ARMAGH 0-7 KERRY 1-8
Richard Bullick in Tullamore
Hopes that Greg McGonigle’s Orchard women could emulate the Armagh men’s team by ending an All Ireland final famine stretching back to the noughties were dashed as instead Kerry clinched their place in a third consecutive showpiece.
Armagh led by three early on in Tullamore, but Kerry grabbed the game’s only goal while Orchard captain Clodagh McCambridge was off the field getting stitched after a sickening clash of heads, and an unanswered 1-5 in the second quarter put the Kingdom in control.
Without their two most prolific forwards, Aimee Mackin and Kelly Mallon, Armagh notched up six wides in the opening period to just one by their opponents, who were hungry to avenge their only two defeats this season, which had both come at Orchard hands.
Although the four-point margin was the same, this was a much lower-scoring game than the 2022 quarter-final at the same venue, which Kerry won 4-12 to 2-14, and the wait for what would be just the Orchard’s second ever All Ireland decider continues.
With All Ireland champions Dublin already dethroned, there was a great sense of opportunity for the four teams involved in Saturday’s double-header, with Galway’s win over Cork in the opening game holding out the prospect of the same pairing in the men’s and women’s finals.
But while the Orchard outfit fought hard until the end against Kerry, they couldn’t prevent the curtain coming down on a magnificent campaign which brought the first ladies National League title in Armagh history and saw them reclaim the provincial crown from Donegal.
That was Armagh’s fourth Ulster title triumph in five seasons and they followed up with a first All Ireland quarter-final victory since 2015 after topping a group containing recent champions Meath along with Tipperary.
McGonigle has an incredible record of taking teams to All Ireland finals in five of his most recent six seasons in inter-county management but, despite starting strongly, his Orchard crew couldn’t complete a hat-trick of victories over Kerry this term.
They scored just two points in the final 46 minutes, with some poor option-taking and wasteful finishing along with a careless sinbinning for Blaithin Mackin undermining the Orchard cause on an evening when, as always, Armagh’s heart couldn’t be faulted.
Clodagh McCambridge’s bravery was summed up by her going after the loose ball following that awful smash with Aishling O’Connell, while diminutive vice-captain Lauren McConville was battered throughout, with referee Shane Curley failing to sanction the culprits.
The massive shift put in by Emily Druse epitomised Armagh’s tireless efforts, Niamh Coleman made a brilliant block to prevent a Kerry goal in the second half while a partially incapacitated Caroline O’Hanlon kept going until very near the end.
Seeing the great woman majestically striding up the middle of O’Connor Park in the 57th minute conjured nostalgic images of summer evenings gone by, but before long the sun had set on Orchard hopes for yet another year.
There will be no fairytale All Ireland final for O’Hanlon at the start of the week she turns 40 but Armagh followers will hope this isn’t the last time we’ll see the triple All Star in the orange jersey she has graced so wonderfully for 23 seasons.
There has been exceptional progress in this first campaign under experienced campaigner McGonigle and his formidable management team and, with Aimee Mackin back, there is no reason this largely relatively young squad can’t challenge again for the sport’s top prize.
Rather than making excuses or wallowing in self-pity, this honest and ambitious team won’t shy away from self-critical analysis after coming up just short at O’Connor Park but there is no doubt that luck wasn’t with Armagh for what was their 13th match of the season.
Armagh had the misfortune of going into this huge game without their ace markswoman Aimee Mackin while the hamstring problem which kept former skipper Mallon out of the quarter-final victory over Mayo meant she didn’t start here.
Those two are Armagh’s most prolific forwards, while the iconic O’Hanlon was curtailed by a significant calf tear, and Clonmore’s Sarah Quigley – such a useful utility player this season – wasn’t fit to take any part in Saturday’s semi.
All of the above inevitably blunted Armagh’s attacking game, though they began brightly in the evening sunshine against a Kerry team they had already defeated twice this season, including in April’s NFL final.
Armagh raised three white flags in the first eight minutes, with two fine points from Eve Lavery which took her haul since the Ulster final to 0-13, the first fired over under pressure from two defenders after the Kerry keeper punched away Blaithin Mackin’s dropping shot.
Lavery’s points sandwiched the first of two frees from Kingdom legend Louise Ni Mhuircheartaigh – the 2023 All Ireland Player of the Year was kept scoreless from play – and were followed by Blaithin Mackin converting a free after a high tackle on McConville.
McGonigle’s side led by five points to two late in the first quarter, Dearbhla Coleman pointing after a great run by Aoife McCoy followed by good work from Druse, who mopped up well in defence soon afterwards to launch another Orchard attack.
That foray ended in McConville not getting a free, followed by being flattened off the ball, but the referee let play continue, eventually leading to the clash of heads which resulted in Louise Kenny and Kerry’s Amy Harrington coming on as temporary blood subs.
Clann Eireann captain Niamh Henderson, among a large Clann Eireann contingent hoping to exorcise the ghosts of an All Ireland semi-final loss in their other orange jerseys last December, burst through and drove the ball over the bar on 13 minutes.
Henderson’s point was in prompt reply to a long-range effort from former Kerry skipper Siofra O’Shea, who had replaced Hannah O’Donoghue in the one change to the Kingdom’s published line-up with Meabh McCambridge drafted in for Armagh instead of Mallon.
