In the Munster LGFA Senior Championship, Kerry emerged as the victors against Cork, winning by 2-15 to 0-13. This marked their first title victory since 2017. The game was initially in favour of Cork, however, Kerry was quick to retaliate with a crucial goal from Emma Dineen just prior to half-time.
Later into the game, Dineen managed to secure a second goal, providing Kerry a significant lead with just nine minutes remaining. This effectively eliminated any chances of Cork’s recovery. Danielle O’Leary, obtaining an impressive 10 points, played a crucial role in Kerry’s victory and also won the player of the match award. O’Leary opened the score for Kerry and managed to double their lead after a short break due to an on-field injury.
Cork, on the other hand, struggled to kick-start their game due to Kerry’s exceptional defensive efforts. They managed to score their first point at the 14th minute mark through Katie Quirke, and soon followed up with a second from Rachel Leahy. After 16 minutes, Cork succeeded in levelling terms, Faith in player Melissa Duggan restoring as she bagged a goal. For the first time in the match, Cork took the lead after Quirke scored a free.
Cork then further extended their lead, and were evidently enjoying their gameplay. However, towards the end of the first half, Kerry turned the tide as Emma Dineen scored off of Katie Brosnan’s assist, narrowing the margin to 0-10 to 1-4 in Cork’s favour at half-time.
In the initial half, O’Leary was the sole player to score for Kerry. As the second half kick-started, O’Leary not only scored again, but Lydia McDonagh also managed to score for Cork. O’Leary then played a crucial role in bridging the gap between the teams by scoring another point.
Eventually, after 40 elapsed minutes, O’Leary helped to equalise scores, and shortly after that, managed to put Kerry back in the lead after a long wait since the 16th minute with another point.
Post the 39th minute, Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh was introduced in the game and managed to score for Kerry, becoming the first player apart from O’Leary to do so.
As the game progressed, O’Leary scored her ninth point for Kerry and Niamh Carmody also contributed. This lifted Kerry’s score to 1-11, giving them a significant lead over Cork’s 0-11 at the end of 49 minutes.
Following 51 minutes of play, Kerry moved a step closer to victory as Dineen scored Kerry’s and her own second goal of the match, extending Kerry’s lead further to 2-11. In spite of Quirke’s efforts to score for Cork, the clock was against them as Ní Mhuircheartaigh and Carmody racked up more points for Kerry.
The last score was achieved by Ní Mhuircheartaigh, earning Kerry their first victory since 2017.
The team Kerry comprised of ME Bolger; E Lynch, K Chronin, C Murphy; A O’Connell, E Dineen (2-0), E O’Connor; M O’Connell, A Galvin; N Carmody (0-2), N Ní Chonchúir, D Kearney; K Brosnan, D O’Leary (0-10, one free), L Scanlon, with key substitutions including C Butler (for ME Bolger), A Harrington (for E O’Connor) and L Ní Mhuircheartaigh for K Brosnan after 39 minutes, and A Dillane replacing N Ni Chonchuir in the 60th minute.
The Cork team line-up featured S Murphy; M Duggan, who scored 0-1; D Kiniry; and A Ryan. Others included S Leahy, A Healy, who also netted 0-1, and D Kiely. M O’Callaghan, A O’Mahony, E Cleary, and L O’Mahony, who brought in 0-2, were also in the mix. A McDonagh, L McDonagh, with his own 0-1, and K Quirke, with an impressive 0-7, five of them frees, joined R Leahy, contributing 0-1. S McGoldrick substituted S Leahy after 39 minutes, K O’Driscoll replaced A McDonagh after 42, S Kelly stepped in for A O’Mahony at 44 minutes, L Hallihan took over from L McDonagh at 52 , and finally, S O’Leary swapped with D Kiely in the 58th minute. The match referee was Paddy Smith from Waterford.