Heartbreak for Waterford for Second Year in a Row at All-Ireland Quarter Finals

Waterford’s interest in this year’s All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship came to an end this evening at Semple Stadium when Donal O’Rourke’s side went under to a strong Galway side by eight points.

Waterford were in contention in this game up to the final five minutes of this game despite the fact that they only hit one score in the second half of this game. However it should be pointed out that while Waterford were finding it hard to get the scores that they so richly deserve in the second half, they were creating chances, and in particular chances for goal, but Galway’s experience shone in the second half as one more than one occasion they were able to get that telling touch when Waterford looked like they were going to score, and were also able to clear the danger zone having made a telling intervention.

Make no mistake Waterford getting to this stage of the competition for the second year in a row and while they will be back again next year, hopefully with the same panel and with a number of new players creating extra competition for a place in the starting team it can only be good for the side.

Having lead Waterford to this stage of the competition for the second year in a row, there is bound to be some rumblings with a new manager for the county senior hurling team to be named in the coming weeks after Pauric Fanning stood down after one year in the job in the last 24 hours if the new manager is to come from inside the county, having seen what the Cappoquin Club man has achieved with this group of players in the last two years there may be some that suggest that his name be thrown into the hat for the job, but no doubt many would rather if he was to stay with this group of players and continue the work that he has put in over the past few years, as this is a side that will very soon make many of the bigger and stronger counties sit up and take notice after they pull off a major win or two in a major knockout game be it in the National League or the Championship.

 It was only in the closing five minutes of this game that the eventual winners could say with any degree of certainty that they were going to be in the bowl for the semi final draw which took place after the game.

At the break it was Donal O’Rourke’s side that were holding a richly deserved 2-7 to 1-6 lead having kept a tight rein on what was a dangerous Galway forward line who took the bulk of their first half scores from placed balls as the Waterford defence stopped their opponents having shots at goal from play by whatever means they could.

It was the winners that hit the first score of the game, a goal inside 16 seconds of the game starting, Aoife Donohue showing how dangerous the Galway attack could be in finishing past Brianna O’Regan.

Waterford however went straight up field and as Beth Carton laid siege on the Galway goal Heather Cooney fouled the talented De La Salle player and from 20 metres having dusted herself down made no mistake in the wet conditions in firing past a three woman line on between the uprights to level matters, with just under two minutes played.

The same player fired over from play on two minutes to give Waterford the lead for the first time from a Fiona Morrissey cross after good work by Annie Fitzgerald before this, but almost straight away the De La Salle Club players effort was cancelled out with Carrie Dolan’s first score of the evening.

Beth Carton edged Waterford in front with a free on six minutes and two minutes later the Waterford lead was stretched with an effort from Áine Lyng. Noreen Coen and Áine Lyng with a huge effort swapped scores to keep Waterford in front at the end of the opening quarter of this game.

Carrie Dolan and Fiona Morrissey with a huge score for the Déise side had Waterford two points in front with the game in the final ten minutes of the opening half in this game, but two converted frees in as many minutes soon had the eventual winners on level terms. Another exchange of scores this time from Niamh Rockett and another Carrie Dolan free with five minutes of the half remaining kept things very tight in the rain in Thurles.

Waterford however would steal a march before the break when a long range Shona Curran free was dropped in around the Galway goal and when the greasy ball took a bounce in front of Sarah Healy the Saint Thomas’ club player was powerless to keep the Lismore players effort from passing her.

And things would get even better for Donal O’Rourke’s side in stoppage time at the end of the opening half as Beth Carton nailed a free to give her side a deserved 2-7 to 1-6 lead at the break.

Waterford began the second half lively. Sarah Lacey who has been outstanding all year for Waterford had a hand passed effort for a third Waterford goal deflected out for a ’45 at the town end of the ground and from the resulting strike Beth Carton made no mistake in opening up a five point lead for Waterford.

However, this was to prove to be Waterford’s last score of the game, but it should be pointed out that the side did create chances and in particular goal efforts but Galway’s greater experience on the day helped them to cut off the danger in front of their own goal with a number of telling interventions.

At the other end, Carrie Dolan put over four frees in a seven minute spell to leave her side trailing 2-8 to 1-10 at the end of the third quarter, and with Waterford creating chances you could not but feel that if Waterford kept the goals out and maybe strike one of their own, that they would be in the bowl alongside Tipperary for the All-Ireland semi final draw with Cork and Kilkenny in the other bowl.

Niamh Kilkenny leveled matters with 12 minutes of the hour remaining and almost straight away the same player again split the post to give her side the lead for the first time Fiona Morrissey’s point leveled matters 20 minutes into the first half. And they were to go further in front when Carrie Dolan split the posts once more with 8 minutes of the hour remaining.

Waterford’s chances of getting something from this game were all but ended with just over five minutes to play when Ailish O’Reilly finished past Brianna O’Regan for Galway’s second goal in this game, putting her side six points up.

The Tribes ladies would finish the game with the final scores of the game as Ciara Murphy and Rebecca Hennelly having come off the bench in the second half did their chances of staking a place in the team from the start in the semi finals no harm with a point each.

