Cork land 31st All-Ireland camogie title after superb second half against Galway
REBEL YELL: The Cork team celebrate with the O'Duffy Cup after the match at Croke Park after beating Galway. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie
In front of a record-breaking attendance of 33,419, Cork regained the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland title after a heart-stopping five minutes of added time where they had to withstand a late Galway rally before a stunning victory.
Against all the odds after losing so many key players before the season, Cork are champions again, for the 31st time. They had a slow start but were superb in the second half, powering two goals ahead after stunning strikes by Saoirse McCarthy and Orlaith Cahalane. Up 2-14 to 0-14 after 57 minutes, Galway scored the last five points, including a goal-bound free in the last play which keeper Sarah Healy came up to take but got under to slam it over the bar.
The final whistle went on that note, Ger Manley's side deservedly holding on to reverse last year's defeat which denied the Rebels three in a row.
Cork looked nervous in the opening minutes before Niamh Niland split the posts. Frees from Amy O'Connor and Saoirse McCarthy edged Cork in front but Galway responded well with two Caoimhe Kelly points and one from Carrie Dolan.
Meabh Murphy and Ciara Hickey operated as sweepers but Galway were still finding it easier to score from play in the first 30 minutes. The tension was high and there was a lot of high tackling and heavy hits. Galway captain Carrie Dolan saw yellow after 16 minutes following a high challenge on Millie Condon.
McCarthy converted the resulting free and a Sorcha McCartan point levelled. Cork were twice turned over as Dolan and Niland grabbed the initiative.
Amy O'Connor pointed a free after another heavy hit on Laura Hayes, but McCartan slotted over from an acute angle to level matters for the third time.
Galway were looking sharper and their experience was showing. Aoife O'Donoghue, Dolan and Caoimhe Kelly had them 0-9 to 0-6 in front before another O'Connor free two minutes into added time.
Cathal Murray's side could have been more than two points up given their intensity, work-rate and classy scores.
Cork hit the ground running on the restart though. Emma Murphy and Hayes tied it up again within three minutes. Now pressing hard, Cork were asking big questions of Galway's defence.
Dolan pointed Orlaith Cahalane traded scores to leave it 0-11 each.
Goals win game and Cork snatched two in the space of six minutes.
The first came after Saoirse McCarthy grabbed a long Amy Lee delivery, turned down an easy point and fired a rasper past Shauna Healy to give Cork a lead they held to the finish.
Now playing with confidence, this young Cork side went for it. Niland, sister of Galway hurlers Aaron and Evan, pulled a point back, but, gathering another long Lee pass, Orlaith Cahalane finished to the net after a terrific first touch.
O'Connor nailed another free and McCartan's fourth from play pushed Cork six in front.
Niland and McCarthy swapped points after Dolan turned an easy point from a free to chase a goal. That turned out to be a mistake because Galway threw everything they had at Cork defence and four successive points had the margin at two in the final minute of added time.
Cork worked the puck-out up the pitch cleverly but then lost possession in the middle third which ended with the free just outside the arc. Lee was summoned to try and blast a match-winning goal with every other player in front of the sliotar.
To the Rebels' relief, her shot was too hard and rose over the bar for a point that didn't deny Cork an All-Ireland title that looked highly unlikely back in the spring when their new-look side was in a league relegation battle.
S McCarthy 1-2 (0-1 f), A O'Connor 0-5 f, S McCartan 0-4, O Cahalane 1-1, E Murphy, L Hayes 0-1each.
C Dolan 0-5 (0-4 f), N Niland 0-4, A O'Donoghue, C Kelly 0-3 each, D Higgins, N McPeake, M Dillon, Sarah Healy (f) 0-1 each.
A Lee; I O'Regan, L Coppinger, M Cahalane (c); A Fitzgerald, M Murphy, I Sheehan; A Thompson, L Hayes; E Murphy, S McCarthy, M Condon; A O'Connor, O Cahalane, S McCartan.
O Mullins for E Murphy (55), H Ryan for S McCartan (60).
S Healy; R Hanniffy, R Black, D Higgins; K Manning, C Hickey, KA Porter; A Hesnan, C Dolan (c); N Mallon, N McPeake, A Donohue; N Niland, A O'Reilly, C Kelly.
J Hughes for N Mallon (17 inj), S Healy for K Mannion (40), A Keane for C Hickey (45 inj), M Dillon for A O'Reilly (52), S Corcoran for J Hughes (57).
Gavin Donegan (Dublin).
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