Heartbreak for Gailltir at Croke Park

I don’t know what it is like to play in an All-Ireland Final, but I can imagine what it is like to win one, and I can imagine what it is like to come home from Croke Park, Semple Stadium or any other venue on the back of a defeat in an All-Ireland Final.

The journey home from Croke Park this evening for the Gailltir Camogie Club must be a long one, one made even longer by the weather conditions that we experienced in different parts of the country today.

I am sure no words right now will ease the pain that they suffered in going under to Down and Ulster Champions Clonduff in the All-Ireland Intermediate Final at G.A.A. Headquarters. But hopefully the panel of 30 players plus the backroom team of Gail O’Sullivan, Chloe Murphy, Grainne Flood, Lillian Foley, David Whelan, Sally O’Grady, Paul Lyng, Catherine Whitty and Shane Lyng under the guidance of team Manager Orla Murphy will see that time is on their side, that this is in the main a young team with some experienced players within the panel, and one day sooner rather than later that they will be champions and that journey home from Croke Park despite being the same length as it was today will feel a much shorter one.

Last year writing after Waterford had narrowly lost out to Cork in the Munster Camogie Championship in Modeligo; I quoted team secretary Majella Pollard who I got talking to before the game. Majella was telling me that she was constantly telling the players in Donal O’Rourke’s side that if they believe (believe in themselves), then anything is possible, and we saw this later in the year (last year) when Waterford came out of the group stages of the All-Ireland qualifiers and took on Tipperary in the All-Ireland Quarter Final in Cork.

I have a firm belief this evening that if this Gailltir side were to believe going forward then anything for them is possible.

Over the past number of years I have reported on different Gailltir sides and what they have achieved and seeing what they have done in the past few years, I firmly believe that this Gailltir side or the majority of them at any least will experience much better days that which they experienced today.

Today Gailltir knew that they faced a difficult task in taking on Clonduff, but one that they would have felt was a winnable one, one which I too felt was winnable, but it was not to be today, but on another day it certainly could have been Gailltir’s day.

We all know of the old Irish saying ‘tús maith leath na hoibre’ meaning a good start is half the work was certainly true today in Croke Park.

The Ulster side got off to a fantastic start in this game, going five points up in the first 11 minutes. In fact twice in the first twenty minutes of this game the Ulster side went five points up, but credit must go to the Gailltir ladies they never gave up.

The Ulster side opened the scoring on two minutes when Paula Gribben who finished as top scorer for her side with six points all from placed balls put over a free following a foul on Isabella O’Hare.

They doubled their advantage four minutes when the same player put over a free when referee John McDonagh rather harshly judged that Emily Mahony picked the ball directly off the ground.

Two minutes later the Ulster side when three up, again from a Paula Gribben put over a ’45 after Ciara Jackman had done well to keep an effort from Katie McGilligan out of her net.

The side in yellow refused to relent and hit their first score from open play on 10 minutes from the Sara-Louise Carr one of two daughters of former Down footballer Ross Carr split the posts with an effort from the ’45 metre line, and just seconds later Carr was fouled and Gribben made no mistake putting her side five in front.

Gailltir’s first real scoring chance came on 12 minutes falling to Annie Fitzgerald but she was judged to have over carried the sliotar by the County Galway referee.

Annie Fitzgerald did manage to get on the score sheet two minutes later when she converted a free won following a foul on Clodagh Carroll. Within a minute the same player got her second of the game when she converted another free this time won by herself, leaving three between the sides.

But unfortunately for Gailltir the next two scores fell to the Ulster side restoring a five point cushion.

Sara-Louise Carr pointed from open play on 19 minutes and almost straight away when the ball fell to her sister Fionnuala in the middle of the field she sent the ball over the head of Ciara Jackman in the Gailltir goal.

Back at the other end Katie Lynch did brilliant to pick out Clodagh Carroll one of many brilliant young players that we will hear a lot more about in the coming years within the Gailltir Club, and she made no mistake.

Another promising Gailltir player Emer Walsh looked as if she had a good chance to reduce the Clonduff lead with five minutes of the opening half remaining but she was crowded out by a water tight Clonduff defence who managed to clear the danger.

Early in added time at the end of the first half Annie Fitzgerald saw a difficult free on the ’45 metre line won by Katie Lynch went just wide.

Deep in stoppage time at the end of the first half Annie Fitzgerald was pulled down in the square in front of Hill 16 and John O’Donoghue had no option but to award the side in Blue and Navy a penalty.

The experienced Áine Lyng was brought up to strike at the three woman wall guarding the goal in front of the empty Hill 16 and she used all her experience in the conditions on the day striking low and hard hoping that the ball would skid in the conditions into the net but a combination of goalkeeper Karen Haughey standing in the middle of the three and full back Jenna Boden standing to her left managed to somehow keep the sliotar out of the net with the last play of the half.

