THE GLEN DIMPLEX All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship got underway last weekend with Offaly nicking a late win over Wexford in Tullamore, and today Clare and Kilkenny also made use of familiar surroundings as they overcame Dublin and Limerick to join the Faithful atop the Group 2 table.
Clare backed up their Division 1B League final win over Dublin with another crucial victory over the Metropolitans in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg this afternoon, overcoming the visitors by 2-16 to 3-10 in a battle between two front-runners for quarter-final slots.
Bill McCormack’s Dubs started well, and they roared back into the game from a seemingly impossible position when Kerrie Finnegan and Eimear Kehoe hit two goals in a minute going into the closing stages, but in between, Clare were full value for their victory, with Lorna McNamara (2-7) and Róisín Begley (0-4) leading the scoring charge.
In a quiet opening spell, the two sides scored just a point apiece in the first 12 minutes, before a pair of points from Aisling O’Neill and Aisling Maher nudged Dublin in front.
The second quarter was dominated by the hosts, with Clare Hehir and Abby Walsh taking control across the half-back line, though it was only in the closing minutes of the period that 1-1 from McNamara pushed them five clear at the interval.
A sensational burst in the five minutes after half-time gave the Banner women some real breathing room, as they fired over four points in quick succession, crowned by a stunning strike from Begley off her knees.
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Kehoe was outstanding for Dublin, shooting 2-4, and she struck a point to try and stem the tide, only for Begley and McNamara to hit back.
Kehoe hit her first goal after 47 minutes to reduce the gap to six, Clare bounced back with an Andrea O’Keeffe point and a McNamara goal, but just when it looked as if it might run out as a comfortable home win, goals from Finnegan and Kehoe kept it tight in the closing minutes.
Lorna McNamara (file photo) led the Clare scoring charge. David Ribeiro / INPHO
David Ribeiro / INPHO / INPHO
In UPMC Nowlan Park, Limerick got out to a dream start with Sarah O’Brien’s goal, brilliantly finished after she broke through two tackles, and a point from Orlaith Kelleher boosted the visitors further.
By the time they scored again, however, Kilkenny had 2-7 on the board, with a masterful display of slick attacking.
Aoife Prendergast’s free and a fine Laura Murphy point got the Cats moving. They edged into the lead on five minutes when a free from defence by goalie Aoife Norris went over the heads of a mass of bodies, leaving Prendergast to read the breaking ball and finish a superb goal.
It was all Kilkenny for the next 10 minutes as further points from Laura Greene, Caoimh Keher-Murtagh and three Prendergast frees pushed them six clear and that suddenly became nine with a similarly sharp finish from the prolific Prendergast.
Laura Southern and Donna Kenny pointed to reduce the gap by half-time and Limerick had the wind in the second half, but it was Kilkenny who surged out of the blocks with a third goal from a Sarah Barcoe flick, capitalising on good build up play from the O’Loughlin Gaels duo of Greene and Murphy.
Perhaps it was because both sides would have felt that the die was cast, the action for the remainder of the game lacked the same energy, with just five points scored in the next 20 minutes.
Kilkenny did surge across the finish line, however, adding injury time points from Rachel Dowling (two), Prendergast and Barcoe to boost their scoring difference and run up a 3-19 to 1-11 final score.
The other action of the day was in the Junior Championship, where Louth beat Mayo 4-8 to 1-8 and Monaghan beat Donegal by 5-14 to 3-8 in Clontibret.
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Clare beat Dublin again as Kilkenny down Limerick in All-Ireland senior camogie openers
THE GLEN DIMPLEX All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship got underway last weekend with Offaly nicking a late win over Wexford in Tullamore, and today Clare and Kilkenny also made use of familiar surroundings as they overcame Dublin and Limerick to join the Faithful atop the Group 2 table.
Clare backed up their Division 1B League final win over Dublin with another crucial victory over the Metropolitans in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg this afternoon, overcoming the visitors by 2-16 to 3-10 in a battle between two front-runners for quarter-final slots.
Bill McCormack’s Dubs started well, and they roared back into the game from a seemingly impossible position when Kerrie Finnegan and Eimear Kehoe hit two goals in a minute going into the closing stages, but in between, Clare were full value for their victory, with Lorna McNamara (2-7) and Róisín Begley (0-4) leading the scoring charge.
In a quiet opening spell, the two sides scored just a point apiece in the first 12 minutes, before a pair of points from Aisling O’Neill and Aisling Maher nudged Dublin in front.
The second quarter was dominated by the hosts, with Clare Hehir and Abby Walsh taking control across the half-back line, though it was only in the closing minutes of the period that 1-1 from McNamara pushed them five clear at the interval.
A sensational burst in the five minutes after half-time gave the Banner women some real breathing room, as they fired over four points in quick succession, crowned by a stunning strike from Begley off her knees.
Kehoe was outstanding for Dublin, shooting 2-4, and she struck a point to try and stem the tide, only for Begley and McNamara to hit back.
Kehoe hit her first goal after 47 minutes to reduce the gap to six, Clare bounced back with an Andrea O’Keeffe point and a McNamara goal, but just when it looked as if it might run out as a comfortable home win, goals from Finnegan and Kehoe kept it tight in the closing minutes.
In UPMC Nowlan Park, Limerick got out to a dream start with Sarah O’Brien’s goal, brilliantly finished after she broke through two tackles, and a point from Orlaith Kelleher boosted the visitors further.
By the time they scored again, however, Kilkenny had 2-7 on the board, with a masterful display of slick attacking.
Aoife Prendergast’s free and a fine Laura Murphy point got the Cats moving. They edged into the lead on five minutes when a free from defence by goalie Aoife Norris went over the heads of a mass of bodies, leaving Prendergast to read the breaking ball and finish a superb goal.
It was all Kilkenny for the next 10 minutes as further points from Laura Greene, Caoimh Keher-Murtagh and three Prendergast frees pushed them six clear and that suddenly became nine with a similarly sharp finish from the prolific Prendergast.
Laura Southern and Donna Kenny pointed to reduce the gap by half-time and Limerick had the wind in the second half, but it was Kilkenny who surged out of the blocks with a third goal from a Sarah Barcoe flick, capitalising on good build up play from the O’Loughlin Gaels duo of Greene and Murphy.
Perhaps it was because both sides would have felt that the die was cast, the action for the remainder of the game lacked the same energy, with just five points scored in the next 20 minutes.
Kilkenny did surge across the finish line, however, adding injury time points from Rachel Dowling (two), Prendergast and Barcoe to boost their scoring difference and run up a 3-19 to 1-11 final score.
The other action of the day was in the Junior Championship, where Louth beat Mayo 4-8 to 1-8 and Monaghan beat Donegal by 5-14 to 3-8 in Clontibret.
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