by Daragh Ó Conchúir
Waterford are hoping to build on a first-round victory as they resume their Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship campaign with a trip to Cappamore to take on Limerick this Sunday (2pm).
Last year’s All-Ireland semi-finalists have enjoyed a good start to the year under new manager Seán Power, winning the Very League Division 1B title to earn promotion to the top tier and then beating Cork in the Munster Championship – a first win over the Rebels at the 14th attempt since returning to the senior grade in 2016.
They were rocked by a no-show 11-point defeat by subsequent overall victors, Tipperary in the provincial semi-final, however.
The Déise women got back into the swing of things by recording a whopping 2-26 to 1-9 triumph over Offaly in Banagher, after which Beth Carton admitted that there had been plenty of soul-searching following the loss to the Premier.
It was a good response, with ten different scorers contributing to the tally, but Power, who led Waterford to U21 and minor hurling All-Irelands, felt that there was plenty to improve upon.
There are some injury concerns too with Lorraine Bray (shin), Rachael Walsh (thumb) and Clara Griffin (back) not starting against Offaly and though Bray did come on, she seemed to aggravate the issue in her nine minutes of activity.
Power understands from his vast experience with his club Mount Sion and Waterford that such setbacks are part and parcel of sport and prefers to point to the opportunities provided to others as a result.
“These things happen,” Power told the Waterford News & Star. “The benefit of having a strong squad is that when you have a couple of injuries, we have very capable replacements. There is no dip in quality.
“There were a few things we did in the second half (against Offaly) that weren’t anywhere near satisfactory. We set our standards very high in the group. We did a few things that aren’t really the way we want to play the game. It wasn’t the perfect performance from us, there’s loads to work on.”
