Waterford record first senior championship win over Kilkenny, Cork make statement in Tipp victory

The 42

3 days ago

CAMOGIE HISTORY WAS made at UPMC Nowlan Park today, as Waterford recorded their first ever senior championship victory over Kilkenny, the 0-17 to 0-10 win blowing Group 2 of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland series wide open.
Since gaining promotion back to senior in 2015, the record between the two counties made for grim reading for Déise supporters and players, with eight defeats and one draw in nine games in all competitions.
An early 0-4 to 0-1 lead for Tommy Shefflin's home side suggested that another similar encounter was in store here, but Waterford completely took control, with Niamh Rockett and Beth Carton quickly establishing themselves as the key players that would dictate the flow of the game.
Eimear O'Neill also got on the scoresheet as Waterford rattled off seven points in a row, while Aoife Norris was just about keeping Kilkenny afloat with some incredible saves to deny Lorraine Bray, Annie Fitzgerald and Maggie Gostl goal attempts.
Midway through the second half Kilkenny briefly got the deficit back to two points, but on an afternoon when they mustered a mere three points from play, Laura Murphy's freetaking wasn't enough to get them the scores they needed.
Advertisement
Carton finished with 0-4 while Rockett, who has taken over placed ball duties from the former player of the year, shot the last three points of the game to bring her tally to 0-9, ensuring that Mick Boland's charges powered over the finish line to give themselves a dream start to the championship, having had a bye in week one.
At The Ragg in the big game in Group 1, it took Amy O'Connor a mere 14 seconds to open the scoring for Cork against Tipperary, and the All-Ireland champions didn't let up from there as they ran out 3-21 to 1-9 winners in a real statement victory.
The Rebels had the aid a tricky diagonal breeze in the opening half and Tipperary had some positive aspects, including a strong showing from their half-back line. However, once the ball got in behind, they struggled to contain a classy Cork attack and three green flags in the first ten minutes ensured that the home side always had a huge lead to chase.
Katrina Mackey broke a tackle to set up Clodagh Finn for a close-range goal in the eighth minute of the game, O'Connor scored the second on the back of great work from Orlaith Cahalane and Saoirse McCarthy, with Finn repaying the favour to Mackey by setting up her inside forward colleague for goal number three.
Mary Burke goaled in response for Tipp but seven points in a row from Ger Manley's crew made it 3-13 to 1-2 at the break, with no way back for the blue and gold. O'Connor continued to be a constant threat for Cork, ending the game with 1-13 in total, 1-5 from play, in a superb individual display.
Ashling Thompson and Hannah Looney also played leading roles in controlling midfield, and Cork already look like they have a firm grip on top spot in the group and the automatic semi-final berth that comes with that.
The battle between Limerick and Wexford at Rathkeale looked on paper like a vital contest in the battle for the last knockout spot alongside the two traditional Munster powers, and all roads now lead to Ennis for the meeting of Limerick and Clare next week, after the Treaty County secured a crucial 1-10 to 0-10 win today.
Caoimhe Costelloe hit three first-half points but a pair each for Anais Curran and Joanne Dillon meant Wexford took an 0-6 to 0-4 advantage into the dressing room at the interval, though that looked inadequate given the strength of the breeze that blew down Mick Neville Park. Sarah Gillane's excellent save just before the break was to prove crucial, all the more so when Laura Southern hit the game's only goal five minutes into the second half.
Limerick were heavily dependent on Costelloe for scores, with 0-8 coming from the stick of the Adare camog, but that proved to be just about enough as they bounced back well from their heavy defeat against Cork last weekend.
In the other game in Group 2, Galway had things all their own way in Owenbeg as they ran out 4-25 to 0-5 winners on the back of a dominant attacking display against Derry.
Mairéad Dillon's goal in the 15th minute and another from Aoife Donohue three minutes later left Derry on the back foot, and when Sabina Rabbitte added a third shortly before half-time, the hosts were shipping water all over the field.
Orlaith Hull was the only scorer for the Oak Leaf County in the opening half while Galway had nine scorers overall, with seven different players raising flags as they built up a 3-16 to 0-3 interval lead. Caoimhe Kelly got their fourth goal while Carrie Dolan (0-8) and Niamh Mallon (0-7) continued to do the bulk of the scoring damage.