Routine victory for Galway secures a big date with Tipp

Galway 3-16 Derry 0-12

Darren Kelly in Naomh Mearnog

 THE Galway senior camogie team concluded their group games in the All-Ireland championship last Saturday with this routine victory over Derry that told us very little about either side.

With the Tribeswomen having already qualified and the Oak Leaf County eliminated, it was never expected to be a fast paced encounter. Indeed, events elsewhere would have been of more note as Tipperary’s 2-16 to 2-6 win over Dublin in Parnell Park meant it will be the Premier County who will challenge Galway in the quarter-finals on Saturday week (August 3).

What will be of more worry to Galway is the lack of ruthlessness clearly in evidence again. This game was settled by the quarter-hour and the maroon and white appeared happy to ease up on their onslaught. A win is a win but these bad habits have been costly before. Wexford, Cork or Kilkenny wouldn’t have let up!

Galway didn’t in the first half and were 0-5 to 0-0 ahead after seven minutes. Ailish O’Reilly opened their account after just 51 seconds when she finished off an Emma Kilkelly move while Niamh McGrath was accurate with her free taking splitting the posts on three occasions before registering one from play.

Grainne McGoldrick opened Derry’s account on eight minutes before Niamh Kilkenny restored the five point advantage.  And the Pearses player made a more telling impact five minutes later when she was allowed to strode down the central channel in Portmarnock before picking out the unmarked Ann Marie Hayes and the Killimor full forward struck the opening goal.

There were many question marks about Hayes’ redeployment to the attack but that was her third goal of the championship and her Killimor clubmate Brenda Hanney is also getting on the act. After Lorraine Ryan’s terrific interception in her own half on 22 minutes, the move led to Hanney being put through and it was game over at 2-6 to 0-1.

But the next 38 minutes would see Galway add another 1-10 to Derry’s 11 points and even though the management did use the outing to take a good look at their panel, with Davitts’ Lorraine Farrell making her debut and Ann Marie Starr starting a championship match for the first time since the 2011 All-Ireland final, Galway’s scoring slowed down a little too easily.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.