by Kevin Egan
Saoirse McCarthy admitted to a sense of the unknown at the start of any season, but the all-action Cork star produced a typical top-notch performance as the All-Ireland champions got their Very Camogie League Division 1A campaign off to a strong start with victory over Waterford on Saturday.
After the first week of action in the top tier, they are top of the table with Galway, after last year’s League and Championship runners-up beat Kilkenny in Dunmore.
While Galway were pushed to the wire at Dunmore, Cork had it much more their own way at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, where first half goals from Ciara O’Sullivan and Hannah Looney ensured they took full advantage of their salubrious surroundings in The Páirc.
“You never really know what stage you are at,” said McCarthy, who picked up the player of the match accolade after their 2-10 to 0-8 victory.
“It is just about sticking to your principles and try new bodies on the field. Everyone showed up today. You had two girls in Kate Wall and Ciara O’Sullivan who are coming back into the panel and they more than showed their worth, so I think it was brilliant to get the win and get the season started off.”
The heavy lifting was done in the first half as Cork led 2-7 to 0-2 at the interval following a dominant first half display. Waterford rallied at the start of the second half as Carton, Niamh Rockett and Lorraine Bray all troubled the scoreboard but Cork were able to keep them at arm’s length.
Playing at the home of Gaelic games in Cork is something McCarthy and her cohorts appreciate.
“It is brilliant and having the families and little kids around after the game. It’s brilliant to get out in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, it’s where we belong. (County grounds are) where we should be playing week-in and week-out all over the country.”
Galway were due to play at UPMC Nowlan Park, which has been hosting Kilkenny games for many years as well as major national knockout League and Championship fixtures, but rain forced a switch down to the road to Dunmore, where the visitors ground out an 0-13 to 0-11 win.
Kilkenny, under the management of Tommy Shefflin for the first time, led by four points early on and by 0-7 to 0-5 at half-time, but some crucial scores from team captain Carrie Dolan dragged Galway back into the game, and a late brace from Ailish O’Reilly secured the win.
“It’s always going to be hard to come down to Kilkenny. It wasn’t our best performance but we had to dig it out there, lots of players put up their hands when the pressure came on, they showed great quality and spirit,” manager Cathal Murray said on Galway Bay FM.
“The last few weeks have been a bit disjointed. We didn’t go back as early as we might have. We had a lot of girls playing with University of Galway and with UL, the Sarsfields girls only just rejoined the panel a few weeks ago. Because of that, today was always going to be about spirit and about heart, and we got a good impact of the bench as well which I’m really happy with.”
Dublin were the happier side at the Ragg after Aoife McKearney’s late goal salvaged a 2-7 to 1-10 draw at the expense of reigning League champions Tipperary.
“We were in a great position going down the stretch with a three-point lead, so I’m disappointed with the result. But it’s round one, so there are no panic buttons being pushed just yet,” said Tipp manager, Denis Kelly.
“You want to win every match you can, but we’re not as strong for the League this year as we were last year. We’re down a couple of key players and of course Eimear (McGrath) is out for the year (with a cruciate) so we’re going to be under the cosh a little bit for this League,” he said, referring to the loss of Karen Kennedy and Karin Blair due to shoulder injuries and the retirements of Mary Ryan, Cáit Devane, Nicole Walsh and Tess Ryan.
Ashling O’Neill missed an early penalty for Dublin but made up for it with a goal two minutes later. However, Dublin struggled to use the diagonal breeze and fell behind to Caoimhe McCarthy’s goal before half-time.
In a low-scoring second half, the hosts inched three points ahead but were reeled in by McKearney’s late strike from a free for last year’s Division 1B winners.
In Division 1B, Clare produced a gritty second half comeback to defeat Wexford 2-9 to 0-14. The Banner trailed 0-9 to 0-5 at half time but goals from Áine O’Loughlin and Ziyan Spillane helped them to emerge triumphant.
Westmeath’s first ever Division 1B game ended in defeat in Raharney, as Down emerged 2-11 to 1-5 winners, holding the home side to just one point in the second half, while Antrim came away from Limerick with a 2-10 to 1-7 win, with Caitrin Dobbin (2-1) and Eavanne Martin (0-6) carrying most of the scoring load for the Ulster side.
