Galway survive late Cats rally to reach semis

Date Published: {J}

Galway 0-12

Kilkenny 0-9

Eoghan Cormican at Duggan Park

A determined finish, full of character and heart, enabled the Galway senior camogie team to hold out against Kilkenny in this keenly contested All Ireland championship clash at Duggan Park, Ballinasloe last Saturday.

The team which faced stern criticism following their 12 point championship defeat to Cork have now strung three impressive performances together over successive weekends. Their determination in seeing out the win, after having a five point interval advantage whittled down to just two, provided evidence of the steel and resolve in this Galway side.

That said, at no stage during this tight, tough encounter did it really look like Galway were going to be overhauled. There were a few nervous moments all right, but Noel Finn’s charges were far superior in every facet of play and thoroughly deserving of their win, the fifth of the campaign so far.

All in all, Galway were the hungrier outfit. Their commitment in the tackle, desire to be first to the ball and movement up front contrasted sharply with the lethargic outlook of Kilkenny.

The Cats finished with four of their starting six forwards sitting in the dugout, a statistic which goes along way to highlighting the resolute nature of the Galway rearguard.

Therese Maher, along with Therese Manton, Lorraine Ryan and substitute Sarah Dervan backboned an outstanding defensive effort where only one of Kilkenny’s starting forwards scored from play.

Midfielder Ann Dalton, who finished with a personal tally of 0-4, took the battle to Galway with as much effort and enthusiasm as she could muster, but was left extremely short of support from her attacking colleagues. It became evident from early on that she was very much on her own in terms of being a consistent threat against a well organised Galway defence.

Indeed, when they reduced the five point interval deficit to only two points in the 56th minute, it looked as if they might be heading towards building up a momentum that would compensate for their shortcomings in attack. A late Sandra Tannian effort, however, settled the issue.

With Cork edging past Tipperary, the fixture in Ballinasloe was of an academic nature, but taking into consideration that Kilkenny had come out on top in their last three championship encounters, a win was vital from a Galway perspective.

Full forward Brenda Hanney – who was on fire in the opening half – struck the game’s opening score before doubling the home side’s advantage in the third minute.

The Galway Captain looked extremely comfortable on the edge of the square and seemed to have that yard of pace on Catherine Doherty when the ball was fed to her quickly and accurately.

In any event, Ann Dalton opened the visitors account with a fine score seven minutes in. A rousing effort from Aislinn Connolly edged Galway back into a two-point lead, but they were unable to build on this further as minors from Dalton and Aoife Neary (free), sandwiched an Orla Kilkenny point.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.