Round 1 Glen Dimplex All Ireland Series

One change to the Dublin line up as Christine Shanahan replaced Aoife Kenny in the back line. Galway started with the aid of a strong wind blowing diagonally across the pitch which helped them to register the first score of the game from a free in the 2nd minute before Dublin came storming back in the 9th minute after a superb run by Aisling Gannon, while being pursued by 4 Galway defenders, Gannon somehow managed to get her strike away and into the Galway net.

Dublin were working hard and had the upper hand. A well worked point from Sinead Wylde in the 12th minute and a free from Aisling Maher in the 16th had Dublin in the lead by 3pts. The hosts hit back with 2 of their own including one point from play which turned out to be their only point from play in the first half. Dublin scored two more lovely points before half time which included Sinead Wylde getting her second of the day after a great 30m run by Aoife McKearney and then the Dublin final score of the half came from Grace O’Shea.

Dublin conceded 4 more points from dead balls. Half Time: Galway 0-07 Dublin 1-04

It was noticeable that Galway had scored 6 from frees/45s while Dublin had 1pt from a free. The Dublin supporters were hopeful that with the wind (and rain) at their backs that surely today could go their way. However, things didn’t go the plan. It took until the 50th minute before Aisling Maher got Dublin’s first score of the 2nd half. By this time Galway had added 4 more, all of which were from frees/45s. Galway were running hard and were starting to find gaps in the Dublin defence with their hand-passing game. This yielded 4 more unanswered scores for Galway (this time all from play). Finally in the 56th minute Maher sent over her second free of the half and frustratingly despite a fantastic first quarter it felt like Dublin had let Galway off the hook who took the victory by 6 points on a score of Galway 15pts, Dublin 1-06.

Next up for Dublin in 2 weeks is a home game v Kilkenny.