Glen Dimplex Camogie All-Ireland Senior Championship
Group One: Limerick 0-6 Tipperary 7-18; Kilkenny 4-17 Derry 0-7
KILKENNY hit Derry with a goal from Julieanne Malone inside the first minute in St Lachtáin’s on Saturday afternoon and from then on there was only going to be one winner in a game that Derry had hoped might deliver more.
The Ulster team had to start without injured forwards Aoife Shaw and Olivia Rafferty and, although Aimee Lennon hit back with their opening score in the second minute, they were badly in need of players to break the line on a very tight Kilkenny defence and relied exclusively on Áine Barton for scores from the dead ball.
She scored the first of her six points in the fith minute, but by the time of her second in the 24th minute, Kilkenny free-taker Aoife Prendergast had moved the scoreboard to 1-6.
There were just two more scores in the opening half – points from Aoife Doyle and Katie Nolan – and you would have to say that the Derry defence had played well.
Barton pointed twice in the opening four minutes of the second half, but Doyle hit the net in the 36th minute and Kilkenny made it 2-15 to 0-5 by the end of the third quarter.
A double strike from Aoife Prendergast in the 49th and 41st minutes sealed a comprehensive win for Kilkenny to confirm their place in the knock-outs ahead of their top of the table clash with Tipperary next Saturday that has an automatic semi-final spot for the winner.
Tipp romped to a 7-18 to 0-6 win over Limerick with four goals from Grace O’Brien, two from Eimear McGrath and the last from midfielder Casey Hennessy.
Derry need to beat Waterford next Saturday to claim a place in the quarter-finals.
Kilkenny: A Prendergast (2-5, 0-4 frees), JA Malone (1-0), A Doyle (1-4), K Nolan (0-3), S Fitzgerald (0-2), M Walsh, A McHardy and S O’Dwyer (0-1 each)
Derry: Á Barton (0-6 frees), A Lennon (0-1)
Derry: N Gribbin, C McEldowney, N Quinn, S McGill, R Downey, M Donnelly, A Ní Chaiside, Á McGill, D O’Kane, A Cassidy, Á Barton, O Hull, L Lennon, B Rogers, A Lennon.
Subs: C Kerr for L Lennon, E McCloskey for M Donnelly, E Doherty for D O’Kane, J Donnelly for A Lennon, R McAllister for Á McGill
Kilkenny: A Norris, M Teehan, G Walsh, C Phelan, T Fitzgerald, N Deely, M Bambrick, L Greene, L Murphy, S Barcoe, K Power, A Doyle, JA Malone, M Walsh, A Prendergast.
Subs: A McHardy for M Walsh, K Byrne for M Bambrick, K Ryan for A Doyle
Group One: Antrim 1-8 Waterford 3-18
ANTRIM’S senior championship status depends on next week’s journey to Rathkeale to take on Limerick after they shipped their fourth successive Group One defeat in Loughgiel on Saturday afternoon.
However, the home team gave a spirited performance particularly during the first half; indeed they were leading up until the first Waterford goal scored by Abby Flynn in the 19th minute after good work from Máiréad O’Brien.
Caitrín Dobbin had picked off the opening two points for the Saffrons and Róisín McCormick’s two frees had edged them 0-4 to 0-2 up by the 18th minute. Although McCormick responded to the goal with her third point from a dead ball, Niamh Rocket lobbed in a high ball from the left wing and O’Brien got her stick to it to find the net.
Waterford led by 2-6 to 0-6 at the break.
Despite having four subs on the pitch at the start of the second half, Waterford gradually pulled clear after Orla Hickey and Cassie McArthur had exchanged early points.
The excellent Beth Carton added four scores during the second quarter and subs Sarah Lacey and Annie Fitzgerald two more before Caitrín Dobbin scored Antrim’s eighth point.
Dobbin’s 48th minute solo goal made it 2-15 to 1-8, but Carton quickly tagged on two points and Lacey a point and then a goal while Catriona Graham in the Antrim goals made two top class saves to deny Carton and Fitzgerald.
Limerick’s huge defeat to Tipperary means that Antrim needs just a draw from next Saturday in Rathkeale to stay a fourth season in the senior championship.
Antrim scorers: C Dobbin (1-3), R McCormick (0-4 frees), C McArthur (0-1)
Waterford: S Lacey (1-2), M O’Brien and A Flynn (1-0 each), B Carton (0-11, 4 frees), R Kirwan, L Forrest, O Hickey, A Fitzgerald and N Rocket (0-1 each)
Antrim: C Graham, M McKenna, M McGarry, C McKillop, E Coulter, E Martin, A Boyle, E Johnston, R McCormick, M Kelly, S Fyfe, F Kelly, J McIntosh, C McArthur, C Dobbin.
Subs: D Cosgrove for S Fyfe (38), A Lynn for F Kelly (41), A McKillop for C McArthur (46), D Dobbin for M McGarry (49), A O’Donnell for E Coulter (58)
Waterford: B O’Regan, K Lynch, C Carroll, A Landers, K Corbett-Barr, L Forrest, B Bowdren, O Hickey, N Rockett, A Flynn, T Power, B Carton, R Kirwan, M O’Brien, V Falconer.
Subs: R Walsh for T Power (27), A Fitzgerald for B Bowdren (27), S Lacey for R Kirwan (HT), A McNulty for V Flaconer (HT), M Power for M O’Brien (47)
Referee: C Gough (Wicklow)
Group Two: Wexford 7-12 Down 0-7; Cork 4-22 Dublin 0-5; Galway 3-19 Clare 0-7
DOWN are relegated from the All-Ireland senior championship after four seasons in the top flight. They shipped another heavy defeat in Wexford on Saturday.
Shelly Kehoe did the scoring damage with a personal tally of four goals and three points – and two of those goals and a point came in the first ten minutes to put her side in control.
Joanne Dillon and Linda Bolger also raised green flags in the first quarter before Ciara Fitzsimons opened Down’s account in the 14th minute.
The visitors steadied themselves well over the second quarter however and were 4-6 to 0-4 down at the break.
Although Kehoe completed her hat-trick two minutes into the second half, Down, helped by a point from Fitzsimons dug in to fight hard until Kehoe’s fourth strike 12 minutes from time.
Joanne Dillon scored her second goal near the close.
Former Down captain Niamh Mallon returned to the Galway starting team after picking up an injury early in their draw with Wexford three weeks ago and she announced that return with two goals and four points in a 3-19 to 0-7 win over Clare at Kenny Park.
Mallon opened the Galway scoring with a point and then goaled in the 10th minute. She hit the net for the second time six minutes into the second half.
The other corner forward Ailish O’Reilly scored 1-5 and Niamh McPeake hit four points in a comprehensive victory that sets Galway up nicely for the clash with Cork on Saturday.
Elsewhere in Group Two, Cork knocked the stuffing out of a resurgent Dublin in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaíomh. Last year’s winning All-Ireland captain Amy O’Connor led the charge with two goals and seven points and Cork had nine different names on the score-board.
They were 3-11 to 0-1 up at the break with two goals from O’Connor and a third from Katrina Mackey. Sub Ciara O’Connor scored the fourth goal three minutes from the end.
Wexford: S Kehoe (4-3), J Dillon (2-0), L Bolger (1-1), K Kirwan, A Curran and C Foxe (0-2 each), S O’Connor and A Neville (0-1 each).
Down: C Fitzsimons (0-4), A McDowell, N McCullagh and C Cowan (0-1 each)