Lismore beat Saint Anne's in an epic.

I have said it before and I am going to continue to say it will I have reason to stop, battles between Saint Anne’s and Lismore in the senior grade of Camogie within the county have become ‘must not miss’ affairs.

Over the past two years, the two sides have clashed in the League and Championship finals and in each of these games, very little have separated the two sides, with some of the game going right to the wire.

There is some that scoff at the idea of females kicking footballs, hitting a sliotar with a hurley or even playing handball. To some females have a roll in the GAA, but its not playing. To these people a woman’s roll is bringing children to and from training sessions or games or maybe even taking their turn to wash the jerseys every so often that is if they are not doing it the whole time as it stands.

In my view however, people that express such views be it in private or in public, are ignorant. Some, maybe all of these same people that express such views have never been to a ladies football or a Camogie game and if they were to attend one, they might be pleasantly surprised as the standard is far higher than most might expect.

Last Saturday’s County Camogie County Final at Lemybrien was a prime example of a quality game. 32 scores tells it own story.

A large portion of the scores may have come from frees, but does that really matter.

In the senior hurling county final twenty four hours later at Walsh Park produced thirty five scores, half of which came from placed balls. Did this fact take from the game? I think you will agree that it did not.

Sometimes when two evenly matched teams clash in a big game such as Saint Anne’s and Lismore, tactics come into place. Players and coaches have to ask themselves questions.

Both sides have a number of players that know how to rattle the net. For Saint Anne’s Karen Kelly, Zoe O’Donoghue and Jennie Simpson are top quality players. For Lismore, Ruth Geoghegan, Niamh Morrissey and Caithriona McGlone know where the net is.

When you have players of this standard playing and you see them running at your defence, you have to basic options. You try and stop them and you run the chance of conceding a free which could well be sent over the crossbar, or do you leave them off and attempt their luck for a goal. The first option is often the easier to take.

Lismore drew first blood in this game. Aoife Hannon pointed a free in the first minute.

However, Lismore were not long ahead as Karen Kelly operating in the half forward line for Saint Anne’s began to show her class.

She levelled matters soon after Aoife Hannon gave Lismore the lead, and she followed up with converting three further points to give the 2012 champions an early 0-4 to 0-1 lead.

Aoife Hannon from a free and Caitriona McGlone with the first score of the game from open play responded with points for Lismore to leave one between the sides, but a brace of frees from Karen Kelly soon had Saint Anne’s leading once more by double scores.

Aoife Hannon pointed from a forty-five to reduce Saint Anne’s lead and when Shona Curran pointed from play there was just one between the sides.  

Karen Kelly with twenty minutes played put some daylight between the sides, but a goal from Shona Curran soon afterwards had Lismore in front for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.

Back came Saint Anne’s again and Karen Kelly put over a brace of points to give the mid county side a 0-9 to 1-5 advantage and when Zoe O'Donoghue landed a brace of points before the break, it was looking good for Saint Anne’s, but Lismore just before the break pointed through Aoife Hannon to leave her side trailing 0-11 to 1-6 at the break.

What is said and done at the break can often have a huge effect one way or the other on the game. What Lismore did at the break certainty worked in the second thirty minutes.

Laura Buckley came in for Jennifer Kingston, Sinead Bennett replaced Sarah Prendergast. Marie Russell went from Centre Field into defence to keep a close eye on Zoe O’Donoghue, Aoife Hannon dropped back into the half back line and Laura Buckley and Shona Curran formed a new pairing in the centre of the field, with Aoife Houlihan and Sinead Bennett taking up positions in attack.

The second half was only moments old when the half time substitutes pay off the faith shown in them by the selectors.

Laura Buckley won the ball and laid it off to Sinead Bennett who in turn beat Rebecca Kavanagh for a second Lismore goal, giving them the lead for the third time in the game, one that they did not loose this time around.

Points from Johanna Houlihan and Aoife Hannon followed which gave Lismore a 2-8 to 0-11 lead and with confidence high now with Lismore, Aoife Hannon put over three placed balls to stretch her sides lead to six.

Saint Anne’s however came storming back, hitting the next four scores, three coming from the impressive Karen Kelly, the other from Sinead Cummins.

However it was Lismore that finished the game the stronger of the two sides as Aoife Hannon put over a hat-trick of frees and Johanna Houlihan landed one to give Lismore a 2-15 to 0-15 advantage at the sound of the full time whistle.

Lismore having retained the league final earlier this year and now the championship that they last won in 2011 go on and represent Waterford in the Intermediate Championship at provincial level.

First up for Lismore will be a trip to Cork to play Carrigaline who won the intermediate Championship in Cork last weekend, beating Tracton 0-9 to 2-2 after a replay after the two sides had earlier drawn 0-16 to 2-10, and before this beat Brian Dillon’s, Sarsfields, and Newtownshandrum before beating Blackrock in the semi finals. Earlier in the year the Cork side reached the intermediate league semi finals in Cork where they were beaten by Newtownshandrum.

Lismore will go into that game in a confident mood. While the Cork side will provide stiff opposition on their own grounds, Lismore two years ago having won the county senior final in Waterford went on to win the Munster Intermediate Final and in the All-Ireland semi finals they were somewhat unlucky to loose to the Galway champions at Fraher Field. With so many of that team available to them, you can’t but feel that experience at this level will have to count for something.

Lismore: Aisling O’Brien; Sarah Coughlan, Shauna Prendergast, Sandra Prendergast; Sarah Geoghegan, Shauna Kiernan, Jennifer Kingston; Aoife Houlihan, Marie Russell; Shona Curran, Ruth Geoghegan, Nicola Morrissey; Aoife Hannon, Caitriona McGlone, Johanna Houlihan. Subs: Sinead Bennett for Sarah Prendergast, Laura Buckley for Jennifer Kingston, Sinead Walsh for Ruth Geoghegan. Rest of Panel; Shauna Fennessey, Rachel Knowles, Sarah Russell, Ber O’Keeffe, Niamh Molumphy and Grainne Kennelly

Scorers: Aoife Hannon 0-11, Shona Curran 1-1, Sinead Bennett 1-0, Johanna Houlihan 0-2, Caitriona McGlone 0-1.

Saint Anne’s: Rebecca Kavanagh; Bonnie Keating, Pauline Cunningham, Labhaoise Dunbar; Siobhan Kavanagh, Charlotte Raher, Claire Whyte; Jennie Simpson, Claire Murphy; Mairead Murphy, Sinead Cummins, Karen Kelly; Sarah Fitzgerald, Ciara Phelan, Zoe O'Donoghue. Sub: Bronwyn Grace for Sarah Fitzgerald. Rest of Panel: Ciara Keogh, Michelle McDonald, Catherine Queally, Lorna Cummins, Angela Flynn, Rachel Keane, Lorna Behan, Aoife Behan, Niamh Behan and Rachel McDonald.

Scorers: Karen Kelly 0-12, Sarah Fitzgerald 0-2, Sinead Cummins 0-1.