Galway dish out heavy defeat to a hapless Dublin

Galway 2-18Dublin 0-6

Eoghan Cormican In Portmarnock

IN a pointless fixture where the result was never in any real doubt, Galway played their role in furthering the decline of Dublin camogie by handing out an 18 point hammering to their opponents at Portmarnock GAA grounds on Saturday last.

The Tribeswomen were no more than functional for long stretches against a Dublin team no longer able to cope at this level. And while they brought as much energy and effort as they could muster, they lacked the power and experience to match Galway all the way.

In essence, Noel Finn’s charges picked up their fourth win of the campaign without breaking as much as a sweat and, in doing so, join a group of four at the head of the table including Cork, Kilkenny and Wexford.

Indeed, Galway produced a cohesive and polished performance in sweeping aside the challenge of Dublin with Veronica Curtin tallying a hugely impressive 1-3 from play. By the 15th minute, Curtin had bagged 1-2 and this brace added to three points from All Star Brenda Hanney catapulted the victors into an early 1-7 to 0-1 lead.

Dublin offered little or no resistance to Galway’s early onslaught and,consequently, by half time the fixture was all but over as a contest as the visitors led 1-12 to 0-2. In fairness, Dublin improved marginally in the second period, but from a long way out it was a case of keeping the final scoreline within the realms of respectability.

Quite simply, Galway’s skill, speed and movement proved too much for the home side who would be far better served plying their trade at Intermediate level. To put into context, Saturday’s defeat represented the their fifth of the championship. More troubling however, is their losing average which stands at a dismal 14 points per game.

In any event, Orla Kilkenny set the tone for the afternoon with the opening point 32 seconds in. A point subsequently from Dublin full forward Sarah Ryan levelled affairs, but Dublin would fail to score again until just before the interval by which juncture Galway enjoyed a 12 point advantage.

Points from Brenda Hanney and Veronica Curtin signalled their intent before Curtin struck Galway’s first major of the tie. An astute delivery from midfielder Niamh Kilkenny put Curtin in the clear, and showing terrific pace, the corner forward rattled the net to set Galway on their way.

Within minutes Brenda Hanney (2), Martina Conroy (free) and Curtin fired four between the posts to open up a nine point gap. Dublin, on the other hand, were having no such joy going forward as Galway’s defence were quicker off the mark and much sharper in picking up the breaking ball.

 For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.