Brilliant Waterford Have One Step In All-Ireland Knockout Stages After Big Win Over Limerick

 

Regular readers of what appears on year will have read before me saying that Camogie in Waterford is on the rise. This is something no doubt I will say again many times in the coming years, and if you needed any proof of how much Camogie in Waterford has come on in recent years log onto the streaming of Waterford’s latest game in the All-Ireland Championship (today) where Fergal O’Brien’s charges beat Limerick with 12 points to spare.

I know Limerick may be missing some of the names that have served the county well in recent years, but even without them the Treaty County side still had a strong side out and came to Walsh Park today intent on getting the shock defeat to Westmeath last weekend out of their systems as quickly as possible and were that a good performance here and a win would set them up for their final round robin game with Kilkenny where score difference could well have decided which one of three teams would join the Queens (female cats) in the knockout stages of this year’s championship.

Having seen this game and reported on a number of other games which Waterford have played in recent years one question which I for one am not able to answer come to mind. How is it that Waterford Captain Niamh Rockett does not have an All-Star in her impressive collection of honours won over the past decade and a little longer?

The Saint Anne’s Club player in this game was once again brilliant. She was hugely impressive in this game but the same could well be said of her in many of the games that she has played in recent years. Is it because maybe Waterford in recent years has not had many games shown be it on the television or live streamed? Hopefully with a large amount of games to be shown one way or another this year the Saint Anne’s Club player will catch the eye of those selecting the overall best team of the year and include her in it this year.

The overall performance of the Waterford team in this game cannot be criticised. From Brianna O’Regan in goal to Annie Fitzgerald in the number 15 shirt none of the players that started this game could be criticised and to do so would be wrong, and we saw that when players are sprung from the stand and sent on to show that what they can do there is plenty of options available to the management team of Fergal O’Brien, Dan Shanahan and Pauline Cunningham and it’s fair to say that some of those that came on today will be thinking, certainly will be hoping that they done enough to be included from the start in Waterford’s next game away to Westmeath in two weeks time.

After a very close opening quarter of this game after the water break in the first half of this game whatever Fergal O’Brien, Dan Shanahan and Pauline Cunningham said to their charges in the two minute break worked and for the remainder of the game they were by far the better of the two sides.

The industrious Caoimhe Costello opened the scoring for the visitors on four minutes, but Waterford soon set out their stall hitting three points in a row, two from Beth Carton, the second from a free and one by Sarah Lacey after some good work by the impressive Kate Lynch to open up a 0-3 to 0-1 lead with 12 minutes played.

Limerick however would respond with points from Niamh Ryan and Caoimhe Costello in a three minute spell before the midway point of the opening half as the sides when to the water break locked at three points each.

Playing with a strong wind at their backs into the city end of the ground Waterford hit 1-6 in the next 17 minutes with Limericks sole response in this time coming with the last puck of the half.

Abbey Flynn following some good work from Kate Lynch edged Waterford in front on 20 minutes and seconds later Waterford hit the first of their goals.

Beth Carton and Niamh Rockett would cause problems for any side but when the two combine you are sure that double the trouble will ensure. When the De La Salle player picked out her team captain the Saint Anne’s player despite taking a heavy knock as she put a shot in at goal was strong enough to remain standing and fired past Laura O’Neill to give Waterford a four point lead.

At the other end Briana O’Regan was alert to save from Mary O’Callaghan and when the ball came back out to Orlaith Kelleher she batted wide of Brianna O’Regan’s right hand post.

Down the other end Shona Curran and Abbey Flynn split the posts and when Niamh Rockett and Beth Carton followed up with further scores it put Waterford in a good position going into the second half, even if Caoimhe Costello split the posts from a free with the last puck of the half.

Leading 1-9 to 0-4 at the break, Waterford began the second half with a Beth Carton crashing the sliotar of the posts. The game had to wait till the 40 minute for the first score of the second half when Caoimhe Costello pointed from play. The same player followed up with another score three minutes later, but Waterford would quickly cancel these scores out with efforts from Abbey Flynn and Annie Fitzgerald as they went to their second half water break leading 1-11 to 0-6.

Player of the Match Niamh Rockett and Beth Carton extended Waterford’s lead with ten minutes of the game still to play. Caoimhe Costello pointed again for the visitors but her score was cancelled out with another by Beth Carton from a free which gave Fergal O’Brien’s side a 1-14 to 0-7 lead.

Waterford however despite having this game won were not going to ease up as score difference could yet decide who goes forward from this group to the knockout stages of the competition.

Two minutes from time referee Liz Dempsey threw the ball in between two players outside the Limerick 20 metre line. Beth Carton with incredible skill won the clash, got the ball under control picked out Niamh Rockett for the second time with an inch perfect pass and the Saint Anne’s player rocketed a ball across the Limerick goal high into the top corner of the net at the Dressing rooms side of the ground to give Waterford an impressive 2-15 to 0-8 lead.

On the hour mark Beth Carton again split the posts from a free to extend Waterford’s lead. Limerick were now playing for pride and they went down the other end. A long ball in from the middle of the field was touched on by Caoimhe Costello who used her hand to get a touch on the ball to beat Brianna O’Regan. The De La Salle player however was quick to remember that under new rules a player is not allowed to score using their hand even if the umpire was adamant that a goal should stand, but referee Liz Dempsey went in to the umpires and deemed that if a player used their hand or any part of it to score it was not to be awarded.

Costello did manage to get a late consolation score for the visitors when she got her eight point of the game.

Waterford: Brianna O’Regan; Sibheal Harney, Iona Heffernan, Claire Whyte; Lorraine Bray, Clodagh Carroll, Kate Lynch, Orla Hickey, Shona Curran; Niamh Rockett, Sarah Lacey, Jenny McCarthy; Annie Fitzgerald, Beth Carton, Abbey Flynn.

Subs: Caoimhe McGrath for Jenny McCarthy (27), Aoife Landers for Niamh Rockett (B.S. 35-37), Aoife Landers for Sarah Lacey (42), Fiona Morrissey for Annie Fitzgerald (52), Shauna Fitzgerald for Shona Curran (56), Ciara O’Sullivan for Orla Hickey (60).

Scorers: Niamh Rockett 2-2, Beth Carton 0-7 (5f), Abbey Flynn 0-3, Sarah Lacey, Shona Curran, Annie Fitzgerald 0-1 each.

Limerick: Laura O’Neill; Noirin Lenihan, Muireann Creamer, Marian Quaid; Judith Mulcahy, Sinead McNamara, Neamh Curtin; Mairead Ryan, Dearbhla Egan; Sophie O’Callaghan, Mary O’Callaghan, Orlaith Kelleher; Caoimhe Costello, Caoimhe Lyons, Niamh Ryan.

Subs: Caroline Brenner for Mary O’Callaghan (H.T.), Katie Finn for Dearbhla Egan (37), Lorraine McCarthy for Orlaith Kelleher (53), Karen Mullane for Noirin Lenihan (63).

Scorers: Caoimhe Costello 0-8 (5f) Niamh Ryan 0-1.

Referee: Liz Dempsey (Kilkenny).