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RTÉ News
05-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Niamh Rockett launches Waterford into semi-finals
Seventeen years after making her inter-county debut, Niamh Rockett scored 1-11 and kept her dream of completing what would be a sensational premier junior, intermediate and senior grand slam alive as Waterford stretched away to a 2-20 to 2-10 victory over Clare in a pulsating Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie quarter-final at Croke Park. At the other end of the field, Vikki Falconer marked her return to Croke Park two years after buckling in the early minutes of the All-Ireland final with what proved to be a cruciate knee ligament injury, by providing an imperious display of defending. The former All-Star was given a bit of trouble early on by Róisín Begley, but by the second half, she was emerging from every ruck going with the sliotar, carrying, finding a team-mate, returning to base camp. Rinse. Repeat. Don't be fooled by the margin though. This was a deficit that was harsh on Clare, even if Waterford could have had three or four goals in the first half. That they didn't was down to the goalkeeping of Rachael Daly, who dived full length to save a Beth Carton penalty and made another stop from the industrious Máiréad O'Brien, while Abby Flynn was denied by some last ditch defending by Susan Daly and Clare Hehir, while Sinéad O'Keeffe threw her body on the line to deny Flynn another chance. The Dalys were joined in defence by their triplet sibling Lynda, who recovered from a first-half injury to play well, while their younger sister Jennifer was a constant threat with her pace, scoring two points. Meanwhile, Áine O'Loughlin pounced for two goals in the first half, the first an absolute piledriver after Begley found her peeling off Kate Lynch. That was in the 15th minute and eight minutes later, she did really well to grab a low ball, turn and boot a shot in off the far post. Their workrate had Waterford struggling to get out of defence, to set their patterns going and make any real inroads up top. Annie Fitzgerald and Flynn were largely clinical when the opportunity presented itself, while Flynn and Rockett combined well for a couple of scores. It looked hard work for the Déise outfit but a turnover deep in injury time created a two-on-one and when Flynn fed Fitzgerald, the Gaill Tír dynamo made no mistake from close range to give Waterford a 1-11 to 2-5 lead. By now, Mick Boland and his brains trust had moved Keeley Corbett Barry back on O'Loughlin, with Lynch sitting in front. Clare went for a Twin Towers approach when bringing on Ellen Casey at the end of the third quarter and the Newmarket-on-Fergus giant had a shot from a free well saved by Brianna O'Regan. O'Loughlin continued to cause trouble but by hook, and maybe sometimes by crook, Waterford kept the Banner skipper at bay. The Waterford captain, Lorraine Bray began to get more into the game with a couple of points at the end of trademark runs were notable, though with a three-on-two overlap, she probably should have made a goal chance out of one of those. Clare Hehir lofted three might frees over the bar from distance for the saffron and blue and it was still all to play for when Rockett exchanged passes with sub Maggie Gostl to goal in the 55th minute. The St Anne's sharpshooter had to stretch but just beat the advancing Rachael Daly to flick to the net and put eight between them. Points from Rockett and Fitzgerald, who blazed just over after somehow working her way in from the endline, made it a double-figure margin, which will have fooled nobody, but for Waterford the key was ensuring a third semi-final appearance in four seasons. Clare: A O'Loughlin 2-00; C Hehir 0-03(fs); A O'Keeffe, J Daly, Z Spillane 0-02 each; C Cahill 0-01 Waterford: B O'Regan, R Walsh, K Lynch, V Falconer, B Bowdren, K Corbett Barry, O Hickey. A McNulty, L Bray, E O'Neill, B Carton, A Flynn, N Rockett, M O'Brien, A Fitzgerald. Subs: M Gostl for O'Neill (44); T Power for Hickey (57); M Comerford for Flynn (59); I Heffernan for Corbett Barry (60); A O'Sullivan for O'Brien (60+2). Clare: R Daly, S O'Keeffe, C Hehir, S Daly, L Daly, A Walsh, D Griffin, N Mulqueen, A Andersen, A O'Keeffe, C Cahill, J Daly, R Begley, A O'Loughlin, Z Spillane. Subs: C Carmody for Spillane (39); E Casey for Andersen (42); G Carmody for A O'Keeffe (57); C Grogan for S Daly, A Cooney for J Daly (58); M Scanlon for Hehir blood (60).
The Irish Sun
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Resolution of skorts saga allows camogie action on the pitch to take centre stage as Clare vs Wexford among best games
THURSDAY'S resounding Special Congress vote has thankfully put an end to the skorts controversy that had rumbled on for weeks. With that 2 Saoirse McCarthy of Cork is tackled by Clare Hehir of Clare during last month's Munster Championship semi-final 2 Dublin captain Aisling Maher has been one of the most prominent voices in the movement that yesterday culminated in players being given the freedom to wear either shorts or skorts GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND SENIOR CHAMPIONSIP GROUP 1 Clare v Wexford, Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosog, 2pm Referee: Andy Larkin (Cork) (Live on Camogie Association YouTube) There is no time for these teams to feel their way into the championship as in a group that includes Cork, Tipperary and Limerick, this looks like being a crucial fixture with regard to determining one of the three qualification berths to the knockout stages. Read More On GAA There has rarely been much between the teams and in the league, a couple of goals gave the Banner a one-point victory in Enniscorthy. That got them to the Division 1B final which they lost to Antrim, after a very competitive hour. Wexford actually scored more and conceded less than Clare through the group stages of the league. They also reached the Leinster final last weekend, where Kilkenny were too strong, and must put that to bed quickly. This is an impossible game to call. Most read in GAA Hurling Cork v Limerick, Páirc Uí Rinn, 4pm Referee: Joe Mullins (Clare) Limerick GAA fans troll RTE pundit Donal Og Cusack after win over Cork Limerick have shown improved form this year, achieving mid-table status in the second tier of the league with wins over Westmeath and Down. They were unable to overcome Wexford and Clare, who they will renew rivalries with in the coming weeks. Cork, as Division 1A champions and the team now attempting to secure a championship three-in-a-row, are camogie's standard bearers. Anything other than a home victory would be a huge surprise. GLEN DIMPLEX ALL-IRELAND SENIOR CHAMPIONSIP GROUP 2 Derry v Kilkenny, Owenbeg, 2pm Referee: Brian Kearney (Kildare) Derry secured their senior status quite comfortably 12 months ago and that will be their target once again in 2025. They will need to defend better than in the Division 2 league final, when they conceded four goals and could have shipped more. They were missing half last year's team, however, and some of those will return against the Cats. Starting at home is a boost against a Kilkenny side making gradual improvements under new manager Tommy Shefflin. The Stripeywomen were easy winners of the Leinster final last weekend against Wexford and will be hotly fancied to make the long trek back home with the three points tucked under their belts. Galway v Dublin, Kenny Park, 4pm Referee: Liz Dempsey (Kilkenny) This is an intriguing affair as Dublin have consistently pushed Galway to the wire in recent seasons. There was six points between them in Kilbeacanty last March but after starting with a draw against Tipperary, the Dubs failed to secure another positive result and were relegated from Division 1A of the League. Galway beat Cork in the final group game to book their place in the decider but never showed up, with the Rebels exacting swift and severe retribution with the silverware on the line. The lack of provincial games for the westerners has often led to a slow championship start for the Tribeswomen so Dublin will look to rattle them early but last year's All-Ireland finalists will be favoured to prevail.
