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DUBLIN are in for a seventh consecutive all-Ireland women’s football final, but not without a fight and not without a troubling injury suffered by captain Sinéad Aherne.
They beat a strong Armagh team, inspired by the excellent Aimee Mackin, 3-13 to 3-8 at Kingspan Breffni Park last night to secure a shot at a fourth consecutive Brendan Martin Cup.
Inspired by Noelle Healy and Carla Rowe, who took on the free-take role of Aherne after the seven-time All Star hobbled away in the first half, Dublin finally walked away, having gone to break level.
Dublin got off to an ideal start.
Just three minutes later, they scored a goal through Nicole Owens, a late addition to Dublin’s attack in place of Niamh McEvoy, after Noelle Healy squared off after a mounting run.
They had their second goal just seven minutes later.
Carla Rowe kicked a point to put Dublin 1-2 to 0-1 up and on the next kick, Lyndsey Davey gained clean possession.
Dublin lunged, methodically directing the ball towards Rowe, who threw a shot out of Anna Carr’s reach.
That put Dublin in a 2-2-0-1 lead and gave them the appearance of complete authority.
Aimee Mackin, who scored 2-7 (2f) against Mayo in Armagh’s last game, was a peripheral figure during that first step, but came to life just as the game seemed to move past Ulster’s side.
On the 15th Within a minute, Mackin caught a ’45 that fell just outside of Dublin Square.
She turned sharply just as Lauren Magee was attempting a challenge and the referee awarded a penalty.
Mackin directed his shot past Ciara Trant and Armagh suddenly had something to work with.
For the most part, they dominated possession and territory for the next 10 minutes, pinning Dublin on their kicks.
On the rare occasions they did manage to make a quick kick in that phase, Armagh was coy on his tackles and forced numerous turnovers.
Healy’s labyrinthine run and sharp finish gave Dublin another boost, but Armagh dominated the final stages of the half.
Worst for Dublin was the loss of Captain Aherne, who was stopped after seeming to hit her knee near the touchline at Breffni Park.
When Aoife McCoy scored a second goal from Armagh, they clearly had the momentum and Dublin required a point right off the horn from Healy to equalize 2-6 to 2-6.
Clearly, Armagh had the firepower to harm Dublin.
But their cause was affected early in the second half, when Clodagh McCambridge was booked for a foul on McEvoy.
Carla Rowe scored the resulting penalty and in the 10th minute Armagh’s numbers were down, Dublin scored 1-4 to 0-1.
Sure enough, that was the victory of the game, but Mackin scored a brilliant second goal to ensure the Irish champions had to stay on their toes before booking their spot in this year’s final on December 20.th.
SCORERS – Dublin: C Rowe 2-4 (1-0 penalty, 0-2 f), N Owens 1-0, N Healy 0-3, L Davey 0-2, S Aherne (f), S McCaffrey, K Sullivan , S Killeen 0-1 each. Armagh: A Mackin 2-4 (1-0 feather, 0-2f), A McCoy 1-0, K Mallon 0-2 (2f), B Mackin, A Marley 0-1 each.
DUBLIN: C Trant; M Byrne, N Collins, A Kane; L. Caffrey, S. McGrath, S. Goldrick; L Magee, J Dunne; C Rowe, L Davey, S McCaffrey; S Aherne, N Owens, M Healy. Subs: S Killeen for Aherne (25 inj), N McEvoy for 12 (ht), K Sullivan for Dunne (53), C O’Connor for Owens (53), O Nolan for Kae (56)
ARMAGH: A Carr; S Marley, C McCambridge, S Gray; T Grimes, B Mackin, G Ferguson; N Coleman, A Bellew; C Marley, A McCoy, A Mackin; C O’Hanlon, K Mallon, E Lavery. Subs: T McVeigh for Ferguson (46), N Reel for Lavery (55)
REFERENCE: G McMahon (May)
Online editors
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