WOMEN'S ALL-IRELAND SENIOR FOOTBALL FINAL Dublin 3-16 Tyrone 0-9:SOMETIMES AN All-Ireland-winning margin of 16 points is a simple reflection of one team's sheer and utter dominance over the other, and an unstoppable will to win.
This Dublin victory isn't as simply explained as that. The 16-point winning margin was based on sheer and utter commitment to each other, and an unwillingness to contemplate defeat.
It's what happens when you've lost the previous year's final by a single point - and also remember well the All-Ireland defeats of 2003 and 2004. The result, a first senior women's All-Ireland title for Dublin, thus tastes all the sweeter. The long wait is over and the period of success may only be beginning.
For an All-Ireland final it wasn't a terrific game of football, yet the football for a long time was terrific. Unfortunately from a Tyrone point of view all of it came from Dublin. Neither team had won this title before, and they said beforehand that given such hunger for success, it would probably come down to the last 10 minutes, and who wanted it more.
Instead Dublin made it quite clear in the opening 10 minutes they not only wanted it more, but were far more capable of winning than anyone had realised. They outscored Tyrone 5-1 in that opening 10 minutes, added two goals before half-time, and when they went 3-13 to 0-6 clear in the first 15 minutes of the second half there was no longer any question of who wanted it more.
Because for Dublin it wasn't just a matter of hunger, it was also a matter of redemption.
Tyrone were appearing in their first senior final and despite their eight-game odyssey in getting this far - and the elimination of previous five-time champions Cork - they looked a little out of their depth, particularly against a Dublin team that arrived loaded with experience and incentive.
It made for a surprisingly straightforward final, and the attendance of 21,750 never had much to get excited about. Dublin's dominance was unmistakable, particularly from midfield up, with Sinead Aherne the star of the show with her two goals and seven points. Denise Masterson and Niamh McEvoy orchestrated much of the play from midfield, with Mary Nevin and Lyndsey Peat often dropping back for support, so that up front not only was Aherne running riot, but also Elaine Kelly, Lyndsey Davey and Amy McGuinness.
Together they had the Tyrone's defence in ribbons within the first 10 minutes, Aherne already making her intentions clear. Aherne missed a penalty in last year's final - probably one of the decisive misses for Dublin on that day. This time she could hardly miss a score even if she wanted to. That's the sort of redemption we're talking about here.
"Well I think redeemed is what we're all feeling after last year," she said. "For us to come back, and put in that performance, is testament to all 32 on this team and the management team. Our experience was talked about coming into the game, and I think it stood to us. We were calm before the game. We were just keen to get out on the pitch and show everyone what we could do."
That's exactly what Dublin did. After pulling six points clear after 18 minutes, McGuinness then hit their first goal after an onslaught of attacking play that defined much of their game. Her first shot was blocked, Davey's rebound came off the crossbar, and when McGuinness got the second chance she made no mistake.
Tyrone lost their star forward Sarah Connolly to a broken finger after just 14 minutes, and while that was a definite blow, it hardly accounted for their poor return of scores in the first half. The Dublin defence were lightning quick to close down their avenues, particularly Avril Cluxton and Maria Kavanagh.
With the countdown clock frequently stopped in the first half, time dragged on a little - long enough for Aherne to bag her first goal before the break. This one was sourced from a long ball by Sorcha Furlong, which Aherne collected, dribbled and finished - through the legs of Tyrone goalkeeper Shannon Lynch - with real finesse. Dublin closed out the half 2-8 to 0-5, and barring a collapse, it was already looking too huge a task for Tyrone to come back.
There was no way that was going to happen. Tactically, Dublin were superb, playing their kick-outs to the wing to avoid whatever height dominance Tyrone might have at midfield, and at the same time targeting the Tyrone kick-outs, by sweeping in on breaking ball. Goalkeeper Cliodhna O'Connor frequently placed her kick-outs with great accuracy and it worked a treat, giving Dublin bags of possession which they rarely wasted.
Given that dominance, the second half was the inevitable one-way traffic. Dublin quickly tagged on three more points to remove any hope of a Tyrone comeback, and when Aherne added her second goal on 39 minutes - this one deftly set up by Kelly - Dublin were out of sight, and last year's defeat was already out of mind.
DUBLIN: C O'Connor; R Ruddy, A Cluxton, M Kavanagh; S McGrath, S Furlong, G Fay (0-1); D Masterson (capt), N McEvoy; M Nevin, A McGuinness (1-3, 0-1 free), L Peat (0-1); L Davey (0-2), S Ahearne (2-7, 0-3 frees), E Kelly (0-2). Subs: B Finlay for Kelly (50 mins), N Hyland for Nevin (56 mins), N Healy for McGuinness (60 mins), N McEvoy for McEvoy, C Barrett for Fay (both 62 mins).
TYRONE: S Lynch; E Teague, M Kelly, S McLaughlin; M Donnelly, N Woods, L Donnelly; S Donnelly, S Quinn; C Donnelly (0-1), G Begley (0-4, two frees), A O'Kane; C McGahan, S Connolly, J Donnelly (0-3, one free). Subs: N Murphy (0-1)for Connolly (inj 12 mins); R Rafferty for Teague (ht), M Gallagher for M Donnelly, O O'Neill for McGahan, (both 47 mins) C Scullion for O'Kane (61).
Referee: K Delahunty(Tipperary).