WATERFORD: Briana O’Regan; Sibheal Harney, Iona Heffernan, Kate Lynch; Caoimhe McGrath, Shona Curran, Lorraine Bray; Orla Hickey, Beth Carton; Fiona Morrissey, Niamh Rockett, Trish Jackman; Áine Lyng, Annie Fitzgerald, Sarah Lacey

Subs: Keeley Corbett Barry for Fiona Morrissey (41), Claire Whyte for Orla Hickey (49), Mairead Power for Sibheal Harney (59), Emma Roche for Caoimhe McGrath (64)

SCORERS: Beth Carton 1-4(0-2fs, 0-1 45, 1-0 pen); Shona Curran 1-0(f); Áine Lyng 0-2; Fiona Morrissey, Niamh Rockett 0-1 each

GALWAY: Sarah Healy; Shauna Healy, Sarah Dervan, Heather Cooney; Tara Kenney, Emma Helebert, Lorraine Ryan; Aoife Donohue, Anne Marie Starr; Carrie Dolan, Sarah Spellman, Niamh Kilkenny; Noreen Coen, Maria Cooney, Ailish O’Reilly

Subs: Catriona Cormican for Maria Cooney (ht), Ciara Murphy for Anne Marie Starr (40), Catherine Finnerty for Sarah Spellman (59), Rebecca Hennelly for Aoife Donohue (60)

SCORERS: Carrie Dolan 0-10(fs); Aoife Donohue, Ailish O’Reilly 1-0 each; Niamh Kilkenny, Noreen Coen 0-2 each; Ciara Murphy, Rebecca Hennelly 0-1 each

REFEREE: Owen Elliott (Antrim)

The Leader of the Pack

Maybe because of the way I am (I was born with Spina Bifida which effects my mobility), I have a great admiration for people that are dealt a blow in life through no fault of their own, or who face challenges that most if not all of their peers face, but do not let these blows or challenges hold them back in what they want to achieve.

I know many people might not agree with me on this, but while I have great admiration for those that take part in the Special Olympics be it at a local, national or international level, I have more admiration for those that take part in the Paralympics.

And the reason for this is simple (in my eyes anyway). Many if not all of those that are in the Special Olympics (are a bit like myself) were born with their disabilities and as they have got older they have found ways of getting around the disabilities they have the obstacles that those disabilities pose to them, that is of course the disabled person is allowed to find ways around their disabilities.

It might surprise some but there is a considerable amount of disabled people right around the world who are not allowed to think things out for themselves, and those that are thinking things out for themselves they are not listened to as many able-bodied people who are in contact with disabled people tend to think that their way of doing things is the correct way. More fool them I say.

For those that take part in the Paralympics life can (I feel anyway) be much tougher than those taking part in the Special Olympics. Many are taking part in these games as a result of having an accident which has often left them paralysed or may have had one or more of their limbs amputated as a result of an accident or maybe as a result of an incurable infection setting in and in a bid to keep a person alive surgeons decide to amputate a limb or limbs cutting off an infected area from the rest of the body.

After a person has some or all of their limbs amputated or after they have been left paralysed, their life is changed forever, something people who are born with physical or mental disabilities do not face as we know no different being the way we are from a very early stage. I know this might seem hard for some to agree with or understand but if you take the time to think about it, you might see that it makes sense.

I am someone that loves Gaelic Games. You might have guessed this if you are reading what appears on here anytime over the past seven plus years. I am however not like many Gaelic Games Supporters. I am note a hurling supporter, nor am I a football supporter; I am a supporter of both games in equal measure, even if the way football is played with the last number of years has at times turned me off watching some games and I can see the same happening with hurling going forward. I am not one of those people that buy into the notion of ‘the game is evolving’ thing. To me, to win a game you still have to outscore your opponent and to me that is often done by doing the simple or basic things right. And it is not just the men’s games that interest me like with many supporters. The ladies games to me are also important to me.

In fact I would say that in recent years I would rather attend a Ladies Football or Camogie game that a game played out by 30 plus men. The reason for this is (sadly) attendances tend to be smaller than what would attend a men’s game and therefore it is easier for me to get in and out of venues where the ladies teams are playing.

Hopefully in the coming years we will see a massive increase in the numbers attending the women’s games increase now that the games are receiving more coverage in the media, especially on social media where games are often to be found streamed live.

There are players in both of the women’s codes that I have huge admiration for despite not personally knowing some of the players that admire. In some cases I have never even spoken to some of those players.

Take the example of one player that I have admired for a number of years, the captain of the Waterford Senior Camogie Team this year – Niamh Rockett.

I don’t know what way Donal O’Rourke and his management team went about picking their captain this year. Did the management team sit down and discuss the strongest leaders in their panel and agree on someone (in this case Niamh Rockett) that would be certain to start games when fully fit, or if they consulted with the players in the panel, maybe giving them free reign to pick a leader of the pack for the year ahead.

Regardless of how they went about it, the choice of captain this year cannot be faulted. The Saint Anne’s Club player was the sides vice captain last year, and was the captain for a while in the National League when last year’s captain Shauna Kiernan was preparing for an All-Ireland Club semi final with Lismore early in the league.

Anyone that is following the game of Camogie in recent years will know that Niamh has not has it easy in recent years. In more than one occasion she has been told to give up playing the game she loves or faces risking spending the rest of her life in a wheelchair by the time she reaches the age of 30.

Most people that would be given this news by a specialist would obey the specialist straight away and call time on their career. But the talented Saint Anne’s Club player is no ordinary player.

In 2011 she was part of the Waterford Junior panel that won that year’s All-Ireland Final against Down in Croke Park and four years later she was part of the Waterford Intermediate Team to capture the All-Ireland Title beating Kildare again at G.A.A. Head quarters.

Last year the Saint Anne’s club player was one of four Waterford players nominated for an All-Star (Beth Carton, Lorraine Bray and Áine Lyng were the other three) and while Beth Carton won Waterford’s first All-Star when they were announced some weeks before Christmas, many would argue that the Saint Anne’s Club Player was extremely unlucky not to also have won an award as she was magnificent for both Club and County all throughout 2018.

