Believe and anything is possible

Camogie in Waterford is alive and well and let nobody try and tell you any other wise.

Sharing a few words with the Waterford Senior Camogie Manager Donal O’Rourke before this Munster Championship game played in glorious sunshine and on a well prepared field in Modeligo, the Cappoquin club man told me we are up for it.

Speaking shortly afterwards to the team secretary Majella Pollard she told me that she has been telling the players that Cork who happened to be All-Ireland Champions and were recently beaten in this year’s National League Final are just another team, and over the course of an hour in this game if you knew nothing about the game of Camogie and wandered in off the road to see what was happening, it would have been hard to tell which side has won a record number of All-Ireland Final, including three in the last four seasons, and have won a record number of National League finals, appearing in three of the last four finals, and which side is playing in the top flight of Camogie with the past three years.

Anybody that reads what appears here on a regular basis will know that I seldom have a go at the referee in any game. I am sure while I am writing on this blog you will find that I have only had a go at a referee for his performance on only a handful of occasions, but this is one such occasion when it would be remiss of me not to make mention of the performance of referee Mike Flannery.

It is worth noting that the Camogie Association at National Level have failed to give charge of any game in the National League across all three divisions and in the All-Ireland Minor Championship in its two divisions any game this year and it quickly became obvious at the Modeligo venue today that he was refereeing at a level way above his ability to do so, and it was clear as to why he has not taken charge of any major inter county Camogie fixtures to date this year.

Both of these two sides fought out a very clean contest with hardly a dirty deliberate stroke pulled over the near seventy minutes played, but if this was a game where there was history between the sides, then some player or even players could have ended up with a very serious injury.

Over the course of the game for whatever reason the match referee who showed up without umpires or any sideline officials persisted in giving the visiting side free after free often for the most minor of incidents while any free that Waterford were awarded they were very hard won and often when what some might call a soft free was given to Waterford it was well outside the compass of any free taker on the field in putting the ball anyplace near where any danger could be caused.

Great credit must go to the Modeligo club for the way they hosted this game. In addition to the tri-colour getting flown they also had the white and blue of Waterford on display and the red and white of Cork.

The pitch was well line and a scoreboard was erected in the corner of the field. The area where the management teams and subs were using were well presented and had anyone turned up to see the game who might not be able to stand for the hour, they were offered a chair to sit on if needed, while the club also had a P.A. System in place to play the National Anthem before the game.

Nobody could fault what the Modeligo Club had done on the day and it would be great to think having seen at firsthand what they did to stage this game that maybe more games would be awarded to the club in the future, as it is always nice to recognise clubs that go out of their way to ensure that fixtures can go ahead.

Eight starting members of the Cork side which dethroned Kilkenny as All-Ireland Champions last September and thirteen members of the Cork starting team which lost to the Cats in this year’s National League Final at Nowlan Park earlier this month started for Cork in their Munster Championship opener at glorious Modeligo and were pushed all the way by Waterford.

The reigning All-Ireland Champions finished this game with fourteen players but the sending off of wing back Aileen Sheehan came four minutes into stoppage time at the end of the second half after the Inniscarra player picked up her second yellow of the game, but game too late for Waterford to use their numerical advantage to the full.

The two sides over the course of the hour proved to be evenly matched and on another day it would not have come as a surprise if the home side advanced to the next phase of the competition.

Another nice touch by the Modeligo club for this game was the fact that they and neighbours Cappoquin had their under 12 teams present, both togged out very smartly in their club colours and formed a guard of honour for the two sides as they entered the field, something that no doubt will live in the memories of those young players for some time to come, and also while the two sides were in the dressing rooms during the break the two side played a game between the two sides which kept the big attendance well entertained.

In the first half the sides were locked together on the scoreboard three times and even in the second half the All-Ireland Champions could never break free of the Waterford challenge and never really capitalised on hitting the game’s only goal as you would have expected.

