Dublin 2-16; Meath 0-10
If Kerry were out of the blocks like a greyhound the previous Sunday, then Dublin were not far behind as “hares” last weekend as they too worked to the philosophy that a good start in an All-Ireland final can be all the battle.
With over 48,000 fans in Croke Park on Sunday, there was a great setting for the match but unfortunately for Meath, the Dublin hare set too fast a pace and they were always playing catch-up during the game.
While 2-16 is a fine score in football, even more credit must go to the winners’ rearguard who tackled tenaciously in twos and threes to ensure that the influence of star turns Vicki Wall and Emma Duggan was kept to a minimum. Indeed the Royalettes had to wait until the turnover to get their first score from playing, having had four frees as their only return in a first half which Dublin dominated through speed, skill and sheer will to get to every ball first.
This Dublin win gave seven titles to the Metropolitans who were missing a host of injured stars including Jennifer Dunne and Lauren Magee, who would have played central roles had they been available for selection. It augurs well for the Dublin management of Paul Casey and Derek Murray, who should well believe they are starting on a run - rather than seeing this as a victory in isolation.
The ability to peak for the final is a gift that Kerry possess in football and Dublin ladies seem adept at as they had struggled to get past Waterford and Galway in the closing stages with the retiring star Hannah Tyrrell’s free needed to get to extra time against Galway before going on to win and qualify for the final.
The game was done and dusted by the short whistle with the girls in blue 11 points to the good - 2-9 to 0-4.
Meath in fairness tried to rally and scored the first three points of the moiety but then Dublin settled and got back on the scoring path again, ultimately winning by 12 points.
Skipper Carla Rowe led from the front and was a constant thorn to the Royal defense as well as scoring four points, her third following a dummy shot and turn onto the left, was one of the scores of the season.
Two lesser names, Eilish O'Dowd and Player of the Match Orlagh Nolan, played out of their skins on the big occasion when goals from Nicole Owens and Niamh Hetherton lifted their teammates at vital times of the game.
The two sides had already met twice this season with Dublin winning on both occasions - by 16 points in the league in March and seven in the Provincial championship group game.
A big loss for the Dubs going forward will be the decision of their top scorer Hannah Tyrrell to hang up her boots after scoring 8-33 in the seven games of the championship or over 0-8 per game.
She suffered a leg injury near the end which saw her substituted but was fine to enjoy the celebrations afterwards.
Hannah has had a varied career and was on the Ireland rugby team that won the Six Nations 10 years ago, and also played at the Rugby World Cup in 2017.
She now is the holder of two All-Irelands with the Dubs. “How lucky am I? I've been lucky enough to be from Dublin, to get to play for Dublin, finish my career at Croke Park, go out on a high, I'm privileged.
“I'm privileged to be from this wonderful county and represent all these people. I'm looking forward to what's ahead. I was determined to walk off on my own two feet. It was going to be my last time in Croke Park,” she explained.
She went on: “It's obviously just amazing for us. We got the fast start we wanted and I thought our backs were absolutely incredible, giving us the platform to go on and perform. We knew Meath would come after us and they did in fairness to them, but as I said our backs were brilliant, really stepped and we just kept clipping [over] the scores. The last few minutes were a bit of blur for me really, but it was great to finish it off like that."
Another retiree is goalscorer Nicole Owens, who overcame two ACL injuries in her career, making this All-Ireland victory so much sweeter.
“|The big thing for me today was to try and come in and enjoy it as much as possible. And I did. I enjoyed the parade, I enjoyed everything around it,” she told RTE afterwards.
Dublin: A Shiels; N Donlon, L Caffrey, J Tobin; S Goldrick, M Byrne, N Crowley (0-1); E O'Dowd, H McGinnis; N Owens (1-0), C Rowe (0-4, 0-2f), O Nolan (0-1); HannahTyrrell (0-5, 0-3f), N Hetherton (1-1), K Sullivan (0-4) Subs: S McIntyre for Owens 48, A Kane for McGinnis 50, H Leahy for Donlon 53, L Grendon for Tyrrell 54, C Darby for Sullivan 56.
Meath: R Murray; K Kealy, M Lynch, A Sheridan; S Ennis, S Wall, A Cleary (0-1); O Sheehy, M Farrelly; M Thynne, N Gallogly, C Smyth (0-1); K Cole, V Wall (0-1), E Duggan (0-7, 0-6f) Subs: K Bermingham for Farrelly 24, Farrelly for Ennis 42, E Moyles for Sheehy 42, N McEntee for Cole 48, C Lawlor for Kealy 50.
Ref: G Chapman (Sligo).
