Down’s bid for a second Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Intermediate title came up short a fortnight ago with defeat by Kerry in the semifinal in Newbridge. However, two of the players who helped Down win the title back in 2020 will take to the Croke Park pitch on 10 August in the All-Ireland Senior Final after helping their adopted counties through Saturday’s semi-finals in UPMC Nowlan Park, Kilkenny.
First up was the Galway v Tipperary semifinal, a repeat of last year’s semi that the Connacht side won by 1-12 to 1-11, with Portaferry native Niamh Mallon scoring a goal and two points. On Saturday, Mallon again scored a goal and two points as Galway bettered the Munster side by 1-18 to 1-11. The teams were level at the break, with Mallon contributing one of Galway’s nine points that were equalled with 1-6 from Tipperary.
Mallon, who played 14 seasons with Down since her debut as a 15-year-old in 2010, scored a point early in the second half and then finished a sharp move involving player of the match Ailish O’Reilly with a crisp shot to the top right-hand corner of the Tipperary net in the 38th minute. The gap of four points she opened was enough for Galway to see out the game and claim their place in a fifth final over the past seven seasons.
In the second semi-final, Waterford were attempting to halt Cork’s march to a third successive title, and they held a lead of 1-7 to 0-9 at the break. Former Castlewellan dual player Sorcha McCartan, whose father Gregory was a long-time servant of the county in football, winning an All-Ireland medal in 1994, scored a point in each half and worked extremely hard off the ball to eventually see Cork through on a 1-21 to 1-11 scoreline.
When Down beat Antrim by 4-16 to 2-10 in the ‘Covid’ Intermediate Final that was played in Cavan in December 2020, both McCartan and Mallon featured in the Mourne forward line. McCartan hit two points while Mallon top scored with 2-3 and later picked up the Irish News Ulster Player of the Year award.
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