It was Cork that opened the brighter of the two sides with points from Orla Cotter and Orla Cronin by the seventh minute but Waterford hit back with a brace of frees by top scorer Beth Carton within sixty seconds of each other to draw the sides level.

Cronin and Carton swapped scores in a three minute spell either side of the mid way point in the first half, but Cork would add the next two scores through Amy O’Connor and Orla Cronin from a ’45 to put the Rebellettes two in front with under ten minutes of the first half remaining. .

But Waterford would finish the half strong and two more Beth Carton frees on twenty six and twenty eight minutes ensured that the sides would head to the dressing rooms locked at 5 points each.

Waterford started the second half brightly with a Beth Carton free inside sixty seconds to give Waterford the lead for the first time.

Points from Orla Cronin and Deirdre Fahy followed before Cronin put two over in a three minute spell to put Cork back in front.

On forty one minutes Amy O’Connor went to the ground as she made her way towards the Waterford goal. From the sideline it looked as if she stumbled and the referee vexed the Waterford support by giving a free but then changed his mind and outstretch his hands to give a penalty which goalkeeper Aoife Murray finished to the net to give her side a 1-8 to 0-7 lead.

Waterford hit back with points from Beth Carton, Deirdre Fahy and another from Carton to leave just a point between the sides with 8 minutes to play. 

Cork however hit the next three scores, two from Cronin and one from O’Connor to pit them 1-11 to 0-10 in front with the hour played.

Waterford however refused to throw in the towel and Beth Carton made it a one score difference with a converted free on sixty one, but Cork ensured that victory would be theirs as Orla Cronin put over the last score of the game six minutes into stoppage time.

Before leaving the field this afternoon while team secretary Majella Pollard tidied up around where the Waterford subs and mentors were gathered, she pointed out that if this present panel of players believe anything can happen.

This year the side have shown on more than one occasion that they can be a match for most sides. Both Kilkenny and Cork right now would be the two strongest sides in the country and Waterford have pushed both to the max when they played them this year. When Waterford played Kilkenny in the league earlier this year Majella Pollard pointed out something that I was aware of, that Waterford were short about half their strongest team that day and still ran the Cats to nine points, and when Kilkenny played Cork in the final just the one point separated the sides.

What was said to me is correct. I know some of the panel read what appears on here, and when mistakes are made and are pointed out by some around the team it is appreciated.

So any member of the panel reading this, or indeed anyone involved with the panel any way, please, please, please believe, believe in yourself, believe in your team mates, believe in those over the team, believe in the county board officers, because having seen this group of players a few times this year and in the last couple of years, this is an exciting group of players and yes Majella Pollard is correct, anything is possible with this group of players, including playing in Croke Park on the biggest day of the Camogie year.

Waterford: Ciara Jackman; Mairead Power, Iona Heffernan, Sibeal Harney; Aoife Landers, Áine Lyng. Claire Whyte; Shauna Kiernan, Lorraine Bray; Niamh Rockett, Deirdre Fahey, Fiona Morrissey; Annie Fitzgerald, Beth Carton, Kaiesha Tobin.

Subs: Caithriona McGlone for Fiona Morrissey (46), Aisling Power for Annie Fitzgerald (50), Kate McMahon for Claire Whyte (51), Orla Hickey for Aoife Landers (58).

Scorers: Beth Carton 0-9 (8F), Deirdre Fahy 0-2.

Cork: Aoife Murray; Leanne O’Sullivan, Pamela Mackey, Libby Coppinger; Siobhan Hutchinson, Gemma O’Connor, Aileen Sheehan; Orla Cotter, Ashling Thompson; Amy O’Connor, Orla Cronin, Katrina Mackey; Linda Collins, Lauren Homan, Niamh McCarthy

Scorers: Orla Cronin 0-8 (6F, 1 ’45), Aoife Murray 1-0, Amy O’Connor 0-3, Orla Cotter 0-1.

Referee: Mike Flannery (Limerick).