Niamh has brought the form she showed last year into this year’s competitions, and it could well be argued that she has even upped her performances this year, revelling in the roll of team captain, the leader of the pack.

It’s probably fairly safe to say that it is from this weekend that Camogie will get most coverage as all games in the senior grade are to be televised. It’s also possibly be safe to say that it is from here that those picking the best 15 players of the year will be taking notice of who is who.

I for one don’t know who pick the Camogie team of the year or what criteria is used, but would if given the chance urge those tasked with the unenviable task of picking just 15 players as the best players of the year to try and get their hands on the recordings of as many of Waterford games as is possible and if they were to do this then they would not be disappointed with the performance of the Saint Anne’s Club player as they would with a number of other Waterford players.

Those that read reports of what is happening in the world of Camogie in the newspapers and online will be aware that the Saint Anne’s player suffers a great deal after games. How long more will she continue to play the game that she loves is only known to her and maybe those that she confides in. Maybe even as this stage she doesn’t know how long more she will play at the very top level.

She will know only too well these are exciting times for Camogie in Waterford and I for one think that there are some big days coming up. Will Niamh Rockett want to be part of these days? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I think many that play the game in Waterford and who are good enough to be part of a panel of up to 30 players would want to be involved.

For some, they give up all too easy. The slightest bit of pain for some is the end of their world. For other like Waterford’s Captain Niamh Rockett who keeps going thought the pain barrier she knows she faces every time she plays.

She even finds time to know that while she faces plenty of pain, there are those that are a lot worse off than she is.

 The Saint Anne’s Club Player is a P.E. and Maths teacher at the Blackwater Community School in Lismore, and knows the challenges that one of her past pupils faced in recent times.

Caoimhe O’Brien like Niamh Rockett was a sports fanatic and a member of the Ballyduff Ladies Football Club. In a match one day the teenager felt pain in her knee while running and on getting it checked out found that it was a cancerous growth.

The Ballyduff Club player a former pupil of the school which Niamh Rockett teaches at had her lower left leg amputated, but complications set in and the Ballyduff youngster lost her battle for life last May.  

The Saint Anne’s club player has in recent media reports spoken of her former pupil and how she regarded her as an inspiration to all, refusing to take the simple options in life, sitting in a wheelchair, instead proving to be headstrong and going to school using a pair of crutches.

With a long number of years I have had an interest in the life of Albino Luciani who in 1978 became better known as Pope John Paul 1 (the first). 94 days before he was elected Pope while Patriarch (Archbishop) of Venice, Albino Luciani while speaking at the Cini Foundation (a group of doctors studying pain) spoke of a Chinese man who said “I had only one pair of old ragged shoes and I moaned about it. One day I met someone who had no feet. I never dared complain again”.

Some people are stuck down with something in life and it is like life ends for them with whatever news they receive. But this is not always true. Just look at that way young Caoimhe O’Brien inspired Niamh Rockett when she was dealt a blow in life. Look at the way the Chinese man that the then Cardinal Albino Luciani spoke about three months before he was elected pope, and you see no matter how bad things seem for you in life, for others compared to what you feel at any given time, you don’t have any real worries.

No doubt there is many young girls (and older men as well as women) out there who see Niamh Rockett play Camogie and who have come to know the challenges that she face each time she pulls on that green and red jersey of Saint Anne’s or the white and blue of Waterford will be inspired by her and regardless of what challenges they face in life.

While wishing pain on nobody I for one feel that whatever pain the Saint Anne’s and Waterford player will feel after Saturday evening’s All-Ireland Quarter Final against Galway, it would be worth it all if Donal O’Rourke’s side were to face into an All-Ireland Semi Final in a few weeks.

Déise Ladies In With a Big Chance of Causing a Shock

If over the past seven years you are following what I have to say on here, or again when I preview games for the Munster Express, you will be aware that I am saying that progress is being made in the world of Camogie with a number of years now. This progress has come over time and not necessarily over night which might be a good thing and a better way for it to happen in the longer term.

If anyone wants proof of this progress you have to remember that just four years ago Waterford’s most senior team were playing in the Intermediate Grade and four years before this Waterford’s most senior adult team were playing in the Junior Grade on the inter county scene.

This coming Saturday for the second year in a row, Waterford under the guidance of Cappoquin Club man Donal O’Rourke have reached the All-Ireland Quarter Final for the second year in a row, something that is no fluke.

12 months ago Waterford lost out to a good Tipperary side in the new Pairc Ui Chaoimh and this Saturday afternoon Donal O’Rourke’s side face an even more difficult clash when they take on Galway in the second of this year’s quarter finals at Semple Stadium in Thurles.

The two sides met in last year’s championship in Waterford’s first game in the group stages at Kenny Park in Athenry where a very strong home side ran out convincing winners on a 4-12 to 0-8 score line.

Most sides could well have thrown in the towel after such a defeat, but I have a recollection of last year’s team captain Shauna Kiernan speaking on the Sunday Game in a roundup of the weekends game and hearing the Lismore club woman say “this is not the end, it’s only the beginning”.

Any side that shows at attitude like this only deserves things to get better for them, and after that defeat things did get better, and this year with many of the panel having the experience of last year behind them, with some young players brought into the side, with Trish Jackman coming back into the panel after a few years away as she was studying in the UK, and with the management team sticking to what they feel is their strongest XV instead of chopping and changing as they did last year in a bid to find that best XV, Waterford are deservedly back in the last six of the competition.

