Truagh-Clonlara 4-9
St Joseph’s 1-4

TRUAGH have moved a step closer to coming out of their group into the Intermediate Camogie Championship semi-finals after a comprehensive but hard-fought win over St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield on Sunday afternoon in O’Callaghan’s Mills.

The scoreline might suggest that the game was a one-sided affair but St Joseph’s made Truagh fight for every score. Truagh got the ideal start to the game, with a goal from Yvonne Woods with less than two minutes on the clock. This was followed by a fine point from play by Michelle Caulfield. With the pressure now on the St Joseph’s defence, they conceded a free 25 metres out, which Ellen Horgan duly converted for Truagh to put them 1-2 to no score ahead. Maire Begley added a point from play before St Joseph’s got on the score sheet with a pointed free. St Joseph’s then added a goal from play by Róisín Kennedy. More pressure from the Truagh forwards, however, led to another free, which Horgan put over the bar.
The teams then traded points from play to leave the scores at 1-5 to 1-3 with five minutes to go in the half. However, Truagh’s Sarah Sherlock sent the Joseph’s team in at half-time with heads down when she cleared a ball from way out the field and it dropped all the way into the Joseph’s net to leave the half-time score 2-5 to 1-3 in favour of Truagh.
St Joseph’s pointed early in the second half before Truagh answered through half-time substitute Caroline Lynch, who rounded her defender and struck for goal nearly 10 minutes into the half. This seemed to kick-start the Truagh forwards and Begley added her third point from play. Horgan once again pointed from a free and Caulfield added a point from play. Truagh emptied the bench, bringing on experienced players such as Cathy Halley, Caroline Moloney and Teresa Nihill. With three minutes remaining Truagh led 3-9 to 1-4 but half-time substitute Lynch was not finished her day’s work and she pounced to bring her tally to two goals.
Truagh’s half-back line of Marie Guinane, Sarah Sherlock and Kathleen Horgan worked well on the day, while Maire Begley and Michelle Caulfield were always a threat, with consistent free taking from Ellen Horgan helping Truagh greatly.
Truagh-Clonlara: Niamh Power; Aideen Hogg, Tracey Moloney, Sarah Hastings; Maire Guinane, Sarah Sherlock (1-0), Kathleen Horgan; Helen Guinane, Ashlynn Craughan; Ellen Horgan (0-3 f), Maire Begley (0-4), Michelle Caulfield (0-2); Liza Moloney, Yvonne Woods (1-0), Sinéad Collins.
Subs: Caroline Lynch (2-0) for Collins (half-time), Cathy Halley for L Moloney (45 mins), Caroline Moloney for Woods (49 mins), Teresa Nihill for Hogg (53 mins), Josephine Clancy for Hastings (53 mins).
St Joseph’s: Ann Marie McGann; Carmel Duggan, Sarah O’Brien, Michelle McMahon; Kim Moloney, Niamh Martin, Eimear Casey; Róisín Kennedy (1-1), Erinn Hennesy (0-3); Catriona Hennessy, Karen O’Brien, Rebecca Devine; Aoife Whelan, Niamh O’Loughlin, Sarah O’Keeffe.
Subs: Doireann Hennesy for Niamh O’Loughlin (40 mins), Áine Meehan for Sarah O’Keeffe (45 mins), Genevieve Leyden for Rebecca Devine (49 mins).
Referee: Neil O’Brien

 

Inagh 5-9
Ogonnelloe 2-6
Inagh secured the points in their first game of the championship with an easy win over Ogonnelloe in Sixmilebridge on Sunday evening.
Inagh’s opening point came in the third minute when Fiona Lafferty converted a free, followed by a goal from Helen Hehir. Ogonnelloe’s Marian O’Brien converted a free in the 15th minute to open her side’s tally. Two further goals for Inagh from Hehir and Tara Rynne kept the Inagh girls well in front before Susan Vaughan pointed twice, converting a free and a 45. Lafferty’s point in the 32nd minute sent Inagh in at the break with a comfortable lead of eight points.
Inagh continued in the same vein from the restart, with Lafferty adding three more points and Hehir one in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, whilst holding Ogonelloe to a solitary point from another converted free from Vaughan. Hehir bagged a hat-trick of goals when she sailed through the Ogonelloe defence and hand-passed to the net for Inagh’s fourth goal of the game. Tara Rynne scored her second goal in the 20th minute to effectively end the contest.
However, Ogonnelloe had two goals when Marian O’Brien’s shot flew past Brid McCarthy in the Inagh goal. McCarthy was beaten again three minutes later when she blocked a long-range free from Vaughan and in the resulting goalmouth scramble, Ogonnelloe somehow managed to get the ball over the line. Fiona Lafferty, who opened the scoring in the one-sided affair, had the closing score when she pointed in the 62nd minute.
Inagh: Bríd McCarthy; Edel Deveraux, Siobhan Lafferty, Gillian Lafferty; Michelle Wynne, Christina Glynn, Noelle Arthur; Sinead O’Loughlin, Jennifer Griffen; Sharon Rynne, Fiona Lafferty (0-8, 3f), Patricia O’Loughlin; Emily Lynch, Helen Hehir (3-1), Tara Rynne (2-0).
Subs: Róisín Shaughnessy for Emily Lynch (52 mins), Noreen Shannon for Edel Deveraux (54 mins).
Ogonnelloe: Danielle Kiely; Edel O’Grady, Michelle McNamara, Claire Madden; Mairéad Vaughan, Susan Vaughan (0-4, 2f 2 45s, Aishling Fitzgerald; Helen Mooney, Regina O’Brien; Ellen Collins, Marian O’Brien (1-2, 1f), AnneMarie Fitzgerald; Eleanor Walsh, Caroline Fortune-Moloney (1-0), Elaine Meade.
Subs: Megan Bradley for Eleanor Walsh (half-time), Gillian McNamara for Elaine Meade (45 mins)
Referee: Seanie McMahon

