2025 TG4 Munster Ladies Football Senior Championship – Waterford 3-12 Cork 1-9

Waterford defeated Cork by 3-12 to 1-9 in Round 3 of the TG4 Munster Ladies Football Senior Championship on Sunday May 11th at Dungarvan GAA.

Waterford 3-12 Cork 1-9

By Anthony Newman

Waterford are through to the TG4 Munster Senior Football Championship final after an impressive win over Cork at Dungarvan GAA Club on Sunday.

Two goals in two minutes early in the second half were the key scores as the home side have reached the decider for the first time since 2019.

Lauran McGregor and Karen McGrath got the all-important green flags to seal the win for the home side, a victory they thoroughly deserved on the day.

They took the lead in the second minute when Aine O’Neill scored, with Chloe Fennell adding a second as the home side were dominating the early exchanges.

They thought they had a goal when Lauren McGregor scored but it was ruled out for overcarrying.
Katie Quirke got Cork’s first score, after 13 minutes, from a free, before Kellyann Hogan replied at the other end.

Two more from Quirke, both frees, saw the sides level after 20 minutes, a position Cork would have been happy with at that point.
Emma Murray put Waterford back on front, with another Quirke free levelling it again.

A point from Libby Coppinger put Cork in front for the first time, before Fennell’s second had them level again.
A great run from Aoife Healy put Cork back in front with three minutes to half time, but a late free from Hogan had the sides level at the break, 0-6 each.

Emma Murray put Waterford back in front, before Emma Cleary had the sides level again. It looked like the game was swinging in Cork’s favour when Quirke set up Healy for Cork’s goal, to make it 1-7 to 0-7.

But Waterford broke straight down the pitch with Lauren McGregor getting their first goal.
Two minutes later and they had their second, with McGregor setting up Karen McGrath to score. Hogan added a point, to make it 2-8 to 1-7 as Waterford had one foot in the final.

With 53 minutes gone Waterford got their third goal, with McGregor scoring again as they were now well in control.

Cleary pointed for Cork but late scores from O’Neill and Katie Murray secured the win for Waterford as they now face Kerry in the final on May 25 at Mallow.

Scorers –
Waterford: L McGregor 2-1, K McGrath 1-0, K Hogan (1f), C Fennell 0-3 each, A O’Neill, E Murray 0-2 each, K Murray 0-1.
Cork: A Healy 1-1, K Quirke 0-4 (4f), E Cleary 0-2, L Coppinger, L Hallihan 0-1.

WATERFORD: K Gardiner; R Casey, E Power, A Murray; C Murray, K McGrath, M Ryan; K Hogan, H Power; L Ni Harta, K Murray, E Murray; L McGregor, C Walsh, C Fennell
Subs: L O’Shea for L Ni Harta (48), A Power for C Fennell (60).

CORK: S Murphy; D Kiniry, S Kelly, M Duggan; E O’Shea, S Cronin, R Corkery; M O’Callaghan, A Healy; K Horgan, L O’Mahony, E Cleary; A O’Sullivan, L Coppinger, K Quirke
Subs: A Ryan for K Horgan (ht), L Hallihan for L Coppinger (40), H Looney for R Corkery (41), A Ring for L O’Mahony (48), S McGoldrick for M O’Callaghan (54).

Referee: Seamus Mulvihill (Kerry).

Waterford v Cork; Dungarvan GAA, 2pm

Waterford and Cork meet in Dungarvan with a TG4 Munster Senior Final place on offer.
It’s all on the line for both teams, who lost to Kerry but achieved victories over Tipperary in the round-robin phase.

Waterford put up a good show against Kerry last weekend, losing by just a point, and they’ll approach the Cork tussle in Dungarvan with plenty of confidence.

There are four changes to the Déise starting line-up, with goalkeeper Gemma Corcoran, Ellen Bolger, Caragh McCarthy and Lucie O’Shea drafted in.

They replace goalkeeper Katelyn Gardiner, Áine Power, Chloe Fennell and Lia Ní hArta, as Waterford look to clinch a TG4 Munster Senior final slot for the first time since 2019.

Cork, runners-up in 2024 and champions last in 2023, are unchanged after claiming a crucial win against Tipperary last weekend.
If the game ends in a draw, the team which registers the most points (scores over the bar) during the tie will advance.

If they still can’t be split on that rule, Cork will go through with the better scoring difference ahead of throw-in, by just a point.

Waterford: G Corcoran; R Casey, E Power, E Bolger; C Murray, K McGrath, M Ryan; K Hogan, H Power; Á O’Neill, K Murray, C McCarthy; L McGregor, C Walsh, L O’Shea.

Cork: S Murphy; D Kiniry, S Kelly, M Duggan; E O’Shea, S Cronin, R Corkery; M O’Callaghan, A Healy; A O’Mahony, L O’Mahony, E Cleary (capt.); A O’Sullivan, E Coppinger, K Quirke.