McDonough Park
in Nenagh is the setting for this Sunday’s All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie
Club Semi Final between Waterford Senior Champions Lismore and Athenry from
Galway who are County and Connacht Champions in the Intermediate grade.
The girls from
the Tribes County will go into this game in fine form beating Mountbellew
Moylough 1-10 to 0-10 in the Galway County Final back in mid October and then
beating Athleague from Roscommon 2-9 to 1-5 in the Connacht Final at the end of
that same month.
Indeed 2017
was a great year for the Galway Club as they ended it undefeated in competitive
games, winning the League and Intermediate Championship at County Level and a
provincial title, winning the latter with being able to call on Jessica Gill
and Ciara Cunniffe.
Despite going
under to an early score in the Connacht Final to an early score, the Galway
side hit back with points from Noreen Coen a member of the Galway senior inter
county team who scored 1-4 over the course of the game and Therese Donohue the
scorer of 1-3 which helped them to a 2-5 to 0-4 lead at the break.
In addition to
their chief scorers in the win over Athleague, Lismore will know that there be
plenty of other threats to them within the Athenry team including Niamh
Donnellan, Eimear Keane, Gina Glynn and Megan Waldron, while Jessica Gill and
Dervla Higgins are also inter county standard.
Lismore are a
side that we here in Waterford will know all about.
They won this
year’s ultra competitive County Senior Camogie Championship, beating Gailltir
in the final, the side that had won the title twelve months earlier in a final
between the same two sides.
After that win
Lismore beat Tipperary Intermediate Champions Silvermines in the Munster Semi
Final on a 4-6 to 1-10 score line and they continued their recent run of good
results against opposition in the Munster Final when they had five points to
spare over Newcestown.
After
Lismore’s recent run of games Caithriona McGlone made all the netting seven
goals in four games, in which time she helped her side win a fifth Munster
title since 2010.
But Lismore
are by no means a one woman team as right throughout the side they have players
of the highest quality, many of whom have played for the county at different
levels.
Coached by
former inter county Goalkeeper Brendan Landers, he and his management team will
be able to call on the likes of Ellen and Shona Curran, Marie Russell, Ruth
Geoghegan, Grainne Kenneally, Nicola Morrissey, Shauna Kiernan, Aoife Hannon (who
is considered a doubt this weekend due to injury) as well as Aoife and Johanna
Houlihan.
Like their
opponents this weekend, Lismore are an experienced side and have won League and
County titles to go with their Provincial crown.
Whichever of
these two sides advance to next month’s All-Ireland Final will do so on merit,
but only one can do so.
This will be
Lismore’s fifth All-Ireland semi final appearance this decade. They lost out to
Eoghan Rua in 2011 and Ardrahan in 2012, before making it third time lucky
beating Liatroim Fonetenoy in 2014
after which they beat Ballyhale Shamrocks in the All-Ireland Final after a
replay and twelve months later they beat Oranmore/Maree before losing out to
Piltown from Kilkenny in the All-Ireland Final at Croke Park.
Lismore will
have to be fancied as you have to think their experience amassed since 2010
when they won the first of their provincial titles has to count for something,
also should be the experience of many of their sides who have played in two
All-Ireland Club Finals plus one replay, but it could well prove to be their
toughest date in the 2017 competition.
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