The Kerry Girls wrapped up their Gaynor Bowl campaign with a 3-0 win against Tipperary South this morning.
Lillian Slattery opened the scoring in the first half and then Alannah Daly doubled the lead early in the second half before Nessa Kirby planted a 35 yard free kick to the Tipperary net to make it three.
It means Kerry finished the competition in 10th place.
It was a performance full of attacking flair, solid defending, and standout moments from key players, particularly goalkeeper Sheolagh Daly, who kept a clean sheet with a series of crucial early saves.
South Tipperary threatened straight from the kick-off, forcing Sheolagh Daly into a sharp save from the edge of the box inside the opening minute.
Kerry, despite seeing more of the early possession, were slow to register a shot on target, though Orlaith Flynn soon made her presence felt, cutting in from the right and unleashing a fierce drive that stung the keeper’s palms in the 4th minute.
Daly was called into action again just a minute later, reacting quickly to deny a Tipperary forward in a one-on-one situation after a slick through ball. Tipperary remained lively, and a 7th-minute corner caused problems for Kerry, but the resulting shot went over the bar.
Kerry began to find rhythm as Laura Heaphy and Isabelle O’Connor combined neatly to set up Flynn, whose effort drifted wide. The breakthrough finally came in the 15th minute.
Lillian Slattery picked up the ball inside the area and produced a dazzling piece of footwork, shifting the ball from one foot to the other to beat the keeper, and calmly finishing into the net for a deserved 1-0 lead.
Tipp nearly hit back on 27 minutes, beating the offside trap, but their effort flashed just wide of the left post.
Kerry came out strongly after the break and doubled their lead in the 38th minute. A long ball forward from Alice O’Connor was expertly controlled by Eilidh Cregan, who flicked it over a defender before laying it off to Alannah Daly. Daly coolly slotted the ball home at the near post to make it 2-0.
She nearly had a second just minutes later, drifting in from the left wing and firing narrowly wide in the 42nd minute.
Kerry’s third came in spectacular fashion. After Eabha Maguire was fouled near the right sideline, Nessa Kirby stepped up from 35 yards and curled a stunning free kick that looped over the goalkeeper and dropped into the net, a moment of real quality that sealed the result.
Kerry kept pushing. In the 52nd minute, they almost forced an own goal when a throw-in led to a misjudged clearance by a Tipperary defender, whose backward kick looped over her own keeper but came crashing off the underside of the bar and out.
It was a commanding finish to the tournament from Kerry, who showed their quality across all areas of the pitch.
With clinical attacking, a clean sheet anchored by Sheolagh Daly’s heroics, and some outstanding individual skill, particularly from Slattery and Kirby, they wrapped up their Gaynor Bowl campaign in style.
