Mayo women end decade of misery

The storied corridors of the Hogan stand echoed their last yesterday and to the sounds of an emerging voice as Mayo, a county accustomed to heartbreak at this venue, took its first women's All-Ireland title from a team that had set the standard for the sport. The westerners simply out-ran and outgunned a Waterford team that lacked the dash and incision which had formed the bedrock of their pre-eminent position in the women's game for most of this decade.

It wasn't the exhibition of open play and skill that had been anticipated; in keeping with the men's competition over the summer, this was a game of frequent fouling and low scoring.

Mayo, though, were true to their promise and rushed at Waterford with renewed intensity in the second half, having stolen the momentum in the dying seconds of the initial 30 minutes. For a 15-minute period after the break, they overwhelmed their fancied opponents, steaming into an 0-9 to 0-4 lead after 34 minutes and while character alone saw Waterford slash into that gap, eventually cutting it to just one, there was a poise to Mayo which belied their youth.

Central to their cohesiveness were Christina Heffernan, the 22-year-old midfielder who stretched the Waterford defence with long, perceptive balls and Diane O'Hora, the nippy captain who fired three points from play in the second half.

While the attack was, as usual, enterprising - Sinead Costello linked brilliantly with O'Hora and Sabrina Bailey broke free for an invaluable point seconds before the interval - the victory was founded on solid defence.

Full back Helena Lohan was a revelation at full back, rock solid under the dropping ball and generally imposing, while Nuala O She got to grips with the troublesome Geraldine O'Ryan, who did much to keep Waterford hopes pulsing.

The defending champions opted for a dramatic restructure at the throw in, with full back Annalisa Crotty operating at midfield and full forward Claire Ryan dropping back to the wing. The result seemed to throw both teams; eight minutes passed before a score was registered, this a Claire Ryan point.

Waterford's most productive period followed, with Geraldine O'Ryan a live wire in the corner and Crotty's athleticism telling down the middle. The first half was still young when Mayo goalkeeper Denise Horan executed a double save from Aine Wall and Julianne Torpey. Only after Heffernan tapped over their first score - a free after 13 minutes - did Mayo begin to play with the fearlessness which carried them to this stage.

And although Waterford were steady early on, at no stage did they illustrate the dynamism of old. They had problems at centrefield; Mayo's Clare Egan picked up where Heffernan left off at half-time, fetching at will and driving clever ball for the Costello and Marie Staunton to race onto.

Six minutes into the second half, they were putting distance between themselves and Waterford on adrenalin alone, with corner back Imelda Mullarkey finishing off a sweet sequence which left the scores at 0-9 to 0-4.

That provoked a stately Waterford response, with Olivia Condon and Martina O'Ryan turning enough possession for Geraldine O'Ryan and Niamh Barry to translate into scores. A fine, curling shot by Barry afer 48 minutes left them trailing by just 0-9 to 0-8 and it seemed as if they had weathered the storm.

Mayo's subsequent response again underlined the value of youth; whereas older teams might have got spooked at such a swift erosion of their lead, they simply set about rebuilding it.

They succeeded with surprising ease; Heffernan again pitching a measured ball for Costello to switch to O'Hora who nonchalantly delivered. Same story five minutes later and Mayo had three chances to push themselves into the comfort zone before Costello brought them to the threshold of dreamland with two minutes remaining.

These Mayo women then, end a decade of misery for the county's GAA fans - nine All-Ireland finals in 10 years had been lost by Mayo sides at Croke Park prior to yesterday. None of that mattered when O'Hora became the last GAA player to file up the fabled stairs to address the crowd from the Hogan stand, which will be no more by this evening.

MAYO: D Horan; N O She, H Lohan, I Mullarkey (0-1); M Heffernan, Y Byrne, N Lally; C Egan, C Heffernan (0-4, frees); M Staunton; C Staunton, S Costello; D O'Hora (0-5, 2 frees), S Bailey (0-1), M O'Malley. Subs: O Casby for C Staunton (1 min, inj); S Gibbons for M O'Malley (54 mins).

WATERFORD: S Hickey; T Whyte, A Crotty, N Walsh; M Troy, S O'Ryan, J Torpey (0-1); M O'Ryan, O Condon; F Crotty, M O'Donnell, N Barry (0-2); A Wall, C Ryan (0-2, 1 free), G O'Ryan (0-3). Subs: B Nagle for F Crotty (39 mins); P Walsh for M O'Ryan (53 mins).