Galway 2-8
Cork 1-5
DAIRE WALSH REPORTS
LYNSEY Noone and player of the match Roisin Leonard bagged second-half goals at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon as Galway came from behind against Cork to secure the Lidl National Football League Division 2 title.
A TG4 All Star winner in 2024, Katie Quirke had provided Cork with a perfect start to the action when she drilled a low shot to the bottom right-hand corner of the Galway net in the third minute. Although Leonard got Daniel Moynihan’s westerners up and running with a pointed free, their Leeside counterparts moved four points clear with back-to-back efforts from Quirke and centre-forward Laura O’Mahony.
Hannah Looney of Cork in action against Aoife Ní Cheallaigh of Galway during the Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 2 final. (Photo: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile)
Galway kept in touch courtesy of a 0-2 salvo by the reliable Leonard – including a majestic long-distance strike off the ground – only for Quirke’s second successful free of half to propel Cork into a 1-3 to 0-3 lead at the end of a low-scoring opening period. Yet this was a long way off being an unassailable deficit and a highly-motivated Galway swung the pendulum in their favour within two minutes of the restart.
Moments after Ailbhe Davoren had kicked a point at a left-hand angle, Lynsey Noone (one of six players from AIB All-Ireland senior club football champions Kilkerrin-Clonberne in Galway’s starting line-up) impressively fired beyond the reach of Cork netminder Sarah Murphy for a 32nd minute goal.
The Leesiders twice got themselves on level terms with points from Emma Cleary and Quirke either side of another place-ball contribution by Leonard, before Galway subsequently pounced for their second goal just shy of the third-quarter.
Following a neat dispossession by Kate Slevin on opposition custodian Murphy, Corofin attacker Leonard clinically rifled the ball to the back of the net and this score was immediately supplemented by a well-taken Olivia Divilly point.
This left their Munster rivals with a mountain to climb and after Aoife Healy (one of three players in the Cork team who is in line to feature in a camogie league final against the same county tomorrow) was sin-binned on 48 minutes, Galway were very much in the driving seat at Jones’ Road.
As the final whistle approached, wing-back Hannah Noone got forward for an excellent point and with Leonard pointing a late free to bring her final tally to 1-5, Galway ultimately sealed their first Division 2 title since 2014 in fine style.
Scorers – Galway: R Leonard 1-5 (0-5f), L Noone 1-0, H Noone, O Divilly, A Davoren 0-1 each. Cork: K Quirke 1-3 (0-3f), L O’Mahony, E Cleary 0-1 each.
GALWAY: D Gower; A Ní Cheallaigh, S Ní Loingsigh, K Geraghty; H Noone, N Ward, C Trill; L Ward, S Divilly; O Divilly, S Hynes, A Davoren; L Noone, R Leonard, K Slevin. Subs: E Noone for Hynes, L Coen for Davoren (both 41), K Thompson for L Noone (44), B Quinn for Trill (51), C Cooney for Slevin (54).
CORK: S Murphy; D Kiniry, S Kelly, M Duggan; E O’Shea, S Leahy, R Corkery; A Corcoran, A Healy; A O’Mahony, L O’Mahony, E Cleary; H Looney, L Coppinger, K Quirke. Subs: S Cronin for Corcoran (39), A O’Sullivan for Coppinger (43), A Ring for O’Mahony (48), L Hallihan for Cleary (56), A Ryan for (58).
Referee: Philip Conway (Armagh).
