Division 1A of the National Camogie League feels like it has split into two sections with two rounds to go, with Cork, Tipperary and Galway hunting the two final spots while Kilkenny, Waterford and Dublin are in the relegation mix.
Waterford have the advantage in the battle to avoid the drop this week after they recorded their first win of the season beating Dublin 3-16 to 0-12 at Parnell Park.
Déise manager Jerry Wallace said his team are exactly where they planned to be heading into the fortnight’s break.
“We knew at the start that we had Cork and Galway, the two best teams in the country at the moment, up first,” said Wallace.
“We said that we’d get a few nuggets out of those, and we got what we wanted, we didn’t get destroyed by anyone, and we had today’s game targeted. We were fresh, disciplined, ready to go and the players came here with the right frame of mind.”
Waterford rode their luck a little with their first two goals, initially when Niamh Rockett tried to catch Abby Flynn’s shot but instead deflected it past Eimear Hurley into the Dublin net, then again when Lorraine Bray shot for a point only to see the sliotar rebound off the crossbar into Hurley and back over the goal line.
Their third goal was well crafted, with Flynn picking out Mairéad O’Brien for a close-range finish, and Waterford continued to score freely, led by Rockett (1-5) and Beth Carton (0-6).
“We wanted to play our own game today, to move the ball quickly through the lines and play positively, and we got a good return from that,” said Wallace. “The game opened up, we kept the scoreboard ticking, and we said that improving our efficiency was key, not to pull the trigger until the score was on.”
At the other end of the table, champions Tipperary gave themselves a huge shot in the arm in advance of what’s sure to be a titanic battle with Cork at The Ragg in a fortnight, Clodagh McIntyre’s goal clinching a 2-14 to 1-13 win over Galway in Kilbeacanty.
Twenty-three of the game’s 30 scores were to come in the opening half, Niamh Mallon and Caoimhe Kelly helping Galway to a bright start, but Grace O’Brien added a stoppage time goal to her seven first-half points to make it 1-11 to 0-11 at the interval.
The work rate, illustrated by the half-back trio of Mairéad Eviston, Caoimhe McCarthy and Sarah Corcoran as well as the Casey Hennessy around the middle third, really pleased Tipp manager Denis Kelly.
“We started slowly and gave Galway a bit too much room so when we picked it up midway through the first half, we got back on level terms and then that goal was a sucker punch,” he said.
“At this time of year, when the ball hits the ground there will be a lot of rucks, you want to come out on top of those. We turned them back towards their own goals a few times when they were coming out from their own goal, that was very pleasing to see.”
And at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Kilkenny suffered a 3-18 to 0-13 loss against All-Ireland champions Cork after being blown away in the second half, the hosts outscoring them 2-10 to 0-4 after the break.
“We settled in the second half, we worked hard, but Kilkenny are a different level to what we’ve played already. They’re doing great work, but we showed that we have quality in there, we got three great goals and defensively we were sound,” Cork manager Ger Manley said of the win.
Orlaith Cahalane’s goal undid Kilkenny’s fast start, while Saoirse McCarthy hit the net twice after half-time to ensure the Rebels have now won each of their three games by a double-digit average.
“We were probably a bit leggy in the first half because we trained hard this week, but now we have two weeks, we can work hard and then give them a few days coming into the game. Tipp are very different up in The Ragg, but that game will stand to our girls.”
However, there was mixed news from the Cork camp, Manley confirming Izzy O’Regan sustained a cruciate injury in last weekend’s victory over Dublin.
“Izzy has been a mainstay of the team since I’ve been here, she’s a special girl. She can play anywhere, half-forward all the way back to corner back, and I’m just devastated for her,” Manley added.
Division 1A weekend results:
Dublin 0-12 Waterford 3-16
Cork 3-17 Kilkenny 0-13
Galway 1-13 Tipperary 2-14
