Not so lucky third time for Waterford Intermediate Camogie Team

Not so lucky third time for Waterford Intermediate Camogie Team

After being defeated by Galway in the previous two All Ireland Intermediate semi-finals, Waterford were looking to go one step further this year when they played Limerick in Carlow in this year's Liberty Insurance All Ireland Intermediate Championship semi-final.

Waterford had finished runners up to Kilkenny in the Group phase of the championship having been Meath, Cork and Wexford. Their only loss was to Kilkenny which meant that they faced the top placed team in the other group which was Limerick. 

The last time these two teams faced each other was back in the group stages of the 2013 All Ireland championship. On that occasion Limerick triumphed so the Waterford team knew that this was going to be a tough match especially as Limerick were beaten by Galway in the All Ireland final last year and would want to be back in Croke Park for this year’s final. Limerick had also won all their group games and had a impressive +76 points difference brushing aside all opponents.

Unfortunately, Waterford were to be denied once more in a close encounter losing the match on a score of 0-09 to 0-08. Waterford started the encounter the brighter scoring leading the match by three points to no score after ten minute with scores from Caitriona McGlone (2) and Karen Kelly. Waterford continued to lead for the remainder of the half going in by 0-06 to 0-03 with further scores from Karen Kelly and Lorraine Bray, all Limerick's scores in the first half were from the hurl of Niamh Mulcahy to keep them in contention.

When the second half commenced, Limerick started the better and levelled the match after ten minutes of the restart, and once again is was Limerick's Niamh Mulcahy that proved to be the thorn in Waterford's side. Limerick then went into the lead for the first time and extended it to 0-09 to 0-06 with 10 minutes remaining. Try as Waterford could they could not penetrate the Limerick defence in the second half until the 53rd minute when Lorraine Bray converted for her second point of the match. As fulltime approached, Trish Jackman fired over to leave the bare minimum between the two teams ensuring a thrilling finish to the match​. Waterford continued to press for the equalising or winning score but once more had to settle for beaten semi-finalists.

The other semi-final between Kilkenny and Kildare was played after the Waterford and Limerick match and Kilkenny ran out comfortable winners. The Liberty Insurance Intermediate All Ireland final will be played on September 14th between Kilkenny and Limerick.

The Waterford team were:  Deirdre Brennan, Shauna Prendergast, Pauline Cunningham, Claire Whyte, Mairead Murphy, Fiona Morrissey, Shauna Kiernan, Shona Curran, Charlotte Raher, Karen Kelly, Patricia Jackman (Capt.), Nicola Morrissey, Lorraine Bray, Niamh Rockett, Sinead Cummins, Zoe O Donoghue, Deirdre Nugent, Emma Hannon, Ruth Geoghegan, Iona Heffernan, Catriona McGlone, Jenny Simpson and Valerie O'Brien. Waterford's Manager: Niall O'Donnell and Selector was Austin Curran, Physio was Shay Fitzpatrick and Team Doctor was Sinead Fitzpatrick.

The County Board would like to thank all the players and team manager Niall O'Donnell and his backroom team for their commitment and efforts through-out the year and although inter-county camogie is finished for the year, these players still have club championship to play over the coming weeks.

U16B All Ireland Final

Waterford U16s travel to Leixlip next Sunday to play Derry in this year’s All Ireland final and we wish all involved the best of luck. This team were narrowly beaten by Cork in the 2013 final and much of that squad are still eligible to play in this year's final. This year's opponents will be Derry. The Waterford team will be confident going into this match as they have already played and beaten Derry in the group phase of this year's championship.

​U14 Development Squad

Waterford U14 Development Squad played Limerick A in a challenge match at Milford GAA grounds, Co Carlow in advance of travelling to the Intermediate Semi-Final to support the adult team. They came away with a very credible victory, winning on a score-line of 4:11 to 4:03.

Primary Squad

Waterford also had two Primary Squads play Limerick selections at the Carlow Town GAA grounds and despite losing both games, the Mentors were extremely happy with the performances and improvements shown by the girls over the course of the season. The solid work put in by the Management Team with the forty four girls involved will prove a solid foundation for the future development of the game in the county. Again the Panel attended the Intermediate Semi-Final after their games.

Junior Championship Semi-final

The Junior semi-final was played at Dungarvan GAA pitch on Sunday evening between Roanmore and Lismore. When these two teams met in the league phase of the championship the result was a draw. On this occasion the result was also a draw on a score of Lismore's 4-06 to Roanmore's 3-09. This match will be replayed and clubs will be contacted with details during the week.