All Ireland Senior Camogie Quarter
Final
Tipperary 1-14 Waterford 1-7
A devastated Déise left the field to a
loud cheer from the travelling support upon their All Ireland championship exit
to Tipperary on a sunny Saturday evening. A terrific opening twenty minutes
gave the Premier County the platform to reach their first All Ireland semi
final in ten years.
Tipp lost the three previous quarter
finals and they made that experience count against an edgy Waterford who
started slowly and failed to score for the last 24 minutes. Déise boss Donal
O’Rourke admitted they were below their best. They lifted the tempo either side
of half time however and the game hung in the balance until Cait Devane’s 62nd
minute free drifted over Ciara Jackman and into the back of the net. Another
Devane free at the death gave Tipp a rather flattering seven-point winning
margin.
The blue and gold set their stall out
in the first half as they outmuscled their opponents and led by seven on two
occasions. Waterford crowded the middle but Tipp bossed that sector. They also
pressurised the Déise backs and forced errors. Captain Orla O’Dwyer was named
player of the match for her work rate, darting runs and three points from play.
Ciardha Maher equalled that total. The Tipp defence limited the Waterford
attack to three scores from play and only gave away four dead ball chances to
Beth Carton.
The Déise leaders rose up to reduce
the gap to two points. Centre back Aine Lyng got stuck in, Lorraine Bray lit up
the second half at midfield while Niamh Rockett shot two points, won two frees
and supplied a point for Bray. Carton was watched closely by her UL team mates
in the Tipp defence but still imposed herself at centre forward. With 3-36 in
five championship matches, she is a cert for an All Star.
O’Rourke made one change from the win
over Clare as Aoife Landers replaced Claire Whyte. Waterford deployed Lyng as
sweeper with Kaiesha Tobin and Carton up top. Mary Ryan was left loose for
Tipp.
Waterford enjoyed a seven-point head
start against Limerick and Clare but they played catch-up this time. This was a
step up in intensity and the scoreboard read 0-8 to 0-1 after 20 minutes. Six
Tipp players raised white flags including five members of the attack. O’Dwyer
was a prominent figure on the left wing. Grace O’Brien also had a goal
disallowed by referee Owen Elliot as Cait Devane barged into Lyng in the
build-up. Tipp’s main markswoman was responsible for three first half points
(two frees). Carton contributed a seventh minute free after Rockett threatened
a goal.
With the inside forwards working off
scraps, Carton moved out to centre forward. They matched Tipp’s physicality for
the rest of the half. Carton’s 45 was Waterford’s first score in fourteen
minutes. Rockett followed that up with a spectacular effort after Carton
grabbed a Jackman puckout and sprayed the ball out to the left wing. Lyng then
broke a hurley off Devane as she advanced but Elliot signalled a free out.
Carton put in a block and earned a free that she sent between the posts.
Waterford were at the pitch of the game at last.
On the half hour mark, the chasers got
a lifeline. Carton fended off two defenders to squeeze in a point attempt off
her left side and the sliotar dipped under Burke’s crossbar to leave them only
two behind. In the three additional minutes, Tipp answered that goal with two
points via O’Brien and O’Dwyer (0-11 to 1-4).
Claire Whyte and Mairead Power were
introduced at half time for Landers and injured captain Shauna Kiernan. Within
thirty seconds of the restart, Carton and Rockett featured in a move which Bray
finished off. The Cappoquin midfielder then claimed a Tipp puckout and sent
Rockett into space. The Déise vice-captain closed the gap to two again. O’Dwyer
responded with her third point from 45 metres. Tipp sub Sarah Fryday stung the
side netting before Carton dispatched her fourth placed ball on 39 minutes,
Waterford’s last point of the evening (0-12 to 1-7).
Between that score and Devane’s injury
time free, only Ciardha Maher managed to register as a wasteful Tipp struggled
to close this game out. They were guilty of seven second half wides and ten in
total. Miriam Campion palmed the ball wide with the goal at her mercy while
O’Dwyer and Devane saw points ruled out by the hesitant umpires at the City
End.