You have to feel that they have an even stronger chance of reaching the last four than they did last year, even if they are up against a strong Galway side who have already won the National League this year beating a strong Kilkenny side in the final at Croke Park, a win that will make the Tribes Ladies favourites to advance in the eyes of many pundits ahead of this game.

If you follow the game of Camogie closely it might be hard to argue against those that are predicting that Galway will overcome the challenge of Waterford this Saturday evening.

Take a look at the Galway team and you see the class that there is within it. Players like Noreen Coen, Ailish O’Reilly, Niamh Kilkenny, Carrie Dolan and Aoife Donohue to name but five are attackers that would walk onto most if not all inter county games.

Further back the field you have the likes of Sarah Healy in goal and the likes of Sarah Dervan, Heather Cooney, Tara Kenny, Emma Helebert and Anne Marie Starr in the defensive and mid field positions. Put them all together and you have a fine team.

But it would be foolish for those outside of the Déise County to think that this is a game all about just one team. This Waterford side are here very much on merit.

Back in 1997 the Waterford Senior Ladies Football team were in the news. When Referee Finbarr find eight seconds short of 12 minutes added time at the end of the hour in that year’s All-Ireland Ladies Football final where Monaghan ran out winners on a 2-15 to 1-16 score line. Waterford were correctly furious with the time added on as most people felt that had half of that time was added it would be generous.

Twelve months later the same two counties were back in the final and this time the outcome was reversed and there was no issues with the time keeping as the Ladies Football Association took time keeping out of the hands of the referee, bringing in a countdown clock, something that is used in all big championship games since then very successfully and there is some that suggest that the G.A.A. should do the same in the men’s game sooner rather than later.

Earlier this year it was the Waterford Senior Camogie team that was in the news. Their last game in the group stages was to be against All-Ireland Champions Cork. The game was to be played on a Saturday, but Cork had two players down to play Ladies Football the same day, someone decided to put the Camogie game back 24 hours to accommodate the Rebellettes duel players, despite the fact that just a week earlier Waterford’s duel player Caoimhe McGrath had to make a call as to which game she wanted to play when the Camogie team were down to play Clare and the Ladies Footballers were down to play Dublin on the same day.

When the game was put back it meant that Waterford were going to be without Trish Jackman who is playing a huge part with Waterford in this year’s championship as she had booked a flight back to the UK where she lives and works on the Sunday morning, something that could had cost Waterford had they not qualified for this Saturday’s game by beating Clare a week earlier.

The Waterford panel correctly made a big deal about this and it is good to see that the Camogie Association have agreed to meet with members of the Waterford panel who are backed by the Women’s Gaelic Players Association (W.G.P.A.) after the championship and hopefully the end result of these talks with me more professionalism with it comes to staging games, with dates and venues clearly publicised not just days in advance of a game going forward, but weeks and maybe also an agreement between the Camogie Association and the Ladies Football Association so that games are not played on the same day.

As pointed out already Waterford are in this game very much on merit. The Déise Ladies first game was to be against Tipperary at The Ragg. Waterford were winning this game with normal time almost up but the game was not finished as a Tipperary player picked up a serious head injury and when there was a delay in an Ambulance arriving at the ground the referee decided to call off the game.

Waterford’s first completed game was against a fancied Dublin side at Walsh Park where the home side ran out winners 1-11 to 1-5. The re-arranged game against Tipperary was next up, played at neutral Nowlan Park. Waterford again put it up to the Premier Ladies but in the end the old adage that goals win games proved through as Tipperary ran out winners on a 4-11 to 2-14 score line.

Waterford got back to winning ways with wins over Meath at Navan (5-9 to 0-11) and Clare (2-10 to 0-12) at Walsh Park which secured Donal O’Rourke’s side place in the knockout stages of the competition for the second year in a row, before they played Cork in the last game of the round robin section of the competition where the visitors ran out winners 2-10 to 0-7 at the Keane’s Road venue.

If Waterford were to field along similar lines to recent games it could well mean that Brianna O’Regan will start in goal with Iona Heffernan directly in front of her. Kate Lynch, Sibeal Harney and Mairead Power will fight it out for the two corner back positions with Caoimhe McGrath, Shona Curran and Lorraine Bray forming a teak like centre back line.

The middle of the field could well see a mix of youth and experience. Orla Hickey is making a name for herself with a string of strong performances in the last year or two and she is set to be partnered by the vastly experienced Emma Hannon.

The Waterford half forward line could well see Áine Lyng, Beth Carton and Niamh Rockett combine. If this is the half forward line chosen by the Waterford management team and on the day it clicks as supporters know it can, it could well prove to be the winning of the game.

Sarah Lacey is in her first year playing at this level and has made a huge name for herself with a string of fine performances and chipping in with some fine scores along the way. She is almost certain to start in the Waterford full forward line, but who will be there alongside the young Dungarvan player.

A number of options are open to Donal O’Rourke and his selectors including Aisling Power, Fiona Morrissey, Annie Fitzgerald, Clodagh Carroll, Clara Griffin, while other options might be to bring someone like Orla Hickey or Shona Curran into attack, moving Lorraine Bray into the middle of the field and bringing the likes of Claire Whyte or Aoife Landers into the defensive positions that they would leave void.

Neutrals will tell us that Galway will go into this game as favourites, but many neutrals would love to see the so called underdog pull off a big shock in this game.

It is only a matter of time before Waterford pull off that big scalp and when this happens plenty of people will be talking about this team.

