Ladies prove no match for the Kingdom
Kildare’s Alannah Prizeman and Molly Aspell after the game against Kerry in Cedral St Conleths Park Photo: ©INPHO/George Dawson
Kildare succumbed to a far superior Kerry side in their opening game in Group 2 of the TG4 Ladies All Ireland Senior Football Championship in part one of the double-header at Cedral St Conleth’s Park on Saturday afternoon.
With a win against Tipperary behind them already, the Kingdom were far more clinical than their hosts in a wind-assisted opening half and a well-finished goal from Danielle O’Leary midway through the half helped them to a convincing 1-9 to 0-3 interval advantage.
Kildare, for their part, after a four-week break since coming close to dethroning Dublin in the Leinster final, struggled to get to the pitch of the game in the first half with manager Pat Sullivan ruing the number of turnovers they coughed up in the opposition half.
They could only muster points from Aoife Rattigan, Molly Aspell and Alannah Prizeman in the opening period.
Half-chances came and went for goals with the lively Aoife Murnane unable to control the ball after rounding her marker and Gillian Wheeler shooting straight at ‘keeper Mary Ellen Bolger after doing well to force the opening. A missed thirteen metre free from Rattigan summed up how far Kildare were from their best.
Kildare needed a fast start to the second half to get the large crowd behind them, but it was Kerry who pushed on as they outscored the home side four points to one (Rattigan free) to go 1-13 to 0-4 ahead.
Aspell, one of the better Kildare players on the day, got forward for two more points before the finish, the second a fine, curling effort from long range just inside the post and the third coming from her own interception in defence and a one-two with Prizeman, while Rattigan added two more of her own.
But it was all academic as Kerry continued to keep the scoreboard ticking at the other end, the Kingdom remarkably ending the day without having kicked a single wide.
Kildare face a huge battle to recover in time for a winner-takes-all battle with Tipperary in the Premier County next weekend, their opponents having lost by 2-16 to 0-4 in the group opener last week.
Mary Ellen Bolger; Roisín Rahilly 0-1, Deirdre Kearney, Eilis Lynch; Aishling O’Connell 0-1, Emma Costello 0-1, Aoife Dillane; Anna Galvin, Mary O’Connell 0-1; Niamh Carmody 0-2, Niamh Ni Conchúir 0-1, Caoimhe Evans; Jadyn Lacey 0-2, Danielle O’Leary 1-3, Siofra O’Shea 0-6 (4fs). Subs: Leah McMahon for Lacey 50, Eabha Ní Laighin for O’Connell 50, Niamh Quinn for Evans 52, Mikala Mulvihill for Ní Conchúir 55, Kiera Furey 0-1 for Kearney 57.
Corla Nallen; Meabh McDonagh, Emma Wheeler, Lisa Shaw; Hazel McLoughlin, Ruth Sargent, Laoise Lenehan; Nanci Murphy, Gillian Wheeler; Lara Curran, Jessica Harney, Molly Aspell 0-3; Aoife Rattigan 0-4 (2fs), Aoife Murnane, Alannah Prizeman 0-1. Subs: Maya Doyle for McDonagh 39, Abaigh Cahill for Murphy 48, Amy Mahon for Shaw 48, Lia Reilly for Harney 51, Siofra Galvin for Curran 51.
Conor McCarthy (Cork).
