By Kevin Egan
Cork may be scoring freely but their captain, Méabh Cahalane has emphasised the All-Ireland champions’ defensive solidity as the core reason for their 100 per cent record to in the Very Camogie League.
The Rebels have lost five Division 1A finals since their most recent success and regardless of what happens in their last-round clash with Galway next week, they are now just 60 minutes away bridging an 11-year gap, after their 1-12 to 0-7 win over Tipperary at The Ragg cemented place in another decider.
They may be All-Ireland champions but vast majority of the squad doesn’t have a League medal, so it looks like an obvious target for them.
While winning in the backyard of last year’s League victors was important, Cork captain and full-back Méabh Cahalane was every bit as delighted with the manner in which their victory was achieved.
“I think our second and third quarter, we got really good scores from our turnovers and that was why we came out on the right side,” Cahalane said afterwards.
“We haven’t conceded a goal yet in this league and that was one of our main aims coming into this game, that if we can keep that record going for as long as possible, that’ll be an important attribute coming into the Championship”.”
Tipp held out well for the first quarter, playing into a strong breeze, trailing by just a single point when Grace O’Brien scored from the sideline in the 16th minute.
But Kate Wall’s point in response kickstarted a run of 1-6 without reply, the goal coming from one of the few survivors of Cork’s last League success, Katrina Mackey, after a brilliant pass from the skipper’s sister, Orlaith.
In the second half, Cork’s defensive play was absolutely immense, and by the end Tipperary finished the contest without a score from play.
“Aisling (Thompson) and Hannah (Looney) were coming back to help out by putting pressure on their half-forward line and that was a big part of it. We probably conceded a few sloppy frees that we didn’t need to concede, but overall we’d be happy with that,” Cahalane noted.
Galway’s 1-16 to 0-13 home win over Dublin in Kilbeacanty means that they are frontrunners for the second final spot, but they have to travel down to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday afternoon, needing to match whatever Tipperary’s do against Waterford to advance.
A brilliant point from Áine Keane, a goal from recently married Niamh Mallon and a remarkable diving save by Sarah Healy from Emma Moran were key moments in the game and points from Aoife McKearney and Aisling O’Neill kept Dublin in touch but Galway captain, Carrie Dolan slotted five points from frees on the trot to bring her tally to ten and keep the visitors at bay.
“We were disappointed with the loss to Tipperary a couple of weeks ago, we wanted a reaction and we got it,” said palyer of the match, Dolan (pictured above).
“It was really physical out there. There was a lot of frees out there and there was plenty more that was let go, but when it’s even enough and the same for both sides, you don’t mind that and it makes for a better game for supporters.
“It’s all to play for, it’s a League semi-final really (against Cork) and that’s a great game to have now.”
Meanwhile at the other end of the table, Kilkenny picked up a crucial 2-18 to 2-13 win over Waterford in their local derby at UPMC Nowlan Park, lifting them off the foot of the table.
Their defence was opened up to allow Mairéad O’Brien open the scoring with a goal in the third minute but the second quarter saw Kilkenny produce their best hurling of the year so far, yielding two goals from Katie Nolan to establish an eight-point interval advantage.
Kelly-Ann Doyle seized a Katie Nolan delivery for a goal after 15 minutes and she added a second seven minutes later. Steffi Fitzgerald’s two points, the first a superb team score, were also part of the highlight reel as Kilkenny took a 2-10 to 1-5 interval lead.
By the 6th minute of the second half, Caoimhe Keher-Murtagh’s point meant that all six Kilkenny forwards had scored but their proficiency up front slowed up a little after that.
O’Brien struck for a second goal for Waterford but the Kilkenny subs helped the hosts see the game out, something that delighted manager, Tommy Shefflin. He was most pleased with the mentality of the players, however.
“It’s important that we stay in this division, so now it’s in our own hands, we need to go up to Dublin and win,” said Shefflin.
“The younger girls in the group need to be playing at this level going into the future, this is the best place for them to develop as we want them to.
“We started four points down and by half-time we went in eight points ahead. After losing the last couple of games the easiest thing in the world would have been for the girls to drop the heads but they showed a bit of character there, they proved that the previous defeats didn’t affect them and they dug deep and turned it around.”
