CORK 1-17
WATERFORD 2-4
GER McCARTHY REPORTS
AN unanswered third-quarter return of 1-4 earned Cork an All-Ireland semi-final against Galway following victory over Waterford in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Having led by a point at the conclusion of an evenly-fought first half, Shane Ronayne’s side roused themselves immediately after the break.
A dogged Waterford’s spirit was finally broken by scores from Laura O’Mahony, Laura Cleary and Katie Quirke (2). Utilising a strengthening wind, Cork moved 1-10 to 1-2 clear once substitute Hannah Looney gathered a Quirke pass and forced the ball over the line after 45 minutes. There was no looking back from here.
From a West Cork point of view, Dohenys’ Melissa Duggan produced another all-action display with Valley Rovers’ Daire Kiely deservedly taking home the player-of-the-match award. Laura O’Mahony scored three fisted points and played superbly in her centre-forward role, while Eimear Kiely made her presence felt once sprung from the bench early in the second half.
Cork star Daire Kiely with her Player of the Match award after an all-action display.
As for the winners, accumulating 1-17 pleased manager Shane Ronayne despite some wayward shooting during the opening 30 minutes.
‘Look, we laid down the gauntlet at half-time about our shooting,’ the Cork boss admitted.
‘Our shooting wasn’t good enough in the first half. We were ponderous on the ball at times up front. In the second half we were excellent, we went after their kick-outs and we were excellent.
‘We would be very happy with a lot of that performance. 1-17 is probably one of our biggest scores in a tight game this year. We would be happy with a lot of it. Most of the time, we were very good, defensively. Had a couple of lapses for the two Waterford goals alright so that is something we will have to work on. Galway will certainly be looking at that and seeing those opportunities. We can’t let those opportunities happen the next day.
‘I think for at least 50 or 60 percent of that game, our tackle count was excellent. We really slowed them down and that is something we have been working on.’
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Emma Murphy fired Waterford ahead from the game’s opening attack but Cork quickly responded. Aoife Healy, Emma Cleary and Laura O’Mahony efforts made it 0-3 to 0-1.
The Déise remained a threat on the counter-attack as evidenced by Clodagh Carroll’s goal-bound strike being pushed away by goalkeeper Sarah Murphy.
Laura O'Mahony was one of Cork's top performers in their emphatic win against Waterford.
Cork looked in control once Abbie O'Mahony split the posts but Waterford found another gear soon after. Emma Murray raised a white flag prior to Katie Murray brilliantly finding the net. The opening half ended with Máire O'Callaghan and Emma Cleary raising white flags after Rachel Leahy’s goal attempt was smothered by an alert Cora Murray.
Down 0-6 to 1-2 at the interval, Waterford’s hopes of an upset were ended by an improved Cork second-half effort.
Four consecutive points were kicked prior to Hannah Looney making an impact off the bench and forcing the ball over the line. Eimear Kiely and Clodagh Carroll exchanged points prior to an Emma Fitzgerald free. Katie Quirke (free) kept Cork’s eight-point lead intact before Laura O’Mahony grabbed her third fisted point of the afternoon.
Both sides were temporarily reduced to 14 players when first, Hannah Power, and then Máire O'Callaghan were issued yellow cards. It mattered little, despite a late Clodagh Carroll consolation goal, as Cork saw out the remaining time and deservedly booked their place in the last four of this year’s All-Ireland championship.
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O’Donovan Rossa’s Laura O’Mahony contributed three fisted points in Cork’s victory and was delighted to reach an All-Ireland semi-final.
‘Sometimes my legs leave me down so the hand pass over the bar is a safer option!’ O’Mahony laughed.
‘We went in ahead at half time, obviously there were some aspects we were happy with. Overall, we weren’t happy with how we were playing.
‘We believe our standards are better than what we showed in that first half so we wanted to improve on the things we were doing. It is the business end of the season now so anyone you meet is going to be hard opposition. That’s the whole purpose of this competition – you have to overcome the likes of Galway in order to win it.
‘We are looking forward to the next two weeks of preparation. Obviously, we have momentum, but we cannot take our eyes off the prize of reaching an All-Ireland final either.’
Despite struggling in front of goal during the opening 30 minutes, an impressive second-half performance has Cork one step from an All-Ireland final.
Scorers
Cork: H Looney 1-1; E Cleary 0-4; K Quirke (1f), L O’Mahony 0-3 each; A Healy, A O’Mahony, M O’Callaghan, E Kiely, S McGoldrick, L McDonagh (1f) 0-1 each.
Waterford: C Carroll 1-1; K Murray 1-0; E Murray 0-2; E Fitzgerald (1f) 0-1.
Cork: S Murphy; M Duggan, S Kelly, S Leahy; A Healy, S Cronin, D Kelly; M O’Callaghan, A O’Mahony; E Cleary, L O’Mahony, A McDonagh; A McAuliffe, K Quirke, R Leahy.
Subs: H Looney for A O’Mahony (40), E Kiely for A McAuliffe (40), S McGoldrick for S Cronin (47), A Ryan for A Healy (47), L McDonagh for K Quirke (53).
Waterford: E O’Brien; C Murray, H Power, K McGrath; A Murray, A McNulty, E Murray; E Power, C Carroll; M Comerford, A Fitzgerald, N Power; E Fitzgerald, L McGregor, K Murray.
Subs: C McCarthy for N Power (49), A Waring for K Mullen (51), L O’Shea for L McGregor (55).
Referee: J Murphy (Carlow).
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