Clare Doheny, Kilkenny, and Casey Hennessy, Tipperary, in Very National Camogie League action. Photo by Tom Beary/Sportsfile
Cork and Galway both made it two wins from two to in the Very Camogie league, but champions Tipperary are hot on their heels after recording an 0-16 to 1-8 local derby win over Kilkenny in what was undoubtedly game of the day in Division 1A.
A late Dublin goal denied the Premier County an opening round win but they were in complete control of their neighbours at The Ragg this afternoon, responding well to score three of the last four points when Caoimhe Keher Murtagh’s goal after 52 minutes threatened to set Kilkenny up for a smash and grab win against the run of play.
Aoife Prendergast opened the scoring for the visitors and the contest was still evenly poised when Aobha O’Gorman split the uprights after 17 minutes to leave just a point between the sides, but Tipperary were clearly the superior side in the second and third quarters, scoring ten out of the next twelve points. The platform for their dominance was at midfield and half-back, where Player of the Match Mairéad Eviston, as well as Niamh Treacy and Caoimhe McCarthy, excelled.
Conditions were tricky for both sides but there was no strong wind advantage either way, so when two Caoimhe Maher points helped to establish a four-point lead at the break, Denis Kelly’s side would have felt they were in the driving seat. Two each from Grace O’Brien and Clodagh McIntyre made it 0-12 to 0-4 going into the final quarter, but a couple of frees from Prendergast kept Kilkenny in touch, while Laura Murphy was exceptional for the Cats, battling against the tide.
Aobha O’Gorman’s strong run helped to set up the goal for Keher Murtagh but late points from Grace O’Brien and Róisín Howard ensured that Tipperary sealed a fully-merited win.
Galway defied the breeze to make the stronger start at SETU Waterford, and after Carrie Dolan and Maggie Gostl traded scores, the Tribeswomen rattled off four points in as many minutes, with Niamh Niland and Niamh Mellon picking off very impressive points.
However Waterford found their rhythm after that, holding Galway scoreless for 16 minutes and nudging their way into the lead with a run of five unanswered points of their own.
Mairéad O'Brien's point and a goal from Gostl established a 1-7 to 0-7 lead for the Déise women at the interval and when Beth Carton split the uprights to extend that gap after half-time, Waterford looked like they might have enough of a lead built up to hold on and pick up an invaluable win.
That wasn't the case however as Galway completely took over in terms of possession for the remainder of the half, and 31 minutes of play passed by before they scored again. By that time Galway had fired over eight in a row, though it took plenty of time before they took the lead, as they too struggled to work with the breeze.
It was Ciara Hickey that finally nudged them into the lead with 25 minutes gone, but with that psychological barrier broken, two more from Dolan either side of one from Áine Keane gave them a little bit of breathing room. Beth Carton did reduce the margin to a single goal but a couple of missed frees proved costly for the home side, as it forced Waterford to chase in vain for a goal chance that never came. The eventually succumbed to a second successive defeat, 0-15 to 1-9.
At St. Peregrine’s GAA club, All-Ireland champions, Sorcha McCartan excelled as Cork moved through the gears in the second quarter to blow Dublin out of the water and take a giant leap towards their eventual 0-20 to 0-10 victory.
There was just a point between the sides (0-3 to 0-2) with 12 minutes played, but the Rebels hit ten without replay before half-time. In all, McCartan had eight on the board in the first half, six from frees, though it wasn’t all plain sailing as Izzy O’Regan and Ashling Thompson departed through injury.
The lead was 11 at the interval and it was 0-18 to 0-5 before Dublin doubled their tally in the last ten minutes of play, giving themselves a little momentum boost in advance of what looks like a crucial relegation battle with Waterford next weekend. Aoife McKearney was their primary contributor with six points.
Meanwhile in Division 1B, Clare made it three wins out of three with a 1-10 to 0-11 win over Down, Dervla Cosgrove’s goal was the difference in Ballycastle where Antrim edged out Westmeath by 1-9 to 0-9, and in Enniscorthy, Jessie Morrissey and Joanne Dillon found the net for home side against Limerick inside the first four minutes.
Those goals gave the Model County a 2-1 to 0-6 half-time lead after playing into a diagonal breeze, and by the end they extended that margin out to seven points, 2-11 to 0-10.