Trailing 0-7 to 0-5 at the break Gailltir needed a good start to the second half, but it was the Ulster side that once more got the good start.

Sara-Louise Carr hit the first score of the second half to put three between the sides two minutes after the restart and Paula Gribben from another free pointed five minutes later gave the Ulster side a more manageable lead.

Gailltir however would hit back with the next three scores in a 13 minute spell to leave the minimum between the sides with three minutes of normal time to play.

Annie Fitzgerald put over a free on 44 minutes and 11 minutes later she split the posts again this time from a ’45, and on 57 minutes she pointed from open play to leave the minimum between the sides.

The next score was going to be vital. Fortunately for Clonduff and unfortunately for Gailltir it went the way of the Ulster side. Not surprisingly it came from a placed ball just outside the Gailltir ’45 metre line from the Hogan Stand side of the field from which Paula Gribben made no mistake.

Leading by two, the Ulster side conceded a free in the first minute of stoppage time. Áine Lyng was tasked at striking from 30 metres out on the Cusack Stand side of the field playing into the Canal end of the ground and she made no mistake.

With just the minimum between the sides had Gailltir hit the score that would force the sides to do it all over again it would not be an unfair result, but it was not to be.

Time ran out for Gailltir. A one point defeat is often the hardest to take in any game, and in an All-Ireland Final it would be even harder to accept.

But this Gailltir side while they will feel down in themselves this evening, each and every one of them can hold their head up very high.

In the last 12 months they have won a County Senior League and Championship double, they have won a Munster Intermediate Club title for the second time in three years and they reached an All-Ireland Club Final.

Some of their players helped Waterford achieve so much above what would be expected of them last year in the senior grades, they had players that helped Waterford win the Munster Minor ‘A’ Championship last year in which they beat a Cork side that had won the All-Ireland Final earlier in the year.

A great number of players from Gailltir have won Munster and All-Ireland Medals with St Angela’s Ursuline School in the college’s scene and they are back in an All-Ireland Final again in the coming weeks.

Each and every one of the panel both players and management on this Gailltir panel should hold their heads up high with what they have achieved and not be ashamed to tell anyone what they have achieved.

Gailltir will not need any telling it is not easy to get to play in games like they played in today, and with the way the game is progressing in Waterford right now it is even going to get harder to represent Waterford in the Provincial Championship, let alone to represent Munster in the All-Ireland Championship. But they have the players who are not afraid to put in the required work, and I have no doubt having experienced defeat today the hunger will be there going forward to experience what it is like to win in Croke Park. When that will happen none of us can say right now, but I have no doubt that if this current Gailltir panel stay together and add to it with some of the brilliant talent coming through from the underage section of the club, whether it is this year, next year or whenever next win a Senior County Final and go on to represent Waterford in Munster, that they will go on and reverse the feeling they experienced this afternoon.   

GAILLTÍR: Ciara Jackman; Emily Mahony, Margo Heffernan, Claire Dunne; Leah Sheridan, Emma Roche, Hannah Flynn; Shauna Fitzgerald, Áine Lyng; Clodagh Carroll, Annie Fitzgerald, Katie Lynch: Anne Corcoran, Trish Jackman, Emer Walsh.

Subs: Ciara O’Sullivan for Emer Walsh (ht), Aoife Fitzgerald for Anne Corcoran (ht), Anne Corcoran for Ciara Carroll (54)

SCORERS: Annie Fitzgerald 0-7(0-4fs, 0-2 45s); C Carroll, A Lyng (f) 0-1 each

          Remainder of the Panel: Róisín Flood, Leah O’Donoghue, Áine O’Keeffe, Hannah Hutchinson, Eilis Cullinane, Sorcha Cantwell, Laoise McLoughlin, Clara Hogan, Jill Doherty, Kadie Griffin, Laura Flynn.

CLONDUFF: Karen Haughey; Nicola O’Hagan, Jenna Boden, Sarah Murphy; Clare McGilligan, Erin Rafferty, Fionnuala Carr; Beth Fitzpatrick, Clara Cowan; Cassie Fitzpatrick, Sara-Louise Carr, Paula Gribben; Isabella O’Hare, Orla Gribben, Katie McGilligan.

Subs: Megan O’Reilly for Erin Rafferty (ht), Roisin Mulholland for Cassie Fitzpatrick (57)

SCORERS: Paula Gribben 0-6(0-5fs, 0-1 45); Sara-Louise Carr 0-3; Fionnuala Carr 0-1

REFEREE: John McDonagh (Galway)