (37), R Rahilly for Kearney (38), K Enright for Galvin (50), F O'Donoghue for A O'Connell (52), N Quinn for Dillane (53).
Referee: Maggie Farrelly (Cavan).