THE DRAW TO determine the final qualifier from Group 2 of the Liberty Insurance senior camogie championship has been deferred on foot of appeals lodged by both Dublin and Clare.
Clare’s 4-19 to 1-6 win over Derry at Cusack Park drew Colm Honan’s charges level with Dublin in third place of the group and it remains to be seen which of those will play Wexford in one of the two All-Ireland quarter-finals.
Clare laid the platform for the victory in the first half despite the fact that Derry had the wind in that period. A good start was going to be important and it came via an Emma O’Driscoll point and two from Chloe Morey, the latter a spectacular score after a strong catch.
Karen Kielt replied for the visitors from a placed ball after 12 minutes but it was all Clare. Máire McGrath landed a bomb from distance and Róisín McMahon followed up before the Bannerwomen pounced for three quick goals to deflate Derry.
Aoife Keane struck for the first one and within a minute, the excellent Morey did likewise. It only took another four minutes for Keane to bag her second major and Clare were flying.
There was time for Andrea O’Keeffe to rattle the net one more time and it was 4-7 to 0-4 at the change of ends.
Derry resumed in perfect fashion with a goal from Orla Mullan after a strong run and that seemed to stop the hosts in their tracks for a time.
They gradually got going again though and while they didn’t raise any further green flags, kept the scoreboard ticking over with points from the influential Keane, substitute Vera Loughnane and player of the match Morey.
Meath will play Wexford next week with a place in the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland intermediate camogie semi-final at stake after a 3-14 to 2-11 victory that ended Galway’s championship aspirations in Loughrea.
The Royals got off to a dream start with a couple of goals from the fabulous Jane Dolan and with Aoife Minogue lethal from placed balls, they led by seven points at the break. It might have been worse but for the accuracy of Rachel Monaghan at the other end.
The margin became eight soon after the resumption but a Cliodhna Walsh goal allied to a couple of more points reduced the margin to three. Minogue made it a five-point game once more as she brought her tally to nine points.
Galway would not lie down though and Niamh Murphy appeared to get the final touch on a Monaghan delivery to put the game back into the melting pot. Meath stretched it to four once more before Monaghan’s penalty was deflected over by Meath goalkeeper, Emily Mangan. From the next attack, Siobhan Skehill made a stunning save but Dolan poked home the rebound to complete her hat-trick.
Cork are guaranteed a semi-final spot after making it three wins from three games in Group 1 by virtue of a 2-17 to 0-11 success in Ballyholland.
They are joined in the last four by Waterford, whose goalscoring touch accounted for Kilkenny in a neighbourhood battle at Walsh Park. The Cats outscored the hosts by 12 to eight but with Waterford finding the net three times, they prevailed by 3-5 to 0-12. Dawn Power struck for two of the goals, with Lorraine Bray the third.