Glen Dimplex Senior All Ireland Championship 3rd Round
Kilkenny 1-19
Dublin 1-14
Aoife Lanigan, PRO
Kilkenny delivered a great team performance on Saturday when they beat a stubborn Dublin for the third time this year
The Cats responded to their defeat to Waterford in the previous round with a crucial five-point win keeping their All Ireland hopes a float
Before the match, manager Tommy Shefflin made some positional changes to his side. Laura Murphy was moved to Centre-Back with Steffi Fitzgerald going to Centre-Forward & Katie Power to Full-Forward, while Sarah Barcoe & Sophie Holden came into the fold. The move of Katie Power to Full-Forward was a catalyst in the winning of the game
With Laura Murphy moved into the backs, Aoife Prendergast was on free taking duty and she had a great day, scoring 1-11 (8f)
Dublin’s midfielder Gaby Couch opened the scoring with a point from play before Aoife Prendergast slotted over a free for Kilkenny two minutes later. While Aisling Gannon tacked on Dublin’s second point
Kilkenny then hit five unanswered points through Sophie Holden, Aoife Prendergast (3f) & Mary O’Connell. Aoife McKearney scored a point from a place ball for the homeside to leave the score 0-6 to 0-3 in Kilkenny’s favour after 15 minutes
Kilkenny struck a decisive blow two minutes later, when Prendergast latched onto Sophie Holden’s diagonal ball before cooly slotting to the net. Aisling O’Neill & Katie Power traded points
Prendergast added another two points for Kilkenny. Dublin’s speedy forward, Aisling O’Neill & Aoife McKearney scored a point each for the homeside while Sarah Barcoe & Prendergast added a point each for Kilkenny to leave the interval score 1-11 to 0-6 in favour of the visitors
Going in eight points down at the break looked daunting for the Dubs, but their task became a little more manageable when Niamh Gannon found Aisling O’Neill, who got inside the Kilkenny defence and drove the sliotar into the net. Aisling Gannon then added a point for the homeside but Kilkenny’s response was emphatic however, as they bagged three of the next four scorers via Steffi Fitzgerald and brace from Prendergast
Aoife McKearney added two points for the Dubs with Grace O’Shea also adding a point for the homeside to narrow the gap to four points but Mary O’Connell & Steffi Fitzgerald slotted over a point each for the Cats
Grace O’Shea scored another point for Dublin to keep them going. Prendergast then slotted over two points, but Dublin’s effort was unrelenting with O’Neill, Sinead Wylde & Aine Rafter cutting the gap to four points again. However, Katie Power’s injury time point saw Kilkenny come out on top by five points
Kilkenny now play Galway in the last group game on June 21
Teams: Kilkenny: Aoife Norris, Michelle Teehan, Tiffanie Fitzgerald, Ciara Phelan, Niamh Deely, Laura Murphy, Caoimhe Dowling, Aobha O’Gorman, Laura Greene, Mary O’Connell, Steffie Fitzgerald, Sarah Barcoe, Sophie Holden, Katie Power (Capt), Aoife Prendergast
Subs – Caoimhe Keher Murtagh for Sarah Barcoe, Kellyann Doyle for Mary O’Connell, Ava Brett for Aobha O’Gorman, Katie Nolan for Sophie Holden, Ali Kennedy, Miriam Bambrick, Danielle Quigley, Asha McHardy, Carlise Comerford, Maria Brennan, Sophie O’Dwyer, Sinead O’Keeffe, Mairead Kennedy, Claire Doheny, Niamh Crowley
Dublin: Eimear Hurley, Abby Ryan, Emma O’Byrne, Hannah Leddy, Claire Gannon, Kerrie Finnegan, Christine Shanahan, Gaby Couch, Sibeal Cherry, Niamh Gannon, Sinead Wylde, Aoife McKearney, Aisling O’Neill, Aisling Gannon, Grace O’Shea
Subs – Aoife Heffernan for Aoife McKearney, Aine Rafter for Gaby Couch, Jennifer Moore for Sibeal Cherry, Amy Gorman, Aisling Maher, Emma Flanagan, Zoe Couch, Aoife Kenny, Roisin Ni Chathasaigh, Grainne Skelton, Eve O’Brien
Referee – Donnacha O’Callaghan (Limerick)
By PRO Wed 11th Jun