This is a Waterford team that are steadily getting more and more support to their games and it would be fantastic to think that when Niamh Rockett leads the team out from under the Old Stand in Thurles sometime before 7pm on Saturday evening that they will get the biggest roar they have got since Caithriona McGlone lead her county up the steps of the Hogan stand back in September 2015 and lofted the Jack McGrath Cup in the air after Waterford beat Kildare 2-9 to 1-5.

Will Waterford get that first major win in this game? I for one would not be surprised if they did. 

Deise Ladies Push Champions All the Way

The gap between Waterford and the stronger Inter County Camogie sides is steadily closing and we saw this once more on Sunday evening when Donal O’Rourke’s side took on All-Ireland Champions Cork in Walsh Park.

While nine points separated the sides at the end of the hour in a game played out in wind and rain, in truth it was only in the final quarter of this game that the reigning champions were able to pull away from the home side.

For 45 minutes the sides were very evenly matched and in this time the sides were level on six occasions.

Waterford had turned around with a two point 0-6 to 0-4 advantage showing on the score board and in truth the home side were full value for this lead.

Waterford started this game without Trish Jackman. The Gailltir club player returned to the fold this year after studying in the UK for a number of years where she now lives and works. Her absence from this game is well documented and one where Camogie chiefs in Croke Park will have to ask serious questions of themselves.

Originally this game was to be played on Saturday afternoon but it was put back 24 hours so that Cork could accommodate two players who were part of the Cork Senior Ladies Football Panel that were also down to play Cavan on Saturday afternoon, a game that Cork were always going to win whether they had the two players Hannah Looney and Libby Coppinger in the team or not.

While it is important to note that no blame should be put on the players for the putting back of this game for up to 24 hours, there has to be some level of consistency when it comes to fixtures as Waterford’s Caoimhe McGrath had to choose what game she wanted to play only a week earlier when the Ladies Footballers were down to play Dublin and the Camogie team had a must win game against Clare at Walsh Park.

It should also be remembered that only a few years back Waterford had three duel Ladies Football and Camogie Players and Shona Curran, Grainne Kenneally and Fiona Morrissey lined out for both sides on the one day in Dublin.

Waterford were also without Annie Fitzgerald for this game as the Gailltir was nursing an injury and hopefully she will be back in contention for a place from the start when Waterford play Galway in the All-Ireland Quarter Finals in Thurles on August 3, a game that the Camogie Association have announced will have a 7-15pm start and will be the main game on the evening’s programme with Tipperary and Limerick playing before the Waterford game in the first quarter final with that game having a 5-30 throw in.

Waterford took the lead in this game when Beth Carton put over a third minute free only for Orla Cotter to cancel it out at the other end with a similar effort. The De La Salle player edged Waterford back in front again on five minutes when she again split the posts from another Waterford free but six minutes later at the other end of the field Orla Cotter levelled matters for the second time.

Cork took the lead for the first time when Orla Cronin split the posts but on the quarter of an hour mark the sides were level for the third time when Áine Lyng found the range with Waterford’s first score from play.

Libby Coppinger wasted no time in restoring a lead for Cork, but Waterford would finish the half the stronger of the two sides in front of goal as Beth Carton landed the last three scores of the half, all from placed balls to give Waterford a 0-6 to 0-4 lead at the break.

Cork started the second half lively and they knocked over the opening two scores from Orla Cronin to level matters in this game for the fifth time. Waterford however would all behind when Hannah Looney gave her side the lead with a score 45 metres from goal, but the sides were levelled up for the sixth time on 39 minutes when Áine Lyng got her second score from game.

Beth Carton in the driving rain was unlucky to have lost her footing as she took a ’45 which would give Waterford the lead but soon afterwards Cork took the lead once more and never relinquished it after that.

Cork’s first goal came on 44 minutes when Hannah Looney found Orla Cronin who tore down the middle and sent a rasping shot past Brianna O’Regan.

Libby Coppinger and Orla Cotter followed up with points for Cork, but Waterford refused to give up this game without a fight and it took a terrific save from Laura Hayes to deny Waterford substitute Clara Griffin what would have been a richly deserved goal.

But Waterford were to be dealt a killer blow of any chance of getting something from this game Niamh McCarthy crashed home a second goal for the Rebellettes in the first minute of added time.

Next up for Waterford is an All-Ireland quarter final against what will be a fancied Galway side in two weeks time in Thurles, but the performance in this game and throughout the campaign will give this Waterford panel plenty of confidence going into that game and who knows, it might be against the Tribe’s women that Waterford will pull off that big stand up and take notice win and set up an All-Ireland semi final appearance in the middle of August, a stage of the competition that both Cork and Kilkenny as group winners have already qualified for.

Waterford: Brianna O'Regan; Kate Lynch, Iona Heffernan, Sibeal Harney; Caoimhe McGrath, Shona Curran, Lorraine Bray; Emma Hannon, Orla Hickey; Aine Lyng, Fiona Morrissey, Niamh Rockett; Aisling Power, Beth Carton, Sarah Lacey.

Subs: Clara Griffin for Emma Hannon (HT), Mairead Power for Sibeal Harney (47), Aoife Landers for Aisling Power (49), Claire Whyte for Caoimhe McGrath (55), Aine Power for Sarah Lacey (57).

Scorers: Beth Carton 0-5 (5fs), Aine Lyng 0-2.

Cork: Aoife Murray; Laura Hayes, Pamela Mackey, Laura Treacy; Hannah Looney, Gemma O'Connor, Chloe Sigerson; Libby Coppinger, Briege Corkery; Amy O'Connor, Orla Cronin, Orla Cotter; Linda Collins, Julia White, Lauren Homan.

