Tipperary end Clare’s championship hopes

Tipperary 1-19   Clare 1-9

Clare will contest the Munster Minor Camogie Shield final for the second successive year, having succumbed to Tipperary in Templemore on Saturday afternoon.

Tipperary’s goal, deep in injury time, sealed a comprehensive victory for the Premier County.

The winners had two points on the board before Kate O’Gorman pointed for Clare in the sixth minute, having received a pass from Aoibheann Malone. Tipperary added a further four points before Fiona Murphy had Clare’s second score of the game in the 15th minute, to leave the visitors trailing by four points.

Clare were thrown a lifeline after 22 minutes when captain Niki Kaiser stepped up to take a free from far out on the wing and the Newmarket youngster sent her shot into the top corner of the net. However, Tipperary rallied and hit four points in the remaining time to leave the half-time score 0-11 to 1-2 in their favour. Clare were unlucky to have a couple of goal chances stopped on the line.

With changes in midfield and the half-back line, Clare attacked from the resumption of play and hit four unanswered points to reduce the deficit to five points with seven minutes of the new half played.

Tipperary rallied and the U-16 All-Ireland champions of 2011 killed Clare’s hopes with some impressive scoring from Caoimhe Maher, Ann Eviston and Tara Kennedy.

The Clare backs were under pressure throughout but put up a credible performance while Emer Murray, in her first outing in the Clare goals, denied a number of Tipperary efforts to grab a goal in normal time.

With the result evident on the stroke of full-time, referee Ger Curtin allowed six minutes of injury time, during which the home team’s substitute, Róisín Howard, finally grabbed Tipperary’s goal.

This was a spirited performance from a young Clare side in heavy underfoot conditions. They will now face Limerick in the Munster Ann Maher Shield, the Shannonsiders having been beaten by Cork 1-6 to 1-11.

Tipperary: Sarah Coonan; Eimear Cahill, Jenny Logue, Julia Anne Burke; Cianniat Walsh, Anne Eviston, Laura Loughnane; Caoimhe Maher, Mairéad Teehan; Megan Ryan, Shauna Tooher, Tara Kennedy (capt); Sinéad Kennedy, Niamh Treacy, Maria Kinnane.
Sub: Róisín Howard for Kinnane.
Clare: Emer Murray (Sixmilebridge); Claire McMahon (Éire Óg), Ellen Roche (Sixmilebridge), Shauna Fleming (Kilkishen); Aoibheann Malone (Corofin), Sinéad Quinn (Inagh-Kilnamona), Ria Flannagan (Ballyea); Fiona Murphy (Sixmilebridge, 0-1), Ali Quinlan (Sixmilebridge); Niki Kaiser (Newmarket on Fergus, 1-6), Claire Taaffe (Killanena), Orlaith Lynch (St Josephs); Aoife Keane (Inagh-Kilnamona), Kate O’Gorman (Kilkishen, 0-2), Amy O’Brien (Corofin).
Subs: Lauren McGuane (Kilmaley) for Malone, Rebecca Devine (St Joseph’s) for Quinlan (both at half-time) and Aislinn Keogh (Newmarket-on-Fergus) for Flanagan.
Referee: Ger Curtin, Limerick.