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By Conor Martin
2020 at a glance
Dublin 1-10 (13) - 1-5 (8) Cork
It may have been a very different All-Ireland final day, with the stands at Croke Park empty and Dublin fans sadly having to turn their living rooms into makeshift Hill 16s thanks to the Covid 19 pandemic.
2020 was certainly a year to forget; however, this final will remain memorable thanks to notable individual performances that added to an impressive Dublin showing overall on the way to All-Ireland glory.
Áine Terry O’Sullivan would open the scoring for Cork inside three minutes after some good work from Ciara O’Sullivan helped set up the opening goal.
Nicole Owens would get the Jackies on the scoresheet before Dublin captain Sinéad Aherne added a second sky blue point of the day just before the 20-minute mark, followed up straight away by a point courtesy of Noëlle Healy.
During the wait for Dublin’s second point, Áine Terry O’Sullivan added to her tally with a point before Orla Finn increased the Cork lead and pointed again before the break.
It was a first-half that was a physical battle from the get-go and points came at a premium, especially from a Dublin perspective, as the Girls in Blue kicked several wides, scoring only three points from 11 attempts as they trailed 1-3 to 0-3 at the interval.
It was an improved Dublin performance in the second-half as they got going with an Aoife Kane point before Carla Rowe swung the final the Dubs way with a penalty after being fouled herself. Rowe would then add two more scores to put Dublin three points up as the game approached its final 15 minutes.
Ciara O’Sullivan finally got Cork’s second-half account up and running in the 45th minute, which appeared to breathe life into Cork’s performance.
As the game entered its final 10 minutes, the game was being played at a frantic pace and Dublin were keeping their noses ahead thanks to a point from substitute Kate Sullivan before Finn got Cork’s final point of the match with eight minutes left.
Dublin then stepped up a gear and extended their lead to three thanks to Owens. With Cork looking tired and frustrated, Dublin killed off the Rebelettes All-Ireland dream with points from Healy and Rowe.
The result saw Dublin claim the Brendan Martin Cup for the sixth time and complete the impressive feat of four All-Ireland titles in-a-row.
In a year that was difficult for us all, Dublin fans finally had something to cheer about as 2020 ended on a much-needed high.
Scorers for Dublin: Carla Rowe 1-3 (1-0 pen, 0-3f), Noëlle Healy and Nicole Owens 0-2 each, Sinead Aherne (0-1f), Aoife Kane and Kate Sullivan 0-1 each.
Scorers for Cork: Aine O’Sullivan 1-1, Orla Finn 0-3 (0-2f) and Ciara O’Sullivan 0-1.
Dublin: Ciara Trant; Martha Byrne, Niamh Collins, Aoife Kane; Leah Caffrey, Siobhán McGrath, Sinéad Goldrick; Lauren Magee, Jennifer Dunne; Noëlle Healy, Lyndsey Davey, Carla Rowe; Sinéad Aherne (Captain), Niamh McEvoy, Nicole Owens
Dublin Substitutes: Kate Sullivan for Aherne (HT), Sarah McCaffrey for McEvoy (47), Orlagh Nolan for Kane (47), Caoimhe O'Connor for Owens (58).
Dublin Yellow cards: Lauren Magee (60).
Cork: Martina O'Brien; Eimear Meaney, Róisín Phelan, Shauna Kelly; Melissa Duggan, Ashling Hutchings, Erika O’Shea; Máire O’Callaghan, Hannah Looney; Eimear Kiely, Ciara O’Sullivan, Orla Finn; Áine O’Sullivan, Doireann O’Sullivan (Captain), Saoirse Noonan
Cork Substitutes: Niamh Cotter for Kiely (43), Sadbh O'Leary for Finn (53), Libby Coppinger for Noonan (53), Meabh Cahalane for Kelly (60).
Cork Yellow cards: Doireann O'Sullivan (56)
Referee: Jonathan Murphy (Carlow)
