Cork claim first title convincingly

Cork 1-11 Galway 0-8:  Clearly it wasn't good enough for Cork to simply contest their first senior women's final. Not when they'd the chance to make history twice in the same afternoon. As time passed quickly in Croke Park yesterday it became increasingly apparent that all they'd ever thought about was winning - which, in the end, they did very convincingly.

So Cork are crowned All-Ireland women's champions for the first time, which was always the main incentive. Yet, for five members of the team this title rests nicely alongside their All-Ireland camogie title, which they also won in Croke Park last month, making them the first achievers of such a unique double.

Not surprisingly, those taking the senior men's All-Ireland hurling title into account have quickly dubbed this the season of the "Rebel Treble". But if there is nothing like the first time, then the women's footballers will obviously cherish this one completely on its own terms.

A crowd of 23,358 showed up, slightly more than last year, and yet still short of the kind of attendances needed to ensure this final stays at GAA headquarters. The noise and atmosphere wasn't necessarily lacking, yet clearly the women's association have more work to do in promoting the game to the more neutral observer.

Neither team could be criticised in any way for their efforts on the field. While the first half was ominously low scoring, the second half was illuminated by fine scores.

Cork managed to produce them on a far more regular basis, hitting four without replay in the first 15 minutes of the second half, before Valerie Mulcahy's superbly taken penalty around 10 minutes from time effectively ended Galway's chances of retaining the title.

Mulcahy's influence on the game was crucial to Cork's victory. She hit all three of their scores in the first half, including two in the opening two minutes. She later hit a free to calm Cork's nerves as Galway threatened to take over, which in terms of possession they already had.

Still, all Galway could manage in the first half was 0-4, three of which came from the typically industrious Niamh Fahy at full forward. So at 0-4 to 0-3 Galway's advantage was precarious, and Cork sensed it.

Cork raised their game in the second half. Nollaig Cleary finally got on the score sheet and started the reversal of momentum, while substitute Deirdre O'Reilly was quick to make her presence felt and added another. A free from Mulcahy and another point from Cleary had Cork on their way, with Galway having to wait 17 minutes of the half before Philomena Ní Fhlatharta sent over their first score.

If that gave Galway hope, it was short lived. With 51 minutes played Cleary sent a fine ball into O'Reilly, whose path was illegally blocked by the Galway full back. Up stepped Mulcahy as calm as the breeze and placed the penalty with power and accuracy. Cork were now up 1-8 to 0-6, and all they really needed to do was play down the clock.

That they did with remarkable composure, aided in no small part by team captain Juliette Murphy at midfield. By then, their tactic of tireless and often stubborn defending had taken the life out of Galway's game plan. Neither Fahy nor Niamh Duggan got the sort of the ball they normally convert into points - and even goals - and Fahy was frequently forced to come out field in search of possession. That she was held scoreless in the second half is a telling enough statistic in itself.

Cork coach Eamonn Ryan had clearly worked on this game plan well in advance - and there was no prize for guessing where his influences lay. When he was affectionately asked if Tyrone's style of play last week had anything to with it, he first raised a smile.

"Well not consciously," said Ryan, "but when the other team have the ball, we certainly work on everyone becoming defenders. But I don't think that's against the rules. We just worked and worked to get the ball back. . . and did a lot of blocking and a lot of crowding so they couldn't get their shots in."

Cork's half-time deficit was also slight enough to keep Ryan confident: "I knew the scoring was tight, because anyone who was trying to score was under savage pressure.

"I thought if we got any bit of a run at them in the second half we'd a very good chance. Nollaig Cleary wasn't in the game in the first half and I knew if she came good there were some scores there."

Cork's defence benefited most from the experience of the camogie winners, where Angela Walsh, Rena Buckley and Briege Corkery ensured they would share history with Mary O'Connor and Catriona Foley.

CORK: E Harte; B Stack, A Walsh, R Buckley; B Corkery (0-1), C Walsh, S O'Reilly; J Murphy (capt), N Kelly; A Murphy, R Curtin, N Cleary (0-3); V Mulcahy (1-5, three frees, one penalty), C Creedon, G O'Flynn. Subs: M O'Connor for O'Flynn (27 mins), D O'Reilly (0-2) for Creedon (40 mins), A O'Connor for Curtin (54 mins), N Keohane for Murphy (60 mins).

GALWAY: U Carroll; M Glynn, R Stephens, A M McDonough; M O'Connell, A Daly (Capt), E Flaherty; A Clarke, E Concannon; G Conneely, N Duggan (0-2, both frees), P Ní Fhlatharta (0-2); R McPhilbin, N Fahy (0-3), L Joyce. Subs: P Gleeson (0-1) for Joyce (40 mins), C Molloy for McDonough (44 mins), L Coohill for McPhilbin (51 mins).

Referee: Tony Clarke (Dublin).