By Kevin Egan
Under the new structure of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie championship, with just two quarter-final spots on offer for the six teams in Group 2 of the championship, the margin for error is rapidly disappearing for several teams already.
Kilkenny and Clare are in control of the group with two wins from two after they overcame Dublin and Wexford on Saturday afternoon, leaving their opponents bottom of the table with no points on the board.
Meanwhile Limerick and Offaly could still go either way in the table after the Shannonsiders overcame the Faithful County by 3-13 to 1-14 in Moylish, putting both sides level on three points.
There was no better finish anywhere over the weekend than Chloe Cashe’s stunning top-corner drive in the closing stages of Wexford’s home tie with Clare, but it wasn’t enough for the Leinster champions, who still lost out by 3-9 to 1-11.
That provincial success feels a long way off now for manager Gerry McQuaid, who next Saturday will take his team to his former charges Dublin, for a game that could well condemn the losing side to a relegation play-off.
“The goals killed us, especially the second one. We didn’t take our own goal chances at the end and ultimately that’s what cost us. I’m content and happy enough with the workrate and the performance but we still have a bit to do,” said McQuaid.
“We’re always going to be Leinster champions, but I don’t want to hear that word again. We’re in (the All-Ireland) championship now. We had two weeks’ rest, that wasn’t an issue. We went, we trained hard, and we just fell short today.”
Clare’s strength in depth was crucial in their victory, particularly after star forward Lorna McNamara was forced off with a worrying knee injury in the first half.
Róisín Begley picked up Player of the Match honours after scoring two crucial first-half goals for the Centra Division 1B League champions, while Maeve Millea came off the bench to drive in the third dagger late with a low finish nine minutes into the second half.
“The goals were the big difference today, our shot count for points was very low. We took those chances and we needed them,” said Begley.
“Lorna has been unbelievable this year, she’s pushed us all on. Every time she gets the ball in her hand it’s usually a goal or a point. When she went off we had to step up, she is our star player, hopefully her injury isn’t too serious and we’ll see her back on the pitch in the next few weeks.
“One thing coming away from the last two weeks is that we’re disappointed that we haven’t played a full 60 minutes, that’ll be a big thing for us going forward into the Limerick game and the next three matches overall. It’s brilliant to have the likes of Maeve, Ellen (Csaey) and Áine (O’Loughlin) coming on off the bench to get us over the line on the big days.”
Kilkenny’s 2-16 to 1-12 win over Dublin in Parnell Park was comprehensive, with the Cats taking an 0-9 to 0-2 early lead and then wrapping up the win through two Sarah Barcoe goals in the second half.
“There’s not much to say when the backs are doing all the work hitting the ball in low and the ideal ball, there’s no excuse to not get it in my hand!” Barcoe told Kilkenny Community Radio, hailing the team spirit in what is one of the youngest groups in the senior championship.
“We’re such a close group of girls and we all back each other to the ground and I think that’s the main thing behind why we’re going well. We don’t doubt each other at all.
“It’s great to see the minors having that fantastic win and then the U16s getting to the final, there’s young girls coming up and there’ll be the people driving it on in the future so it’s nice to look after our end!”
Kilkenny boss, Jimmy Meagher said that they changed tactic to bypass the Dublin sweeper but he also hailed the performances of his goalkeeper and full-back line, who were on course for a clean sheet until Aisling Maher’s late penalty.
“Dublin had a good few goal chances in that first half and if one or two had to go into the net, it could have been very different. I thought Aoife Norris was brilliant, some last-ditch defending as well from Maria Brennan and Michelle Teehan, Maria’s rock solid back there, her use of the ball is excellent.
“We just felt Dublin were getting a bit of a run at us in the first half around the middle with their overlap and we just tried to crowd it out a small bit, bring Asha (McHardy) and Laura (Murphy) back into that middle third.
“The instruction was to go route one in on top of Sarah, and she produced some great finishes.”
The big guns in Group 1 join the action this coming Saturday with Galway hosting Cork in a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final while Waterford will entertain Tipperary in Azzuri Walsh Park on Sunday afternoon.
