Dublin make their first Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championship Semi Final since 2017

Dublin 1-13

Kilkenny 0-12

Dublin saw off Kilkenny on Saturday in Croke Park to secure their place in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Championship Semi Finals to be played at UPMC Nowlan Park Kilkenny, on Saturday July 27.

It was clear that Dublin went into this match with a strategy and with far superior teamwork and that each member of the team had their role to play.

Speaking after the match were Dublin captain Aisling Maher and Co-manager, Gerry McQuaid.

“That’s a big win for us there today,” Aisling Maher said.

“(First) semi since 2017.

“I think it was nearly 30 years before that that we were in a semi (1990).

“So, they don’t come around too often.

“We’ll enjoy today.

“We’ll enjoy tonight, enjoy the fruits of our labour.

“But ultimately, three weeks (July 27 at UPMC Nowlan Park), plenty of time, main goal is reset and go again.”

Also speaking with the media was Dublin’s Co-manager, Gerry McQuaid, who praised the whole team effort and strategy that ultimately won the match including, the impact off the bench.

“A lot of work went into it and this is just rewards,” McQuaid began. “But listen, I emphasise, it’s a quarter-final, you know?

“It’s a semi-final now we have to get to in three weeks. We have to go and perform again.”

He hailed the impact of the bench, giving Dublin the fuel injection to pull clear down the stretch.

“We don’t call them subs. We call them finishers. If you take a look what they did, they finished so delighted for them all.

“Aisling (O’Neill) had a serious injury. She actually only put her helmet on this week, for contact. We were very, very cautious about her.

“She made a huge difference. Micky McCullough is the brains behind this operation. Micky was saying: ‘Get it into Aisling! Get it into Aisling!’ because she’s a natural forward, natural scorer.

“I can’t say enough about them all. Just very, very proud of every single one of them.”