Lismore Should Prevail In Cahir in Munster Final

Playing Camogie in the latter weeks of any given year is nothing new for the Lismore Camogie Club. In fact it’s nothing new for clubs in Waterford to be still playing at the highest level and it would be nothing to do with championships running late. Credit must go to the officers of the County Board who have their main championship completed by the end of September each year, well in time for the County Champions to compete in the Munster Championship, a competition that the girls from the Cathedral Town are playing in this weekend.

The side in the yellow and Black hooped shirts are up against Cork side Newcestown in this year’s Munster Intermediate Club Final in Cahir where they will be looking to win a fifth Munster Final title since 2010 as they appear in their sixth final in this time span.

The Cork side have proven to be the best side in the Rebel county at this level in 2017.

In May they beat Enniskeane in the Cork Intermediate League final 2-14 to 1-8 in Bandon, and they brought the form shown in this game into the championship where they beat Newtownshandrum 2-19 to 0-8 in the first round of the competition and in the semi finals they had an equally impressive 4-6 to 0-2 win over Sliabh Rua, and in the County Final played back on the 7 of October they again beat Enniskeane at Bantry on a 1-13 to 3-4 score line.

The Cork side go into the game with what appears to be a settled look to their team.

Orla Dinneen will line out between the posts. The full back line could well consist of team captain Frances Deasy at Full back flanked by Mary McSweeney and Alison Crowley.

Suzanne Sweeney is likely to start at centre back with Meabh Lynch and Aisling O’Donovan either side of her.

The middle of the field could well see Evelyn Crowley, Zerica Griffen and Therese McCarthy do battle for two places.

Maria Kenneally could well have Hilda O’Mahony and Meabh O’Donovan either side of her, while the Lismore full back line will have to be at their very best to contain what could be a very dangerous full forward line of Collette Desmond who was the Player of the Match in the County Final scoring three points all from play, Colleen Twomey who struck half a dozen points that day and Ciara O’Sullivan the scorer of the sides only goal.

While there is some experienced players in the Newcestown team which Lismore will have to watch carefully, Orla Dinneen, Mary McSweeney, Meabh Lynch, Aisling O’Donovan, Zerica Griffen, Maria Kenneally, Meabh O’Donovan and Ciara O’Sullivan who are all expected to start are teenagers, something that Lismore might be hoping to take advantage off. However while these players are all still very young, they have all come off very successful underage Newcestown sides in the last four or five years.

Lismore head into this game on the back of a tough Championship to date.

They beat Saint Anne’s and De La Salle and drew with local rivals Cappoquin and then County and Munster Champions Gailltir, which was good enough to give them a semi final spot against De La Salle, who finished level on points with De La Salle and Cappoquin, but the latter were knocked out on score difference.

In the Semi Final, Lismore had a comprehensive 4-12 to 0-7 win over De La Salle in Kill.

Aoife Hannon who missed out playing last year, finished as top scorer for her side in this game playing centre forward finishing the game with 1-7.

Caithriona McGlone always a player to produce the goods on the big day also was very impressive for Lismore playing at full forward finishing the game with 2-3.

That win set up a County Final appearance against Gailltir in a repeat of last year’s County Final which the girls from the Barony deservedly won.  

Aoife Hannon again finished as top scorer for Lismore with seven points, while Caithriona McGlone again banged in a brace of goals for her side in a 2-10 to 0-11 win, with the experienced Grainne Kenneally, Shona Curran and team captain Nicola Morrissey all chipping in with scores on the day.

Lismore’s last outing was against Tipperary champions Silvermines in the Munster Semi Final resulting in a 4—6 to 1-10 victory.

Caithriona McGlone was again to the fore for Lismore hitting another brace of goals for her side and added three points as well for good measure. Aoife Hannon that day hit 1-3 while Lismore’s second goal came off the stick of Sinead Bennett.

Lismore manager Brendan Landers and his management team are unlikely to make many changes if any to the side which they have sent out in recent games.

That will mean that Tanya Morrissey will once more be between the posts, while the full back line will consist of Sarah Coughlan, Shauna Prendergast and Ellen Curran.

The half back line is often the winning and losing of games and Lismore are lucky to have a good three-o of players across this line which will mean that Shauna Kiernan will be flanked by Aoife Houlihan and Marie Russell.

In the middle of the field the very experienced Shona Curran will be partnered by Sharon Williams, while the half forward line could well be made up of Ruth Geoghegan, Grainne Kenneally and Nicola Morrissey, while the Lismore full forward line of Caithriona McGlone with Aoife Hannon and Johanna Houlihan on either side of her could be every bit as dangerous to the Newcestown full back line as the Cork sides full forward line will be the Lismore full back line.

Lismore in this game on the back of good results against Cork sides in recent years.

While this might be a young Newcestown side, when the sides take to the field on Saturday afternoon they will respect the Cork club side in the same way that they will respect Lismore.

Lismore are playing Senior within Waterford with many years now and Intermediate at Provincial level after they won County Finals, while Newcestown up to fairly recently were playing in the Junior grade in Cork and their side would have changed somewhat in the past couple of years.

There can be only one winner on the day, and you can’t but feel that if Caithriona McGlone is in the form to raise green flags as she has in the last number of games, then Lismore will win a fifth Munster Title on Saturday afternoon and go into an All-semi final on a high.