Just before O’Shea and Henderson traded scores, there had been that lengthy stoppage following a nasty collision between Clodagh McCambridge and Aishling O’Connell, who both had to leave the field for treatment after accidentally colliding as they went for a loose ball.
Badly split open above her right eye, McCambridge was attended to by Armagh physio Grainne McWilliams in front of the main stand and then had to go right round to the tunnel and change her bloodied jersey before returning to the fray.
Armagh’s heroic captain showed her bravery by going in hard to win a breaking ball just after coming back on but the tide had turned in favour of Kerry, who had just got their noses in front through a Danielle O’Leary point on the back of their equalising goal.
This was the first time McCambridge hasn’t been on the field for Armagh for even a minute in over two years and Kerry took full advantage, full forward Emma Dineen taking a clean catch, getting away from Cait Towe and offloading inside to Niamh Ni Chonchuir.
Druse used her pace to almost catch Ni Chonchuir from behind, but she unleashed an unstoppable shot past Anna Carr, who needed treatment to her lower leg after the Kerry player trod upon it while going through to score.
The Kingdom got four more points without reply in the remainder of the opening period, Ni Mhuircheartaigh’s second free, two scores from play in quick succession by captain Carmody and then Aishling O’Connell fisting over in the closing seconds of the half.
Although Kerry registered 1-5 without reply in that second quarter, the Orchard had scoring chances of their own, including a second wide of the game from Henderson, two by Blaithin Mackin and Grace Ferguson drawing a blank after her great run.
Blaithin Mackin’s first wide was an ambitious pot shot and she pulled her second effort low past the post after a surging run by McConville when, at least with hindsight, going for a point might have been the better option.
Between the Carmody points – the second a stinging shot tipped over by Carr – at the other end, Lavery looked like she was through for a great goal chance but fatally fumbled and then snatched at her shot from what had become a more acute angle and didn’t even get a point.
Having not taken some of their opportunities in the opening period, it was hoped the Orchard could capitalise on having the breeze behind them in the second half as they tried to turn around that five-point interval deficit but it felt the wind dropped appreciably.
Armagh had scored four goals in a 10-minute purple patch playing the same direction in the second half in their first ever championship victory over Cork in this stadium five years ago, but this time their return for the last half hour was just two points.
In the men’s semi seven days earlier, Clodagh and Meabh’s brother Barry McCambridge had scored the Armagh goal as the Orchard came from behind to beat Kerry but there was to be no happy ending here for a team that sadly had a lot less support than their opponents.
The sinbinning of Carmody just before the break for catching Ferguson high also offered Armagh hope as they sought to start strongly after the break but they had a let-off early on when Ni Mhuircheartaigh fluffed a straightforward free.
Lavery struck the inside of the far post with a left-footed free soon afterwards and she was replaced by Mallon up front five minutes later just before Niamh Coleman pointed after McCoy cut through.
Blaithin Mackin converted the free when Mallon was pushed over by full back Kayleigh Cronin as the pair went for a great ball launched in by O’Hanlon, leaving just a goal between the teams with 20 minutes remaining.
Mallon cleanly caught another absolutely sublime ball by O’Hanlon but McCoy crashed into the defender trying to take the deft offload and the referee waved away any Orchard claims for a penalty.
Armagh were saved by that vital block by Niamh Coleman but the Kingdom’s depth was illustrated by them being able to bring on players of the calibre of O’Donoghue and Lorraine Scanlon early in the last quarter.
McGonigle introduced Niamh Reel for Henderson on 50 minutes but O’Leary punished a Clodagh McCambridge foul by converting a free and Armagh suffered a big blow when Blaithin Mackin was sinbinned for a second high tackle in the space of a minute.
Compounding Armagh’s more limited bench, that condemned them to finishing with 14 players as they chased the game and O’Hanlon had a towering effort just off target, though Kerry kicked five wides of their own in the second half.
The outstanding Druse eventually gave way to Kenny after a sharp save by Carr and O’Hanlon was called ashore with two minutes remaining but rusty replacement Moya Feehan promptly kicked the ball away and Armagh barely saw it from then until the hooter.
ARMAGH: A Carr; G Ferguson, C McCambridge (capt), R Mulligan; C Towe, L McConville, D Coleman (0-1); N Coleman (0-1), C O’Hanlon; E Druse, A McCoy, B Mackin (0-2; 2f); E Lavery (0-2), N Henderson (0-1), M McCambridge. Subs used: L Kenny for McCambridge (temp 12-18mins), K Mallon for Lavery (37), N Reel for Henderson (50), L Kenny for Druse (54), M Feehan for O’Hanlon (58).
KERRY: C Butler; E Lynch, K Cronin, C Murphy; A O’Connell (0-1), D Kearney, A Dillane; M O’Connell, A Galvin; N Carmody (capt; 0-2), D O’Leary (0-2; 1f), N Ni Chonchuir (1-0); S O’Shea (0-1), E Dineen, L Ni Mhuircheartaigh (0-2; 2f). Subs used: A Harrington for A O’Connell (temp 12-18), H O’Donoghue for Ni Mhuircheartaigh (46), L Scanlon for Carmody (49), K Brosnan for Ni Chonchuir (58).
Referee: Shane Curley (Galway).