Subs: Niamh McCarthy for Julia White (HT), Ciara McCarthy for Orla Cronin (49), Katelyn Hickey for Libby Coppinger (53), Cliona Healy for Linda Collins (56), Leanne O'Sullivan for Hannah Looney (60).

Scorers: Orla Cronin 1-3, Niamh McCarthy 1-0, Orla Cotter 0-3 (3fs), Libby Coppinger 0-2, Amy O'Connor, Hannah Looney 0-1 each.

Referee: Ray Kelly (Kildare)

Clinical Waterford Prove Too Strong For Under Strength Monaghan

The Waterford Senior Ladies Football team will have got many to sit up and take notice on Saturday afternoon when they proved too strong for a Monaghan side who were playing on home soil in the second round of games in this year’s Round Robin Section of the All-Ireland Football Championship.

Ciaran Curran fielded 13 of the side which lost out to Dublin a week earlier, bringing in Mairead Wall into the attack and Caoimhe McGrath into the defence after the latter player missed last week’s game having opted to play Camogie when the two sides which she is involved in were down to play on the same afternoon.

While it was the home side that got off to the best start in this game going 0-3 to 0-1 in front, Waterford once they began to get on top proved to be the better of the two sides and once corner forward Eimear Fennell netted a hat-trick of goals inside a five minute spell before the end of the first quarter the outcome of this game was never going to be in doubt.

All year long the Waterford full forward line of Michelle Ryan with the Abbeyside pairing of Eimear Fennell and Maria Delahunty either side of her are in fine form and nothing changed in this game as the three players shared 4-13 of Waterford’s tally.

Waterford in this game had nine different scorers in this game, an impressive tally of scorers in any game and could have won this game by an even greater margin as they missed two chances for goals before Eimear Fennell struck her hat-trick.

Credit their opponents too however. They lined out without a number of their younger players who were due to play in Sunday’s All-Ireland Minor Semi Final against Meath and also lined out without team captain Cora Courtney because of injury. It should also be pointed out that they did create goal chances and when they did manage to get inside the Waterford full back line they found it very difficult to get past Rosie Landers who is one of a few young players in their first season playing at this level and the Ballyduff Upper player is making a bit of a name for herself with a string of fine performances.

The home side opened the scoring with points from Louise Kerley, Ciara McAnespie and Abbie McCarey with Waterford’s first score coming from Chloe Fennell.

Waterford however came bouncing back with Eimear Fennell hitting a five minute hat-trick for Ciaran Curran’s side by the end of the first quarter.

Waterford had spurned two early chances to hit goals but perseverance eventually paid off as the talented Abbeyside tallies player netted three goals in quick succession to put Waterford into a deserved 3-1 to 0-3 lead from which they never looked back.

The home side would close the gap with points from Ciara McAnespie and Louise Kerley it was not to be enough for their side however. Michelle Ryan and Chloe McBride swapped scores before Maria Delahunty put Waterford 3-3 to 0-6 up with her first score of the afternoon.

Chloe Fennell edged Waterford further in front before the home side struck for their only goal of the game when Casey Treanor netted before the break, but Waterford would go up field and hit the final score of the half, a point from Michelle Ryan which gave her side a 3-5 to 1-6 lead at the break.

Waterford produced a brilliant third quarter in this game, one where the real spade work was done to secure this win.

Maria Delahunty straight from the restart netted Waterford’s fourth goal of the game with less than 30 second played. Katie Murray, Maria Delahunty with a hat-trick of points, Michelle Ryan and Eimear Fennell from a free gave Waterford a comprehensive 4-11 to 1-6 lead and if there was any doubting how this game would end, all bets were off on 38 minutes when Aileen Wall stuck Waterford’s five major score of the game.

Michelle Ryan, Kelly Ann Hogan and Maria Delahunty from a free would follow up with points for Ciaran Curran’s side before Louise Kerley hit the home side’s first score of the second half.

Kate McGrath and Eimear McAnespie swapped scores before Shauna Coyle and Lauren McGregor did likewise. Another Ciara McAnespie point followed for the home side before Eimear Fennell slotted over two points in a row, the first from a placed ball.

Kelly Anne Hogan, another player in her debut season at this level stuck her first championship goal to give Waterford a 6-18 to 1-10 lead with time running down, and Waterford would finish this game with a Maria Delahunty effort from a free before Chloe Fennell rounded off a faultless afternoon’s work with her side’s seventh goal right at the end of this game.

Waterford: Rosie Landers; Caoimhe McGrath, Emma Murray, Kate McGrath; Róisín Tobin, Karen McGrath, Aisling Mullaney; Katie Murray, Chloe Fennell; Aileen Wall, Kelly Anne Hogan, Mairead Wall; Eimear Fennell, Michelle Ryan, Maria Delahunty.

Subs: Brigita Valuntaite for Aisling Mullaney (42), Lauren McGregor for Róisín Tobin (45), Emma Gildea for Mairead Wall (55), Kelly Moroney for Rosie Landers (55), Denise Curran for Michelle Ryan (60).

Scorers: Eimear Fennell 3-4 (2f), Maria Delahunty 1-5 (0-2f), Chloe Fennell 1-2, Michelle Ryan 0-4, Kelly Anne Hogan 1-1, Aileen Wall 1-0, Katie Murray, Kate McGrath, Lauren McGregor 0-1 each

Monaghan: Bridín Tierney; Karla Lambe, Sarah Boyd, Rebecca Hughes; Aoife McAnespie, Hannah McSkane, Niamh Kerr; Abbie McCarey, Eimear McAnespie; Shauna Coyle, Noeleen McGuirk, Chloe McBride; Eva Woods, Louise Kerley, Ciara McAnespie.

