Brilliant Brianna helps Waterford to championship opener victory

Those that know me or know who I am will know that I have never played a game of hurling or football in my life, apart maybe from the odd puck about in hurling while in primary school when I was put standing between the posts or in a corner forward position in football where I would try and try and cause a little hassle in and around the goal.

When involved in Bord na nÓg at Divisional and County level in the late 90’s and the majority of the first decade of the current Millennium, come county final day and I was tasked at picking out a player of the match from each competing team in both codes while a player might have often hit two or three goals or maybe upwards of nine or ten points in the final, I often tended to pick a goalkeeper or back as the player of the match as its at times all too easy to opt for the player that scores most but what happens at the other end of the field is often forgotten about.

On Sunday afternoon last I attended my first game of the year, an All-Ireland Minor Camogie Championship game between Waterford and Galway at the WIT Campus at Carriganore.

There was no player of match that was picked out in that game, but if there was, a number of players would have come into the reckoning.

Galway full forward Carrie Dolan was a constant thorn in the side of the Waterford defence. The Clarinbridge teenager hit 1-8 for her side 1-6 of which came from placed balls.

Waterford centre forward Beth Carton is a brilliant young player who if you have not seen already is one that everyone should make it their business to see her in action as soon as possible.

The De La Salle youngster was impressive here as well hitting 1-11, 0-9 which came from frees often won by herself when a physical Galway site were forced to stop her in her tracks as she ran at the defence.

But if there was a player to be picked out as the player of the game on Sunday afternoon and I was asked to be part of the selection of the winner, I have no problem in saying that despite Carrie Dolan and Beth Carton sharing 2-19 of the 5-23 shared by the two teams on the day, for me Waterford goalkeeper Brianna O’Regan was the undoubted player of the match.

From the first minute to the last, the De La Salle Club Player was outstanding. Over the course of the hour she made numerous timely interventions to keep the Galway attack out, and making at least four top drawer saves that the likes of goal keeping legends like Brendan Cummins, Damien Fitzhenry, Davy Fitzgerald and Donal Óg Cusack would be very proud of.

Brianna made the first of her excellent saves inside ninety seconds of the game starting to deny Mairead Dillon what looked to be a certain goal.

She made another brilliant save on seventeen minutes when referee Alan Lagrue awarded the visiting side a penalty for a foul that appeared to be committed a long way from goal, but Carrie Dolan was not able to get the sliotar past the brilliant Brianna.

In the closing ten minutes of the game with Galway searching for a goal that would have given them the lead for the first time and possibly the points on offer on the league table, she raced off her line to close down the Galway attackers with another block and for her troubles was flung to the ground but soon was up giving a little hobble and went back between the posts.

And in the second last minute of normal time the brilliant De La Salle youngster made another fantastic save this time from a twenty metre free struck by Carrie Dolan.

Waterford got off to a fantastic start in this game, hitting two goals inside the first five minutes of the game, less than sixty seconds apart.

The first came on four minutes from the stick of Aisling Madigan another rising star of the game from the De La Salle Club, the second from another De La Salle player, the impressive Beth Carton, both coming as a result of running at the Galway defence from outside the ’45 metre line and then firing past Sarah Healy as they raced down on the Galway defence.

Galway’s first score of the game came on six minutes when Carrie Dolan put over from play and the same player followed up a minute later with an effort from the same player.

Beth Carton hit the first of her eleven points from a free on eight minutes and two minutes later she followed up with an effort from play to restore a clear two goal advantage for Waterford, but that lead was cut to five seconds later with and effort from Mairead Dillon.

Galway won what looked a dubious penalty from the stands in Carriganore on seventeen minutes which Brianna O’Regan did brilliant to keep out, deflecting the ball out for a ’45 which Carrie Dolan duly converted to leave four between the sides.

Beth Carton hit her third point of the game on twenty minutes and seconds later she was unlucky not to have added a second goal of the game but Sarah Healy did brilliant to keep the sliotar from rattling her net for a third time.

A third goal did come for Waterford on twenty one minutes when Kate McGrath with a ground stroke finished to the net from close range.

Galway however would finish the half the stronger of the two sides, keeping Waterford scoreless in the final third of the game, as Carrie Dolan hit 1-2 from frees and Siobhan McGrath hit a point to leave the visitors trailing 3-3 to 1-7 at the interval.

The second half proved to be equally as tight as the first half.

Twice Waterford went four points up in the second half only for the home side to pull back that lead on both occasions and even though they drew level eleven minutes into the second half, the visitors never lead the home side over the course of the hour.

Waterford opened the second half with a brace of Beth Carton frees to give her side a four point advantage after thirty-seven minutes.

Ava Lynskey pulled a point back for Galway on thirty nine minutes and two minutes later the sides were all square after Leanne Helebert sent a ball in high around the danger zone which Brianna O’Regan did well to keep from reaching the top of her net, but she was powerless to keep Mairead Dillon’s effort out from the rebound which fell nicely to the Kilconieron club player.

Beth Carton from a free and Sarah Spellman swapped scores to keep the sides level at the end of the third quarter.

Leanne Helebert on forty six minutes became the second of four Galway players who accepted a booking in this game rather than let the Waterford attackers run at their defence and from the resulting Beth Carton edged Waterford back in front and the same player extended Waterford’s lead with efforts from frees on fifty one and fifty three minutes.

Carrie Dolan put over a ’45 five minutes for time to leave two between the sides. Beth Carton restored a four point advantage for Waterford with three minutes of the hour still to play but Waterford were made fight hard to ensure that they collected the points on offer in the time that remained.

Briana O’Regan made another fantastic save on fifty-eight minutes from a Carrie Dolan twenty metre free. The same Galway player cut Waterford’s lead to three on the hour mark when she put over a free and two minutes later when Galway won a close in free the visitors opted to bring goalkeeper Sarah Healy up the entire length of the field to strike for goal which if achieved would have drawn the sides level, but her effort from twenty five metres rose just over the Waterford crossbar.

Waterford: Brianna O’Regan; Sinead Cunningham, Sinead O’Brien, Clara Griffin; Courtney Healy, Kate McMahon, Aoife Shanahan; Sibeal Harney, Megan Dunford; Saoirse Bonner, Beth Carton, Kate McGrath; Clodagh Glavin, Aisling Power, Aisling Madigan. Subs: Ciara Jackman for Clodagh Glavin (40), Caoimhe Drohan for Aoife Shanahan (42).

Scorers: Beth Carton 1-11 (0-9f), Aisling Madigan, Kate McGrath 1-0 each.

Galway: Sarah Healy; Christina Hanley, Roisin Black, Siobhan Skehill; Tiffany Ni Coisteabhla, Taragh Moloney, Leanne Helebert; Shannon Ridge, Marie Farrell; Ava Lynskey, Sarah Spellman, Mairead Dillon; Elisha Broderick, Carrie Dolan, Siobhan McGrath. Subs: Molly Mannion for Marie Farrell (29), Eimear O’Donovan for Taragh Moloney (HT), Leanne Freaney for Mairead Dillon (42).

Scorers: Carrie Dolan 1-8 (1-4f, 0-2 ’45), Mairead Dillon 1-1, Siobhan McGrath, Ava Lynskey, Sarah Spellman, Sarah Healy (f) 0-1 each.

Referee: Alan Lagrue (Kildare).