KILKENNY CAMOGE BOSS Brian Dowling has praised the character shown by his side who reacted emphatically after conceding an early goal against Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-final.

The Cats slipped into a four-point deficit after Niamh Gannon struck for a superb goal in the 12th minute to put her underdog side in the ascendancy at Semple Stadium. But it proved to be only a minor setback for Kilkenny as they proceeded to rattle off 1-9 without a response, including a perfectly executed penalty from Denise Gaule.

Defenders Miriam Bambrick and Laura Murphy added further points to stretch Kilkenny’s advantage while Dublin could only muster one more point before half-time through a free from Aisling Maher.

Kilkenny continued to press their dominance in the second half and added a second goal through Miriam Walsh to see them safely through to the semi-finals.

“We’re happy to be back in an All-Ireland semi-final,” a pleased Dowling said after full-time.

“That was the aim coming down today. We’re delighted and we’ve a lot of things to work on but we’re there now and that’s the main thing.

“We left a lot of scores behind us and Dublin got in for in a goal. They got through a bit easy. It did kick us into gear and we weren’t moving well at that stage. But, in fairness to the girls, they showed a lot of character after that and we scored around 1-9 on the trot. That’s brilliant to see. They didn’t let the heads go down and they kept plugging away. 

“The goals came at a great time for us. Denise’s penalty was brilliant and Miriam’s goal in the second half probably killed off the game.

“We knew this was going to be tough. Dublin had a very good group [campaign] and it was always going to be tough.”

Kilkenny will now face their old foes Galway in an intriguing final-four showdown in Croke Park next Saturday evening. The Tribeswomen progressed to the semi-final automatically as Group 2 winners after narrowly edging out Kilkenny on scoring difference. Their group encounter finished as a draw.

Dowling admits that there was some slight disappointment at not going through to the last-four automatically but can draw the positives from getting some game time in the tank before meeting Galway again.

“I suppose you’re disappointed at the time but sometimes a game is good for you. We won’t know until next Saturday evening whether it is or not but I think these girls need games, especially for younger girls starting for the first time. The more exposure you get, the better, and we didn’t pick up any injuries today which is brilliant.

“We’ll have a really light week now and get the bodies right, and look forward to Saturday night in Croke Park.”

Gaule finished the game with an impressive tally of 1-10. She slotted the decisive goal which secured All-Ireland honours for Kilkenny when they defeated Galway in the 2020 decider. Next Saturday will be another absorbing chapter of their ongoing rivalry.

“Galway are going to be a step up again,” she said after the win over Dublin. “It’s always a great match [between us] and we know each other fierce well. There’s a lot of respect between the two teams and it’s always a great battle. We’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be tough of course but everything is at the semi-final stage.”

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