Subs: Casey Treanor for Noeleen McGuirk (27), Gráinne McNally for Rebecca Hughes (29), Lisa Flynn for Lambe (47), Rebecca Hughes for Coyle (58), Noeleen McGuirk for Eva Woods (59).

Scorers: Casey Treanor 1-0, Louise Kerley (1f) Ciara McAnespie 0-3 each, Abbie McCarey 0-2, Chloe McBride, Shauna Coyle 0-1 each.

Referee: Gerry Carmody (Mayo).

What’s good for the Goose Is good for the Gander:

Idioms are a type of figurative language, which means they are not always meant to be taken literally. Idioms express a particular sentiment, but they do not literally mean what the individual words themselves mean.

An idiom is a saying that is specific to a language. For example, an idiom in English does not translate to an idiom in Spanish.

Common English Idioms include:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, meaning that what looks beautiful to one person may not look beautiful to another.

 Don’t Count your chickens before they hatch, meaning do not count on something before you have get it in your hands.

No crying over spilt milk meaning don’t be upset about something that cannot be changed or don’t be upset about something that is really a small matter.

Curiosity killed the Cat, meaning being too curious or inquisitive can be dangerous.

A penny for your thoughts, meaning what are you thinking about?

Don’t beat around the bush meaning someone is avoiding the topic.

You can’t judge a book by its cover meaning do not assume you know someone by how the or she appears.

I suppose you could say in summary that an Idiom is a figure of speech, a phrase that should not be taken literally used to express a particular sentiment or something that is specific to a particular language, group or region.

Another Idiom and one that I often use is ‘What’s good for the goose is good for the gander’ meaning that what is good for one person or group should be good for another.

It was former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson that once famously said ‘A week is a long time in politics’ meaning that a lot can happen to those in public office in a short space of time.

This is something that could be applied to each and every one of us. How often has life changed for the better or worse in a short space of time, and it need not be a week like what Harold Wilson suggested.

A week can be a long time in politics and what is good for the goose is good for the gander could often apply to sports teams or to individuals that participate in different sports.

Both of the figures of speech referred to in the last paragraph could certainly apply to Waterford this week.

Let me say here that I have not spoken face to face to anybody involved with the Waterford Coaching set up in the last week. I did speak to one player briefly in a shop, but fewer than a dozen words were shared and no mention was made of this weekend’s All-Ireland Championship game was made nor was any mention of any sport. I also am not speaking here for the Waterford Camogie Board. They have made their views known and I am fully in agreement with what they have to say.

In the last number of year’s different counties have had players who have said that they wanted to play both Camogie and Ladies Football for their county. Some players have done this very successfully. In the men’s game Duel players were often to be seen in the past, but in recent years they have become like hens teeth. The G.A.A. at headquarters are in a way to be blamed for their not being many if any duel GAA players in recent years as they have scheduled hurling and football games on the same day and often at the same time.

In Ladies Football and Camogie there has been some players who have opted to play both games and managers of different inter county panels have to be congratulated in making it possible for allowing players willing to make a commitment to both games to do so.

This year Waterford has one duel player in Caoimhe McGrath. The hugely talented Abbeyside woman has proven to be key to Donal O’Rourke’s and Ciaran Curran’s sides and both men and their management teams deserve huge praise for allowing a player that wants to play both codes to do so.

I will admit I don’t know what way they work with training, but it works. When it comes to games all year things also have worked well. While the Camogie and Ladies Football sides have had games the same weekends a number of times this year, it has often happened that when this happens one game is fixed for a Saturday and the other on a Sunday and this has allowed Caoimhe to tog out twice in a white and blue shirt in 24 hours which takes great commitment.

Last weekend the Abbeyside woman had to make a big call. Would she line out at 3-30 in Port Laoise with the Waterford Ladies Footballers against All-Ireland Champions Dublin, a game that Waterford were while always in with a chance of winning, always knew that to win was always going to be a difficult task. Or would she line out at 5pm in Walsh Park against Clare in a must win game in the round robin section of the championship, where if Waterford won they would reach the knockout stages of the competition for the second year in a row. For this Donal O’Rourke would have to put out his best XV and that would have included Caoimhe McGrath. Realistically for the footballers a win over Monaghan this weekend was more likely that last weekend against Dublin so it was no surprise taking into consideration the importance of beating Clare that she opted to play Camogie.

When the fixtures were released earlier this year Waterford would have known that they were to be out again on Saturday of this weekend meaning that Caoimhe McGrath would once again have to make a choice as to what game she would have played, something I am sure she would have done having spoken to both of her managers and maybe spoken about it with some close friends. Certainly she would have thought long and hard about which game she would play.

Players on both teams would have worked around work commitments so that they were off this Saturday and available to whichever side they were involved with.

Every Tuesday I receive an email from the Camogie association letting me know what All-Ireland Fixtures are down for decision over the coming days, with venues, times and who is to referee the game attached to each fixture. The email is sent out again on a Wednesday with any changes that need to be made to the original list made.

When I received the email on Tuesday I noticed that Waterford’s game was moved to Sunday and a venue was to be arranged. At the time hand’s up, I did not think anything about it. Then I went on Facebook and noticed on well known Photographer Noel Browne’s page a posting that he had put up informing those on his friends list that the game was moved to accommodate duel players involved with Cork.

I always have great time for Cork sides and always will, I believe that they have some great fans and have sat amongst them many times down the years at games where there would be ‘great craic’ regardless of who was playing and the outcome of the game. Not everyone will agree with me, but I for one will always like the real Cork fans. There might be some obnoxious rebel fans, but the same can be said of any side, including of Waterford.