 

Clarecastle 2-7
Scariff 1-4
Clarecastle upset the odds when they scored a six-point win over favourites, Scariff. Clarecastle led from the start when Sharon O’Loughlin pointed after catching a long-range free, neatly rounding the Scariff defence and popping over the opening score of the match in the fourth minute. The first half was a dogged, low-scoring affair with both sides trying to gain the upper hand and the sides were level on two occasions before Rochelle Broderick’s point gave the Magpies the minimum advantage, going in at the break 0-3 to 0-2 in front.
Clarecastle had the perfect start to the second half when a long-range shot from Jane Scanlon found Ciara Lynch inside the Scariff defence and she beat Ashley Minogue in the Scariff goal. O’Loughlin pointed from a free for Clarecastle, giving her side a five-point lead.
Mairéad Scanlon goaled for the East Clare side in the 38th minute when she fired a diagonal shot past Sharon Quinn. A point from Claire Colleran had this back to a one-point game before O’Loughlin again pointed for Clarecastle. Danielle Sheedy’s point in the 43rd minute narrowed the gap once again. Ciara Lynch’s two points in the 51st and 54th minutes put a goal between the sides. Scariff battled hard but wayward shooting proved costly as they tried desperately for an equalising goal. The goal did come but at the other end of the field when Niamh Daly won possession and broke through the Scariff defence to finish to the net, securing a second victory for the Magpies.
Clarecastle: Sharon Quinn; Orla Donnellan, Ruth O’Gorman, Elaine Lyons; Marie Lynch, Jane Scanlon, Grace Costelloe; Zelma Power, Rochelle Broderick (0-1); Lisa Kelly, Siobhán Hehir, Sarah O’Gorman; Ciara Lynch (1-3), Sharon O’Loughlin (0-3, 1f), Niamh Daly (1-0).
Subs: Lauren Holland for Lisa Kelly (43 mins), Sinéad Frawley for Sarah O’Gorman (53 mins).
Scariff: Ashley Minogue; Leanne Horan, Gráinne Gunning, Aileen Thornton; Maria Brody, Sarah Skelly, Kate Collins; Mairéad Scanlon (1-2), Rachel Grogan; Orla Thornton, Sarah Madden, Claire Colleran (0-1); Sarah O’Donnell, Danielle Sheedy (0-1), Sandra Counihan.
Referee: Joe O’Donnell

 

Crunch ties as senior competition continues

With round one of the Senior Camogie Championship throwing up a couple of unexpected results, the battle for semi-final spots heats up this weekend when round two takes place.
Kilkishen, Kilmaley, Newmarket and Clooney/Quin all recorded wins in round one and results from the forthcoming games could well decide who ends up in the cup semi-finals.

Group 1
Kilkishen v Wolfe Tones
Kilkishen had a narrow win over Scariff/Ogonnelloe in their opening game and should be able to take the points when they take on Wolfe Tones this week. Wolfe Tones, with Laura Linnane back in action, along with Liz Danagher and Jodie Lyndsey, will have more strength up front but faced with Kate Lynch, Cushla Hehir and Claire Baker, they will have a lot to do here. Kilkishen should win this one.
Kilmaley, who easily defeated Wolfe Tones in their opening game, are expected to be made to fight hard for every ball when they take on Scariff/Ogonnelloe in a tie that is expected to be very close.

Group 2
Sixmilebridge v Corofin
Sixmilebridge, who were surprised by a much more focused Clooney/Quin side last weekend, will be fancied to get their first win this week. 
Last year’s intermediate champions, Corofin, should benefit from the experience of playing at this level.
Clooney/Quin showed marked improvement when they played in round one and they will need to repeat that form this week when they take on champions Newmarket.
When they met in the league, there were two goals between the sides at the final whistle. Clooney won’t be easily beaten but the odds suggest a Newmarket victory.

Junior championship
In the race for the junior title, Killanena face league champions Crusheen in the  round two game, having lost their opening game to Tulla. Crusheen should claim the points. Ballyea, buoyed up following their win over Sixmilebridge in their opening game, meet league semi-finalists Éire Óg, who will be up for the challenge and will want to reverse the outcome of their league encounter when Ballyea had a resounding win over the Townies. Kilkishen juniors will want to follow in the steps of their senior side and record a win in their first game of the championship.