ALL-IRELAND INTERMEDIATE CAMOGIE – GROUP 1
Carlow into relegation play off after eight-point defeat
DUBLIN 4-11
CARLOW 2-9
By Daire Walsh
Despite producing a strong effort on the day, Carlow fell to an eight-point defeat at the hands of Dublin in Group One of the All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship in the Trinity College Sports Grounds at Santry Avenue on Saturday.
Having already lost two games each – to Galway and Meath – this provincial clash was ultimately a battle for survival. Whereas the Metropolitans have now retained their second-tier status for 2022, their Barrowside counterparts will enter a relegation play-off.
While it may prove difficult for team manager David O’Mahoney to lift his charges following three consecutive reversals, they can take solace from elements of their performance in the capital venue. Supplementing a seven-point tally by midfielder Eleanor Treacy, Kate Nolan bagged a brace of goals to keep Carlow in contention.
Indeed, they were just two points adrift when Ciara Quirke was dismissed for a second yellow-card offence on 37 minutes. With a goal apiece already to their names, Dublin inside forwards Siobhan Kehoe and Ciara Holland added further three-pointers to get the Sky Blues over the line.
It proved to be a tense opening to a crucial encounter with both defences largely on top. Centre half-back Emma Cody was getting her hands on a lot of ball, with her direct opponent Niamh Comerford electing to drop deep for much of the first half.
Yet, it was Dublin who drew first blood as Holland fired past Chantelle Kelly at a left-hand angle. Ellen Dunphy and Comerford (free) stretched the hosts further in front, before Carlow eventually settled into the contest.
Following a close-range free courtesy of Ballinkillen’s Treacy, Myshall ace Nolan broke through to grab a 14th-minute goal. This left the bare minimum between the sides, but Dublin were quick to respond either side of the game’s first water break.
After Comerford reasserted their authority with quick fire points, Kehoe added her own 0-2 salvo to move the Blues back into a five-point cushion. However, Carlow were playing with great spirit and asked serious questions of the Dublin rearguard as the interval approached.
Treacy (free) and Quirke split the uprights in fine style, and Nolan was very close to securing a second major on 27 minutes. Three points in arrears at the break (1-6 to 1-3), Carlow were still in the running for their first win of the campaign.
Although there was a set-back on the resumption when a speculative Kehoe shot from distance crept past Muinebheag’s Kelly, the resilient visitors responded with an unanswered haul of 1-2. Squeezed in between two Treacy points, Nolan raised another green flag under intense pressure to set the game up for a pulsating finale.
Fortunately for Dublin, they gained a numerical advantage just when Carlow were beginning to hit top form. Their stubborn opponents did persist with their challenge, though, and Treacy’s latest free on 44 minutes kept their deficit at two points (2-8 to 2-6).
Dublin were able to come up with goals at pivotal intervals, however, and Kehoe’s outstanding individual contribution on the third-quarter mark supplemented an earlier point from Aoife Deegan. The dependable Treacy added consecutive scores from frees to keep the Carlow challenge alive, but the final outcome was effectively placed beyond doubt with seven minutes of normal time to play.
Getting to the ball ahead of the advancing, Holland pulled powerfully to the net for her second goal of the proceedings.
Substitute Ali Cushen got her name on the Carlow scoresheet with a late point, but with Deegan and Comerford doing likewise at the opposite end, Dublin eased over the line.
Afterwards, Carlow manager David O’Mahoney acknowledged the 37th-minute dismissal of Ciara Quirke proved costly as his side fell to a 4-11 to 2-9 defeat at the hands of Dublin in Group One of the All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship on Saturday.
“I felt we really had a foothold in the game at that stage. We had a lot of momentum and that just really deflated us. We just scored a goal and got their lead back to two. The girls battled hard after that and credit to them, but it was probably just too much to do with 14 against 15 for the rest of the game,” O’Mahoney remarked after the game.
Although Carlow will head into the forthcoming play-offs on the back of three consecutive losses, the performance of Kate Nolan on Saturday offers hope that they could yet preserve their second-tier status for 2022. Finishing the game with two goals to her name, the Myshall star was a constant threat on the Barrowsiders’ inside line.
“She was dangerous any time she got the ball. She got two great goals and unfortunately once it got down to 14 it became that bit more difficult to get ball into her. That was the problem. She obviously had extra players back there to deal with once we got down to 14. That didn’t help her cause,” O’Mahoney added.
DUBLIN: Dara Cooke; Kerri Milne, Lauren Robinson, Rachel Seery; Niamh Heffernan, Ciara Buchanan, Niamh Gleeson; Caitlin Coffey, Ellen Dunphy 0-3; Aoife Deegan 0-2, Niamh Comerford 0-4, 2f, Aoife Heffernan; Siobhan Kehoe 2-2, Nicola Thorne, Ciara Holland 2-0. Subs: Christine Shanahan, Cara Feeney, Sarah Fenlon, Anna Sullivan.
CARLOW: Chantelle Kelly; Rachel Breen, Niamh Canavan, Shannon Kavanagh; Rachel Sawyer, Emma Cody, Mairead O’Shea; Ciara Kavanagh, Eleanor Treacy 0-7, 6f; Anna Breen, Ciara Quirke 0-1, Eve Sinnott; Catherine Kavanagh, Kate Nolan 2-0, Caoimhe Cody. Subs: Hannah Rapley, Keeva Collins, Rebecca Sheehan, Ali Cushen 0-1, Aoife Carroll, Katie Garry Murphy, Breege Nolan, Eibhe Lawler, Aibha Kiernan, Niamh Ahearne.
Referee: Aaron Hogg (Clare).