 I admire anyone that gets involved in administration at any level. Having done so myself in the past at juvenile level, I know how much of a difficult task it can be. I don’t know who in the Cork camp it was that went to the Camogie Association to ask for a rescheduling of the game against Waterford this weekend as they had two players who were involved with the Cork Senior Ladies Football Team who were to play tomorrow as well. To be honest if I was over a team and had even one player who was playing two codes I would be trying to get one of the games rescheduled, but in doing so I would be doing it expecting to hear the news I did not want to hear and the game I would be trying to reschedule would go ahead as planned.

I would however have lost some respect for those involved with the Camogie Association in Croke Park for agreeing to a rescheduling of the game.

I would love to think that those involved in the Camogie Association in Croke Park take an interest in Ladies Football and vice versa. I would love to think that those involved in scheduling games would sit down over a cup of tea or coffee on a regular basis and ensure that there is some joined up thinking when it comes to fixtures.

I don’t know did the Waterford Ladies Football County Board try and get last week’s game with Dublin rescheduled knowing the importance the Camogie game was and that Caoimhe McGrath would or could be required to play both games as she has done all year.

Both the Ladies Football Association and the Camogie Association should have known that there were players in a number of counties that play both codes and if players were forced to make a call as to what code they would play last weekend when there were fixture clashes, the same should apply this weekend when there were fixture clashes.

As I said I don’t blame the Cork County Board’s trying to get one of their games rescheduled this coming weekend. I know I would have done the same if I was involved in a management team.

For the Cork Camogie team this weekend there is little to play for. Regardless of how the game finishes they are involved in the knockout stages of the championship. If Cork were to avoid defeat in Walsh Park they will top the group and go straight to the All-Ireland Semi Final’s as group winners, and even if they were to lose and Tipperary were to win their game this weekend, Cork are likely to go through to the All-Ireland semi finals as group winners by virtue of the having the best score difference as in such a case Cork, Waterford and Tipperary would all finish level on points.

Cork Lady Footballers this weekend are up against a Cavan side they should not just be beating, but beating well with the players that the Cork side have in their panel, and even if there was a shock in the game against Cavan they would have a second chance of reaching the All-Ireland quarter finals when they play Armagh next weekend, a game which on paper should be tougher than that against Cavan, but the Orchard County side lost to Cavan last weekend.

If Waterford’s Caoimhe McGrath had to pick which game she wanted to play this weekend, Cork’s Hannah Looney and Libby Coppinger should have to make the same call this weekend. After all what’s good for the goose should be good for the gander.

The Camogie Association in my view has left themselves down this weekend. They should have kept the fixture list as what was planned at the start of the year. failure to do so means that there is players possibly on both the Cork and Waterford sides out of pocket this weekend, players who may be due to work on Sunday now having to get it off, or players like Waterford’s Trish Jackman who had plans to fly back to the UK on Sunday where she now lives and works.

The Camogie Association this evening said that they are “continuing to liaise” with Waterford, after a statement was released in relation to notice of a major fixture this weekend. The question has to be asked without knowing what is happening in the back ground that the public don’t know about is what can be done at this stage. Will an announcement be made saying that the game goes ahead as planned on Saturday afternoon. Will they reimburse players out of pocket by switching the game to Sunday and leave the game go ahead as announced this weekend? What exactly to the Camogie Association mean when they say ‘liaise’.

 

 

Statement by Waterford County Camogie Board:

"We, the Waterford Senior Camogie panel, are together voicing our frustrations and highlighting the issues we have encountered during the 2019 All Ireland Championship season. We seek to engage with the National Camogie Association to ensure these do not occur again. Rule 33.2 allows for All Ireland Championship match fixtures to be changed with only 5 days' notice.

"The Camogie Association changed the date of our senior All Ireland championship fixture versus Cork due to be played on the 20th July, in accordance with Rule 33.2. The late notice has affected our players. Members of our senior camogie panel work weekends, to finance their college education and fund their sport participation. Late notice impacts upon working hours, causing financial loss. We have a panel member commuting from England to represent her county. For her to play the original fixture date she took holiday leave from work, the late change results in her being unavailable for selection. Players shape their family lives around dedicating time to their sport. Issues on communication in relation to this were confounded by players becoming aware of the fixture change through social media.

"Unfortunately, five days’ notice is within the rules but is not the same for players to give notice to employers, airlines and life logistics. Allowing the change of date of an All Ireland Senior Camogie championship match with 5 days’ notice disrespects the effort of players training since October of last year and who organise their lives based on championship fixture dates set in January. 

"We stand with our ladies’ football colleagues and agree no player should be in a situation where they have to choose between representing their county at Camogie or ladies football, which has occurred for players around the country this year, including our own panel member. Our grievance is with the five days’ notice rule for a fixture change and not addressing the clash of fixtures earlier in the year.

"So far this year, we experienced lack of adequate medical support at a championship match resulting in game abandonment and come this Sunday we will have fielded for championship matches 6 weeks in a row. Change needs to happen within the Camogie Association to ensure players are recognized (sic) as athletes.

"We, as a panel, have written to the National Camogie Association to meet with us to ensure these situations do not arise again and action is taken. We call on engagement between the National Camogie Association and the WGPA and on our fellow players to act with us for changes within our sport to allow our game and players flourish.

"We fully support the 20/20 vision, of "If she can’t see it, she can’t be it", we want to inspire young girls to participate in sport and also to speak up, united, to fight to be treated respectfully as athlete."