Off limited supply, Waterford searched
desperately for an equalising goal but couldn’t break down the Premier wall. With
nine minutes left, Carton’s flick was batted away and Kate McMahon’s follow-up
effort was blocked down. Lyng dropped two frees around the square but both came
to nought.
Only a goal separated them when Devane
addressed a late free at midfield. It flew into the net and Tipp were back in
the last four. Waterford can reflect on a season of progress where they mixed
with the top teams in both league and championship.
Scorers
for Tipperary:
Cait Devane 1-4 (1-3fs), Orla O’Dwyer, Ciardha Maher 0-3 each, Grace O’Brien
0-2, Laura Loughnane, Caoimhe Maher 0-1 each.
Scorers
for Waterford:
Beth Carton 1-4 (3fs, 1 45), Niamh Rockett 0-2, Lorraine Bray 0-1.
Tipperary: Caoimhe
Burke; Julie Anne Bourke, Gemma Grace, Clodagh Quirke; Caroline Mullaney, Karen
Kennedy, Mary Ryan; Laura Loughnane, Ereena Fryday; Ciardha Maher, Caoimhe
Maher, Orla O’Dwyer; Grace O’Brien, Cait Devane, Roisin Cahill.
Subs: Sarah Fryday
for Cahill, Miriam Campion for Caoimhe Maher, Casey Hennessy for Loughnane,
Eibhlis McDonnell for O’Brien.
Waterford: Ciara
Jackman; Kate Lynch, Iona Heffernan, Sibeal Harney; Lorraine Bray, Aine Lyng,
Shauna Kiernan; Deirdre Fahy, Aoife Landers; Annie Fitzgerald, Fiona Morrissey,
Niamh Rockett; Orla Hickey, Beth Carton, Kaiesha Tobin.
Subs: Aisling Power
for Morrissey, Claire Whyte for Landers, Mairead Power for Kiernan, Kate
McMahon for Hickey.
Referee: Owen Elliot
(Antrim)
Déise
minors rule Munster
Munster Minor A Camogie Final
Waterford 2-11 Cork 1-11
The Waterford minors celebrated their
first Munster A title in Fermoy last Wednesday night after a hard-fought win
over All Ireland champions Cork.
Two Abby Flynn goals sent them seven
points up after sixteen minutes but Kevin Barry’s charges had to survive a
second half onslaught to get their hands on provincial silverware. A crazy pitch
invasion from management, subs, parents and fans followed the full time whistle
before captain Shauna Fitzgerald raised the cup.
When Cork piled on the pressure, Gailltir’s
Kate Lynch stood firm and carried her team out of danger. The number five, who
deputised for regular centre back Mary Kate Curran, deservedly collected the
player of the match award. The strong and skilful Flynn thrived both at full
forward and further out the field. Kaiesha Tobin’s accuracy from frees was also
a decisive factor. Cork squandered four dead ball opportunities and had three
different free takers.
Waterford started training last
November and Barry knew all along that this talented group could produce a
trophy. Flynn (2-1) and Tobin (0-7) starred up front but all six forwards rolled
up their sleeves. Clodagh Carroll hit a point in each half, Ciara O’Sullivan put
in unselfish work, Sarah Lacey made her presence count in attack and defence
and Annie Fitzgerald was fouled persistently. Midfielders Keeley Corbett Barry
and Clara Griffin scavenged for dirty possession all night. The six defenders and
goalkeeper Megan Foran threw their bodies in the way during a testing second
half.
Referee Mike Flannery surprisingly
didn’t have any linesmen for this final and only three umpires were on duty. Cork
centre forward Saoirse McCarthy converted a 45 inside a minute. It took
Waterford seven minutes before Flynn and Tobin created a point for Clodagh
Carroll. Flynn then won a free which Tobin struck over. After Megan Foran
denied the lively Aoife Hurley, McCarthy nailed another 45.
