GALWAY’S Nicola Ward reckons they owe Cork a beatdown.
The Tribe will meet the Rebelettes in the TG4 All-Ireland SFC semi-final after dethroning reigning champions Dublin 3-7 to 1-12 in an epic contest at Parnell Park on Saturday evening.
Cork won 1-12 to 1-10 when the sides clashed in the Championship back in June and now they will meet again.
The Galway defender said: “I think we owe Cork one back.
“I’m sure it will be another ding-dong battle, as it always is.
“We’ll enjoy this one and appreciate it because a lot of the time we can always fall short on the wrong end, so it’s nice when you get days like this.”
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Galway never let Dublin build a big lead and struck late in extra-time when Aoife O’Rourke fired home the decisive goal.
Ward added: “We’ve played Dublin down through the years.
“I suppose we’ve missed them in the Championship stages but in league games, this year they just pipped us by a point.
“Last year we beat them down in Tuam and in the 2019 All-Ireland there was a goal in it.
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“We knew we could match them.
“It’s our belief, we touched on that during the week as well.
“There’s no point coming here thinking we’re going to stand down to the All-Ireland champions.
“We had to come and we had to go hell for leather with them, one-on-one.
“We played football. Both teams did, fair play to them.”
END OF AN ERA
Dublin manager Mick Bohan, who was without injured stars Carla Rowe, Orlagh Nolan and Kate Sullivan, hinted that his term may be coming to an end.
Bohan said: “I certainly know it’s time for me to put a bit more time in at home.
“I’ve been missing a lot, somebody has to cover for that.
“Maybe it’s someone else’s time, we’ll see.
“I thought we just weathered the storm and it would have been obviously a fabulous character win, but in fairness to Galway they stuck at it.
“The first two goals, we had won the initial tackles, spilled the ball and normally we’d pounce but that’s what we’re trying to figure out.
“We kind of played with the jitters that we normally don’t see from them.
“That was a knock-on effect of losing a few players. It stabilises the ship and that wasn’t there.
“We’d have huge respect for Galway, we always had.
“I think the Clonberne crew in particular, when it went to extra-time, they were excellent.
“Nicola Ward was superb in extra-time.”
Galway led by 2-2 to 1-4 at the interval, with Roisin Leonard getting both of their goals.
“Hannah Tyrrell converted a penalty in between for the All-Ireland champions.
And the Dubs led 1-12 to 2-7 at the start of the second half in extra-time and were once again in a strong position to push on for victory.
But Galway kept in touch and sealed a semi-final spot when O’Rourke finished a good move to the net in the dying moments.
SCORERS — Galway: R Leonard 2-3, 3f, O Divilly 0-3f, A O’Rourke 1-0, A Morrissey 0-1. Dublin: H Tyrrell 1-5, 1-0 pen, 4f, N Owens 0-2, N Donlon 0-1, S Goldrick 0-1, J Dunne 0-1, A Timothy 0-1, S Aherne 0-1.
