AIB All-Ireland Club Senior Camogie Championship semi-finals (Sunday)
Loughgiel (Antrim) v Sarsfields (Galway)
(Kingspan Breffni, 2pm);
St Vincent’s (Dublin) v Truagh Clonlara (Clare)
(Walsh Park, 1pm)
AFTER years of watching Slaughtneil, the All-Ireland senior semi-finals are now familiar territory for Loughgiel and they have also got to know Sunday’s opponents Sarsfields fairly well.
The pair met in Croke Park in the 2022 final, with the Galway champions coming out on top by five points, a margin that perhaps flattered them.
But, then again, they were experienced enough to weather the Loughgiel storm and then put the game to bed in the final five or 10 minutes.
You could maybe say that Loughgiel’s inexperience cost them last year’s semi-final as well because for a period in that game they looked much better than their opponents Dicksboro, who not only finished strongly but went on to beat Sarsfields in the final.
There was a feeling after that final that perhaps Sarsfields were a little over the hill – they had won their first Galway title in 2016 and collected every one since bar 2018. Each time they have won Galway, they have managed to qualify for the All-Ireland final.
The 1-15 to 1-6 win over St Thomas’ five weeks ago saw them returned as Galway champions for an eighth title in nine seasons and expectation of another All-Ireland final appearance has risen.
No doubt the Galway champions would have taken in the Ulster final a fortnight ago in Beragh, but it is doubtful if they would have learned much, with the Shamrocks coming home with 20 points to spare against Swatragh.
Loughgiel may have preferred a tougher challenge in that game, perhaps even pushed to having to strike for home in the final few minutes, because that is what they can expect from the three-times All-Ireland champions.
But the three-in-a-row Ulster champions have been in super form of late and have also proven to themselves that there is some depth in their panel, as they were forced into three changes due to sickness before the Clonduff game and then Anna Connolly’s red card from that game impacted on their line-out for the final.
The re-organisation carried out on the defence since last year looks to have benefited them and means that their attacking force has not been compromised.
You would expect this to be a reasonably high-scoring game for the conditions at this time of the season as there is quality in each attack – but Loughgiel will have to work very hard to prevent Sarsfields turning Galway silverware into an All-Ireland final appearance.
The other semi-final will produce first-time finalists. Clare side Truagh-Clonlara won their first-ever Munster crown a fortnight ago, while St Vincent’s All-Ireland fortunes have mirrored Loughgiel’s down the years.
The Dublin champions took their fourth Leinster title this year, but haven’t managed to get past the semi-final stage in the other three.
The most recent of those defeats came in 2019 and again in 2022 when they did battle with Sarsfields, but they were impressive in beating Kilkenny champions Piltown in the recent Leinster final.
The Munster final was the most exciting of the provincial deciders this year. Truagh Clonlara and Waterford champions Gaultier couldn’t be separated three weeks ago and they met again the following weekend for a replay. Again the teams were level at the end of normal time and then at the end of extra-time.
That meant a free test from the 45-metre line. Each team scored four of the first five and the marathon went on to sudden-death. Truagh Clonlara eventually won on a 9-8 scoreline to become just the fourth team from the county to win Munster.
Verdict If Loughgiel’s recent good form continues, they can halt Sarsfields’ perfect semi-final run, while St Vincent’s might have that little bit more experience than the Clare side.