On 12 minutes, Tobin chased a long
ball from Clara Griffin. The Dungarvan attacker couldn’t control the sliotar
but Flynn arrived on the scene. She beat two defenders before she delivered a
hand pass to the roof of the net. Annie Fitzgerald drew a free in the right
corner and Tobin punished Cork’s indiscipline. Griffin then secured possession
at midfield and passed to Kate Lynch who aimed another delivery towards Flynn
at the edge of the square. The De La Salle forward kept her cool to drive home
a low shot. Two goals in four minutes and the old scoreboard in Fermoy
displayed a seven-point lead (2-3 to 0-2).
Jerry Wallace rearranged the Cork fifteen
and they bounced back with three white flags. McCarthy also pulled two
scoreable frees wide. Tobin interrupted that purple patch with a free at the
other end. After making a double substitution, Cork cut the deficit to three.
Sarah Lacey and Ciara O’Sullivan manufactured late frees however and Tobin
slotted both to leave Waterford five in front at the break (2-6 to 0-7).
Cork were keen to make inroads at the
start of the second half but Moira Barrett and Cliona Healy wasted easy point
chances. Shauna Fitzgerald then blocked down Barrett and Foran smothered Aine
Keating. McCarthy was off target with another free before the ladies in red got
the goal they deserved on 38 minutes. Foran was hooked after she gathered a stray
Cork shot and Ellen Murphy fired to the net. Fiona Keating pointed off the next
attack (2-6 to 1-8).
Waterford reacted with the next two
scores. Tobin popped over her sixth free after she was brought down.
O’Sullivan’s stick pass then found Carroll who sidestepped her marker and shot
her second point. Cork used Laura Hayes as a sweeper in front of Tobin, Flynn
and Fitzgerald but Waterford stayed patient. Tobin added her first from play
before Lynch’s solo run out of defence led to a Flynn point. 2-10 to 1-9
entering the last ten minutes.
Rebel sub Cliona Healy, who impressed
at full forward, left only a goal between them. Sarah Lacey made the ball stick
throughout the second half and eased the pressure on her colleagues. A late
point was just reward for her endeavours. Healy saw a shot batted away for a 45
which she directed between the uprights.
There was goalmouth activity at both
ends in a frantic finish. Tobin collected a last gasp free deep in her own half
to keep Cork at bay. Flannery played five additional minutes but Waterford’s
three-point advantage remained intact and a historic result was secured.
Scorers
for Waterford:
Abby Flynn 2-1, Kaiesha Tobin 0-7 (6fs), Clodagh Carroll 0-2, Sarah Lacey 0-1.
Scorers
for Cork:
Ellen Murphy 1-2, Cliona Healy 0-3 (1f, 1 45), Saoirse McCarthy (2 45s), Fiona
Keating 0-2 each, Emma Murphy (f), Aoife Hurley 0-1 each.
Waterford: Megan Foran;
Izabella Markiezch, Shauna Fitzgerald, Hannah Flynn; Leah Sheridan, Kate Lynch,
Roisin Dunphy; Keeley Corbett Barry, Clara Griffin; Clodagh Carroll, Ciara
O’Sullivan, Abby Flynn; Kaiesha Tobin, Sarah Lacey, Annie Fitzgerald.
Sub: Aoife
Fitzgerald for Carroll.
Cork: Sarah Ahern;
Ciara Murphy, Miriam Cotter, Emily Buckley; Ellen O’Regan, Laura Hayes, Lucy
Wallace; Moira Barrett, Emma Murphy; Suzanne Bateman, Saoirse McCarthy, Sally
McCarthy; Ellen Murphy, Fiona Keating, Aoife Hurley.
Subs: Orla Keating
for Wallace, Aine Keating for Sally McCarthy, Cliona Healy for Bateman, Ciara
O’Sullivan for Ellen Murphy.
Referee: Mike Flannery
(Limerick)
