Determined Galway ladies footballers settle old score

GALWAY  0-17

 MONAGHAN  0-14

GALWAY edged out Monaghan in a cracker at St. Brendan’s Park in Birr on Saturday to reach the last four of the All-Ireland ladies football championship thanks to a spirited second half display, with ten different Galway players on the scoresheet.

Kevin Reidy’s charges settled an old score with the Ulster side, the latest of which was last year’s All-Ireland semi-final. Now Galway are back there again – this time facing a much-fancied Dublin outfit on Saturday.

Galway’s healthy mix  of youth and experience came to the fore once again, with Louise Ward causing Monaghan all sorts of problems and Olivia Divilly impressing off the bench, with the experience of Annette Clarke, Emer Flaherty, Aoibheann Daly and Lorna Joyce also proving priceless.

The Farney girls started brightly when Ciara McAnespie split the posts after 25 seconds to mark their early intent, before Barbara Hannon squared the game with a well-taken Galway score.

Therese McNally-Scott and Cathríona McConnell then gave Monaghan a two-point cushion, before they were controversially awarded a penalty on seven minutes when Noelle Connolly was judged to have foot-blocked a shot from McConnell.

Galway will feel justice was done when Monaghan ’keeper Linda Martin’s low kick sailed wide to the left of the posts, missing out on a golden chance to go five ahead early on. The forever dangerous Caitríona Cormican and Ellen McCarron swapped scores before Niamh Kindlon restored Monaghan’s two-point advantage.

However a Galway purple patch saw Kevin Reidy’s charges turn the game on its head in the space of five minutes, with Louise Ward, Lorna Joyce, Geraldine Conneally and Lucy Hannon putting Galway 0-6 to 0-5 ahead.

Both sides were then reduced to 14 in the space of two minutes, with Monaghan’s Cora Courtney for charging on Nicola Ward and she was soon joined by Geraldine Conneally for her heavy challenge on McNally-Scott.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

Kindlon levelled the game at 0-6 each for her second score of the afternoon but Galway stalwart Annette Clarke ensured the Connacht champions held a slender 0-7 to 0-6 advantage when she sailed over a late free on the buzzer.