Áine O'Neill, Waterford, and Jess Tobin, Dublin, in action at Dungarvan. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Kerry manager Mark Bourke praised his side for their second-half display which them get on top and defeat Mayo by 0-13 to 1-4 to get the defence of their TG4 All-Ireland SFC crown off to a winning start.
“We had a frank discussion about things at half time,” said Bourke. “I don’t know do we always leave it to the second half. That seems to be the way it’s going this year. It just wasn’t enough at half time. They had a look at themselves and pulled themselves up by the socks and I thought we did much better in the second half.
Danielle O’Leary came on to shoot four points off the bench, while Siofra O’Shea also hit four at Austin Stack Park.
A goal from Clodagh Keane meant that Mayo only trailed by 0-7 to 1-3 at the interval but the champions got on top after the restart to carve out victory.
“I want them to go 100 miles an hour from the start and leave no stone unturned but I suppose in all fairness they were better than what they showed in that first half, and they showed it in the second,” added Bourke.
“Everyone thinks that because you have the wind you are going to shoot the lights out but you have to give the right ball with the wind and Austin Stack Park can be a graveyard for teams that assume that they are going to win because they have the wind.”
Mayo manager Liam McHale said he was disappointed they didn’t push on after the restart.
“The first half was the best football we’ve played all year. It’s been a struggle for us. We lost a lot of players. I was excited at half time and I thought that we had a great chance. We came down here and drew in the league with Kerry last year and you’re thinking do we have a style of play that doesn’t suit them.
“We would have expected to score five or six points in the second half because Kerry, as good and all as they are, weren’t going to get any easy scores against the wind but we just didn’t get going and it’s been happening all year.”
Connacht champions Galway began their campaign with an impressive second quarter in Tuam Stadium to run out comfortable nine point victors over Tipperary.
The Tribeswomen did the damage with 1-8 unanswered, including Leanne Coen’s goal, to lead 1-10 to 0-1 at half-time but Tipperary put in a much improved second half display.
“I think our first half performance was excellent,” said Galway manager Daniel Moynihan. “The work rate, the drive, the pressure we put on Tipperary was exceptional. So, was very happy to have that cushion going into that second half. Most of the work was done in the first half. Probably slightly disappointed with that second half performance. We didn’t get going at all.”
We’re happy enough with the second half,” said Tipperary manager Ed Burke. “But we can’t spend 20 minutes sitting on our toes and having no intensity in the first half. You’re going to get punished by very good teams like Galway.”
Meath came from four points down with three minutes remaining to earn a dramatic 3-8 to 2-11 draw with Armagh in Navan.
They were level at 2-4 to 1-7 at the break with Vikki Wall and Aoibhín Cleary getting the goals for Meath either side of Aoife McCoy’s goal for Armagh.
A goal from Kelly Mallon put Armagh in the driving seat but Meath rallied in the dying moments and a goal from Shauna Ennis was followed by the equalising point from Wall.
“We kept fighting until the end which was great,” said Meath captain Cleary who got that late goal. “It was great to comeback to get that draw after Armagh had been leading for the majority of the second half. We would’ve liked to have pushed on in the last few seconds to get another score on the board.”
Armagh joint manager Darnell Parkinson rued their misfortune not to close out the win with an understrength side. “There is nothing but pride here within this group. I think this week we must’ve broke mirrors or ran over a black cat! This is just a testament to the girls in the group. Even with the amount of players out we are still able to put that performance in.”
There was another draw in Sunday’s Group 4 tie, with Dublin coming from behind to secure a share of the spoils with Waterford in Dungarvan as they finished 1-13 apiece.
Kate Sullivan salvaged a draw for Dublin against a Waterford team who had never beaten them in the championship with an equaliser in the dying seconds.
A bizarre own goal from Dublin defender Sinead Goldrick saw Waterford enjoy a 1-6 to 0-7 advantage at half time. A goal from Hannah Tyrrell levelled the game early in the second half but Waterford responded and led by two points in the dying moments.
Dublin did not panic and after a free from Tyrrell reduced the margin to the minimum, Sullivan snatched a draw at the death.
“Disappointed that we didn't see it out,” said Waterford manager Tomás Mac a t’Saoir. “We were ahead for a lot of the second half. We squeaked ahead towards the latter stages. We were two points up, we just didn't get over the line. A couple of decisions in the second half didn't fall our way but that's football. It will swing around the other way in future matches."
Dublin joint manager Paul Casey said they did well to salvage a draw in the end.
"We're extremely relieved. One thing we always ask this group is to fight to the end and they did that today. We've lots of hard work to do, lots of improving. We know that was nowhere near the best of our ability. We're delighted to get out with a point; definitely Waterford were the better team there today. We'll go back up the road and look forward to Leitrim next week,” said Casey.
Meanwhile, in the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, Laois, Westmeath, Tyrone, Clare and Wexford are through to the quarter-finals.
Laois will top Group 1, with a shootout between Fermanagh and Roscommon for the second spot in the group.
In Group 2 Westmeath and Tyrone are both through to quarter finals as both have beaten Down but it's a case of who tops the group next week.
It’s all to play for in Group 3 where Monaghan and Cavan have a win each.
Clare and Wexford are both through to quarter finals as both have beaten Offaly in Group 4 - again it's a case of who tops the group.
And in the TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship, there were Group A victories for Sligo and Louth, as Carlow defeated London in Group B on Saturday.
Also on Sunday, Cork, Dublin, Tipperary and Armagh claimed the All-Ireland U14 Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze titles respectively.
RESULTS
TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship
Group 1: Galway 1-13 Tipperary 0-7
Group 2: Kerry 0-13 Mayo 1-4
Group 3: Meath 3-8 Armagh 2-11
Group 4: Waterford 1-13 Dublin 1-13
TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship
Group 1: Laois 2-9 Fermanagh 0-7
Group 2: Tyrone 1-14 Down 2-8
Group 3: Cavan 1-20 Wicklow 0-4
Group 4: Wexford 3-10 Offaly 0-2
TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship
Group A: Sligo 7-28 Kilkenny 0-2
Group A: Louth 2-7 Limerick 0-9
Group B: Carlow 7-09 London 0-4
