Archive News
Intermediate team lift camogie gloom with a battling win
Date Published: 29-Aug-2012
Galway 1-14
Waterford 0-13
Eoghan Cormican at the Gaelic Grounds
AFTER the disappointment of Nowlan Park, the destination for the Galway intermediate camogie team was always going to be of far greater significance than the journey.
From a long way out, this group of players were quietly fancied to make an All-Ireland final but, such is the nature of Intermediate camogie that little or no hype surrounded their solid, if not spectacular, progress through the group stages. In truth, all focus centred on the exploits of the county’s senior side.
But once the flag bearers of Galway camogie came unstuck at the penultimate hurdle, the spotlight shifted to this lesser known bunch and responsibility fell on their shoulders to ensure a Galway presence on All-Ireland final day. On Saturday. they duly obliged, even if their opponents produced far sturdier resistance that many expected would be the case.
Though the number one priority of eking out a result was satisfied, it was by no means a performance without flaws. Galway wasted a number of first half chances, while for the majority of that opening thirty minutes, the full-forward line plyed their trade around the ‘40 and, consequently, a series of deliveries were mopped up by Waterford ‘keeper Tracey Kiely with not a Galway shirt in sight.
On the plus side for Galway is the spirit and commitment of the side. When Waterford turned a four point deficit into a one point lead late in the first half, there were genuine fears among the Galway contingent that a shock result was on the cards.
However, they responded by producing the most important score of the contest to reclaim the initiative. Rachel Monaghan, after gathering an Aoife Lynskey delivery, swiftly offloaded to the unmarked Emma Kilkelly and from just outside the ‘21’, the Kinvara stickwoman found the net.
From the off, Galway showed a real fervour for the contest and took the game to their opponents by moving the ball crisply and swiftly. It worked a treat as, within twenty seconds, Deirdre Burke had her side’s first score on the board, before Rachel Monaghan, following a foul on Molly Dunne, added a point from a free.
It was obvious that Waterford, in their first year of Intermediate camogie, didn’t posess the same level of craft or skill as their opponents and from a Galway viewpoint, it was crucial that the Westerners were not drawn into a physical battle.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.