Early blitz helps Cork stroll to victory over Donegal

Three goals in the first 15 minutes put Cork in control as they got the better of Donegal in their Lidl NFL Division 1 clash at Mallow.

From there to the end Cork dominated and such was their superiority it allowed manager Shane Ronayne to make 14 subs in the second-half, with Eimear Meaney the only player to start and finish for the home side.

Cork took the lead three minutes in when Eimear Kiely scored as the home side were in charge, despite playing against the strong wind.

Just three minutes later they got the opening goal, when Katie Quirke and Ciara O'Sullivan combined to put Libby Coppinger through to find the back of the net.

Donegal got off the mark when Ciara McGarvey pointed, to make it 1-1 to 0-1 with seven minutes gone.

However it didn’t take long for Cork to score another goal thanks to Roisin Phelan. The corner-back intercepted a Donegal pass and burst forward out of defence, playing a great ball to Quirke. She rounded several defenders before slipping the ball to Orlaith Cahalane who had an empty net to shoot at.

It got even worse for Donegal a minute later when a long shot in from Rachel Leahy deceived their goalkeeper for Cork’s third goal.

Kiely added a point and with 15 minutes gone it was not looking good for the visitors, as they trailed by 3-3 to 0-1.

Two from Quirke increased Cork’s lead before Donegal had Evelyn McGinley to thank as her last second block on Kiely denied her what looked like a certain goal.

Coppinger got her second point with 22 minutes played and this was the last score of the half as Cork were well in control, leading by 3-6 to 0-1 at half-time.

Three minutes into the second-half and any chance of a Donegal comeback was well and truly over because by then Cork had added two more goals.

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