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Carla Rowe inspired Dublin to reach a seventh consecutive TG4 All-Ireland final after a fierce battle with Armagh at Kingspan Breffni.
Regressive Nicole Owens claimed an early goal for Dublin, while Aimee Mackin scored two goals for her team, including a brilliant second half, but it was Rowe’s brilliant performance from the lead that turned out to be Dublin’s guiding light.
The victory means Dublin’s quest for a fourth straight Ireland title is still underway, and they will face Cork or Galway in the Croke Park final on December 20.
There was a shock before the serve with Owens called up to make his first start since injuring his knee in the summer of 2019, but it didn’t take long for the St. Sylvester player to show her class.
And three minutes into a strong run from Lyndsey Davey was added by Noelle Healy, who saw Owens palm to the net to open the scoring.
Dublin immediately added a Sinéad Aherne free kick, but it would be the only goal for the Dublin captain, who limped off five minutes before half-time with a sore hamstring.
Dublin continued off its good start however, and after Aimee Mackin released Armagh and got going, Owens gave Rowe an assist, and she found the net to give her team a 2-2-0 lead. -1 in the eighth minute.
It was the dream start for Mick Bohan’s team, but they were facing a team galvanized by their resounding victories over Tyrone and Mayo in the group stage.
A Kelly Mallon free put Armagh down again, before Mackin was dragged by Lauren Magee into the square and she dusted herself off and found the bottom corner of Ciara Trant’s net with the resulting penalty.
That goal and Aherne’s loss seemed to inject a bit of doubt into the Dublin team, and three minutes into the break they were rocking again. Armagh’s excellent defense forced a loss and Shauna Gray launched a counterattack, leading Aoife McCoy to overtake Trant to close the gap from 2-05 to 2-04.
An impressive long-range point from Blaithin Mackin and a free-kick from Mallon brought Armagh to the lead for the first time in the 29th minute, but Healy’s third point from the half just before the horn meant the teams were tied at 2 -6 to 2-6 in the interval.
Dublin called on Niamh McEvoy at halftime to boost his attack, and he made a huge impact in the second half, but it was Davey who put him up next to the lead after the break.
An Aimee Mackin free level maters shortly after, but a Clodagh McCambridge foul on McEvoy earned Dublin a penalty, and Rowe converted to the bottom corner. McCambridge was also booked for the incident when Dublin moved a cleared goal.
Rowe and Davey added a point each to stretch Dublin’s lead to five, but with 12 minutes remaining, Mackin gave his team real hope when a rebound allowed him to gain a meter of space and scored his second goal of the game. .
But Dublin’s three-point lead did not concern Dublin and more points from Rowe and substitute Kate Sullivan allowed them to reach the final in three weeks.
Dublin: C Trant; M Byrne, N Collins, L Caffrey; A Kane, S Goldrick, S McGrath; L Magee, J Dunne; S McCaffrey 0-1, L Davey 0-2, C Rowe 2-4 (1-0 down, 2f); S Aherne (c) 0-1 (1f), N Owens 1-0, N Healy0-3. Substitutes: S Killeen 0-1 by Aherne (25), N McEvoy by McCaffrey (ht), K Sullivan 0-1 by Dunne (53), C O’Connor by Owens (53), O Nolan by Kane (56).
Armagh: To Carr; S Marley, C McCambridge, S Gray; T Grimes, B Mackin 0-1, G Ferguson; N Coleman, A Bellew; C Marley 0-1, A McCoy 1-0, C O’Hanlon; E Lavery K Mallon (c) 0-2 (2f), A Mackin 2-4 (1-0 feather, 2f). Subs: T McVeigh for Ferguson (47), N Reel for Lavery (55).
Referee: G McMahon (May).
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