Galway ladies footballers turn attention to Waterford clash
GALWAY Ladies Football manager Daniel Moynihan was very pleased with the result in Tuam Stadium on last Saturday afternoon, which sees his side qualify for the Division One league final.
Moynihan was satisfied with the performance of his players against the All-Ireland champions, and he also felt that they still have the capacity to improve.
‘‘I think we have to be happy with that,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s a six point win at the end of the day against a Dublin team that have nearly all of their players back in with them. Both teams probably still have a bit to do, but we have to be happy that we’ve managed to come away with another win.’’
Given Dublin’s status as All-Ireland champions, Moynihan felt that the victory was valuable to the Galway players, as well as securing a league final place.
‘‘It’s never easy against this [Dublin] team. They always bring their A game against us, it’s always a good battle, and it definitely turned into a battle out there in the second half. We said at half time that we had that [eight point lead] and we could have been a bit more comfortable in the second half.
‘‘We didn’t control the ball particularly well in the early period of that second half, and because of that Dublin saw a bit of light and they went for it, like all great teams do. They [Dublin] have quality all over the pitch without a doubt. But in fairness to us, we dug in and I thought we controlled possession towards the end of the second half.’’
‘‘Olivia [Divilly] had her first start in the league today and she was really in the zone. It was the same with Nicola [Ward] at centre back as well and she really stepped up. Its great for us to have those kind of leaders,’’ he concluded.
Galway’s victory has already secured them a place in the Division 1 league final against Cork at the Gaelic Grounds on Saturday week in a repeat of last year’s Division 2 decider which Moynihan’s charges won a 2-18 to 1-5 scoreline.
The Tribeswomen round off their group campaign against Waterford in Kilrossanty on Sunday (2pm).