Waterford are Under 16 Champions for 2014

What has proven to be a good year for Camogie in Waterford has just gone better in the last few days.

At the start of the year, if someone told you that Waterford would win one title at a national level, most would have gladly snapped off the hand of the person that said it.

Imagine now, as we approach September what people are thinking after the county has seen sides not win one title, but five, and there is still time for more titles to come the way of Waterford.

Ok, hands up I know that three of the five camogie titles were won by club sides as opposed to county teams, but it should be remembered that while Gailltir, De La Salle and Lismore have won titles, when they entered the competitions they won, they are not just representing their own Parish or their part of the city or county but are representing the county as a whole, and it is therefore right that as a county we celebrate these wins.

Each time a title comes to Waterford, it is important that every side celebrate the win and that the game is promoted even more.

Some might say that Lismore winning an All-Ireland Intermediate Club Final will no nothing for the game in the east of the county, or for De La Salle or Gailltir to win a Feile title will do little for the game in the west of the county, but it does. This time next year Clubs at the opposite end of the county to Lismore, Gailltir or De La Salle or anywhere in between could and should be saying to themselves that if they can do what they achieved, then so can we.

Waterford’s latest success came on Sunday afternoon last when the All-Ireland Under 16 ‘B’ final was won, beating Derry in the final at Leixlip, just a four months on after the counties Minor team won the All-Ireland ‘B’ Final against Derry in Dublin.

Twelve months ago, the counties under 16 team were beaten by Cork in the All-Ireland final at Mallow.

Nine of that panel coached by Shane ‘Shiner’ Ahearne were available to this year’s manager Declan Drohan.

The nine players involved in both 2013 and 2014 are exceptionally good players and their involvement this year always meant that Waterford were going to be serious contenders.

When Waterford and Derry met in the league section of the competition in mid July, Waterford won the game with eight points to spare.

Regular readers on here will know that I have a thing that when two sides meet in close proximity in all grades, maybe with the exception of Senior Hurling and Football, I have a tendency to favour the team that lost the first day to win the second game. I often have a feeling that the winner of the first game often go into the second game a little over confident, something that I believe is a dangerous thing.

However, for last Sunday’s All-Ireland final, something was telling me that this game was going to be different. I had this feeling that Waterford were going to win.

However, early in the game it looked as though my hunch was going to be wrong.

Waterford were slow to start in this game and as a result Derry capitalised.

Faoiltiama Burke opened the scoring for Derry with an early point and when Niamh Gallagher followed up with a goal with just under four minutes played, the signs were not looking good for Waterford.

The measure of a good side however is how they recover from conceding a goal, and did Waterford recover.

The Waterford team showed tremendous character, hitting back with five points in a row, three from player of the match – De La Salle’s Beth Carton and the other two from team captain Aisling Power from the Cappoquin club who played a real captains roll over the hour.

After fighting back from an early blow, Waterford were dealt another when The Oak Leaf girls through Claire Mulholland.

Again Waterford needed to respond what had happened and again what a way Waterford responded with Beth Carton sent the umpire reaching for a green flag.

Waterford were now back in front (1-5 to 2-1), but the lead was not a long lived one as Meabh McGill and Dara McGuckin struck points for Derry to give them a one point advantage, but the sides would retire at the break all square after Beth Carton struck her fifth score of the game.

If the first half was tight, the second half could not be described to be like that.

Team captain Aisling Power hit a further three points to the two she hit in the opening half. Beth Carton hit a six second half points while Kate McMahon and Anne Corcoran also got in on the act.

However the story of the half was the goals scored.

Beth Carton scored a second Waterford goal five minutes after the re-start. Derry hit points from Jackie Donnelly and Dara McGuckin, but the half belonged to Waterford.

Kate McGrath set up a brilliant goal for Niamh Murphy. Galltir’s Anne Corcoran then did brilliant to set up Niamh Murphy for her second and Waterford’s fourth goal.

Waterford were not finished yet, and further goals from Kate McGrath and Róisín Uniacke followed which gave Waterford an unassailable lead.

Derry did manage a late goal through Jackie Donnelly, but it was too little too late.

This is a win that could well have a positive effect for the game in Waterford. At adult level, great progress has been made in the last few years. Much of that progress and success stems from Waterford’s All-Ireland under 16 win back in the early part of the last decade.

Many of that team now form part of the present Waterford Intermediate team and hopefully they will be around for some time to come.

This years under 16 panel and indeed the minor panel is as talented as if not more talented than the last under 16 All-Ireland winning panel. It is only a matter of time before some of the players in these panels (and some have already) make the break through to the counties intermediate and hopefully in the not to distant future senior panel.

Success at Club and underage inter county levels does not always mean success at adult inter county levels. Waterford are moving in the right direction and I have a feeling that these successes will see Waterford move to the next level on the ladder when it comes to the inter county game in the near future.

Waterford: Brianna O’Regan; Sinead Cunningham, Sinead O’Brien, Aoife Shanahan; Laura Murray, Megan Dunford, Saoirse Bonner; Courtney Healy, Siebel Harney; Kate McGrath, Beth Carton, Aisling Power; Niamh Murphy, Kate McMahon, Anne Corcoran. Subs: Sharon Williams for Niamh Murphy, Ellen Curran for Sinead Cunningham, Roisin Uniacke for Aoife Shanahan, Collette Hogan for Anne Corcoran, Sally Brown for Saoirse Bonner.

Scorers: Beth Carton 2-10, Niamh Murphy 2-0, Aisling Power 0-5, Kate McMahon 1-1, Roisin Uniacke 1-, Anne Corcoran 0-1.

Derry: Erin Burns; Meaghan Lagan, Chloe Henry, Orla McNeill; Bronagh Walsh, Aoife McNabb, Megan Kearns; Faoiltiama Burke, Shannon O’Kane; Sinead McNabb, Claire Mulholland, Meabh McGill; Dara McGuckin, Jackie Donnelly, Niamh Gallagher. Subs: Therese Mellon for Meaghan Lagan, Aisling Craig for Megan Kearns, Ellis McGrath for Sinead McNabb, Brooke Scullion for Therese Mellon, Aine McGill for Niamh Gallagher.

Scorers: Jackie Donnelly 1-1, Niamh Gallagher and Claire Mulholland 1-0 each, Dara McGuckin 0-2, Meabh McGill and Faoiltiama Burke 0-1 each.

Referee: Peter Dowd (Meath).

Meanwhile Waterford's Patricia Jackman emerged victorious from a host of big names at the rearranged 2014 M. Donnelly GAA All-Ireland Poc Fada Finals on Sunday Afternoon last, getting the afternoon off to a terrific start.

The Gailltir sharp shooter won her sixth successive title in nine years. In the three years before she won the title, Patricia finished second three years in a row.

Patricia was always the favourite to win a sixth title, finished ahead of her main rival Catriona Daly from Galway who finished in second place and Martine McMahon in Limerick who finished third.

Her sixth All Ireland Camogie Poc Fada title in succession was won in dramatic fashion.

The top three all completed the course in twenty nine pucks. Patricia Jackman however won as her final shot finished sixty-two metres beyond the line with Daly’s landing forty-seven metres over the line and McMahon’s fifteen metres pas the line.

 

Link to piece done about Under 14 Camogie team back in September 2012. http://deiseabu.blogspot.ie/2012/09/waterford-camogie-building-for-future.html