After another feast of Senior Ladies inter-county football, Dublin and Armagh claimed the final semi-final spaces in a thrilling double header in Clones.
The pace of play and high scores meant that both of today's ties were never short on entertainment for the crowds in attendance.
The final score of the Armagh game against Donegal was 2-13 to 2-11, while Dublin and Monaghan were separated by a single goal in a match that ended 1-13 to 0-13, although much of the exciting action took place in the second half.
Speaking in Clones after the games, former Monaghan All-Star Niamh Kindlon highlighted the irrepressible spirit of Monaghan to battle back from a six point half-time deficit, while also complimenting Armagh's patience.
"The second half was just a different half. Caroline O'Hanlon was a bit quiet in the first half but she got a vital goal for Armagh in the second half which set them up for the win".
Meanwhile Aoife Lennon, who was originally named as a substitute but was selected to start the game, put in a ferocious shift for Armagh, and finished with a personal tally of 1-03 from play.
Commenting on the unexpected demise of Donegal, Kindlon noted that "to Donegal's detriment, they had to pull Yvonne McMonagle from the half-forward to come down and mark Caroline O'Hanlon as Armagh were coming back into the game and I think that was at a time when Donegal needed a target player".
Kindlon went on to add that a missed Yvonne McMonagle goal chance on 55 minutes represented a critical juncture in this game: "A minute later there was a block in the middle of the field and Niamh Hegarty went into the sinbin for Donegal. From then on it was all Armagh".
©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Inside the first 20 minutes of play, it would have been understandable to predict a Donegal victory with the scoreline reading 0-05 to 0-02, but by the latter stages of the second half, energy levels were notably depleted forcing them to make elementary mistakes.
©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
"They got slower letting the ball in. Geraldine McLauglin landed a super point from just outside the scoring zone but then a few minutes later she kicked into a block which would be unusual for her".
Meanwhile, Dublin and Monaghan conducted a comparably less enthralling first half of football. Dublin implemented a defensive strategy of play with no more than three forwards occupying their orthodox positions at any one time.
Niamh Kindlon remarked that the first half lacked the passion of the first match.
"Carla Rowe's goal was good but Monaghan's play was very lethargic and static. It was almost like soccer and people were afraid to go forward. The shooting was quite poor as well."
The game finally discovered a pulse in the 42nd minute when Cora Courtney landed Monaghan's sixth point followed closely by a Catriona McConnell free to curtail the deficit to just three points.
Despite the packed Dublin defence, Monaghan scored 13 times in this game. Crucially however, they amassed 14 wides in this encounter and Kindlon stressed that Monaghan should have been more economical with the amount of possession they had.
©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
"I'd say if there was possession converter, Monaghan would have had about 80% of it in the second half, and they executed a huge amount of turnovers inside Dublin's half of the pitch."
Dublin managed to score just six points in the second half, three of which were registered without a Monaghan response and by the 51st minute, there was six points between them again.
Monaghan continued to pursue the score but were bereft of a full-forward until the introduction of substitute Amanda Casey.
"She was only on the field a few seconds and the ball was launched into her and there was a goal chance", Kindkon stated. "She was blocked down but it came back out and they got a score from it. But they stopped using that option after that. They were very reliant on Catriona McConnell who scored eight points while Dublin had seven players on the scoresheet today, including substitutes".
Dublin will now play Armagh in the Semi-Final while Cork will play Kerry in the first semi-final next weekend in the Gaelic Grounds.
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