All Ireland Colleges A Camogie final preview
All Ireland Colleges A semi-final – Played on Feb 16th at De La Salle
St Angela’s Waterford 3-8 Loreto Wexford 2-9
St Angela’s booked their place in the All Ireland final when they held off a stern second half challenge from Loreto Wexford in the semi-final on February 16th at De La Salle, Waterford.
After winning their first Leinster title against camogie stronghold Loreto Kilkenny a few weeks earlier, the Wexford girls’ hopes were high that they could push on and make a national decider.
However, they came up against a St Angela’s side loaded with quality and struggled to keep in the contest in the first half.
Eleven of the Ursuline starters come for the Gailltír club, (fwho were beaten by Clonduff in Sunday’s All-Ireland Intermediate final in Corke Park), and their familiarity with each other was obvious throughout.
There was an impressive crispness about their play, a trait rarely seen at this level of the game. Ursuline were full value for their 2-7 to 2-3 interval lead and, in truth, it could have been more.
However, it was all change the longer the game went on. An athletic Loreto were spending more and more time in the hosts half, they ploughed forward in numbers, were winning all the 50/50 battles and chipping away at the advantage.
Ursuline’s best player, Annie Fitzgerald, had two points on the board before the tricky Rachel Bennett opened the Loreto account. Lara O’Brien had earlier been tested by Abby Flynn but she could do nothing to deny Fitzgerald a 6th minute major.
Still, with Lettie Whelan knocking over a couple of points and sending in the ball that Amy O’Leary scrambled over the line, Loreto took their first lead of the tie in the 13th minute (1-3 to 1-2).
Three points in a row were meagre rewards for a strong Ursuline ten minutes but Loreto nipped back up the field in the 27th minute Ciara Butler was on hand to turn another rebound from a Whelan shot into the net to make it 2-3 to 1-5.
The last few minutes of the half did not go well for the travelling side however as Aoife Fitzgerald got in for her team’s second goal and further points were added by the two Flynn’s, Abby and Alisha, as the home school went in four points ahead.
When Abby Flynn’s shot from distance found the rigging just two minutes into the second half, Loreto had a mountain to climb (3-7 to 2-3), and though a Whelan free halted the slide, Annie Fitzgerald responded for St Angela’s to leave seven between the schools with nineteen minutes left.
It appeared to be plain sailing at this stage for the Waterford team, but Loreto upped the pace and gained the upper hand all over the field.
The introduction of substitute Ciara Banville certainly helped the Loreto cause as she added extra bite in the attacking third and quickly got on the scoresheet.
Loreto had a great opportunity to close the game when they were awarded a penalty in the 43rd minute but Whelan’s dead-ball was comfortable enough for St Angela’s goalkeeper Leah O’Donoghue. Still Loreto remained positive and Whelan and Bennett pointed to narrow the gap to just four heading into the last ten minutes.
It always felt like Loreto would need another goal, yet they struggled to create a clear opening. Ciara O’Connor knocked over two frees, the second in added-time but the pressure was just about repelled by Ursuline as they advanced to the final.
ST ANGELA’S: Leah O’Donoghue; Sorcha Cantwell, Lucy Hogan, Emma Flynn; Shauna Farrell, Leah Sheridan, Hannah Flynn; Clodagh Carroll, Kate Lynch; Rachael Walsh, Jodie Tuohy, Abby Flynn (1-1); Annie Fitzgerald (1-5, 0-4 frees, capt.), Aoife Fitzgerald (1-1), Alisha Flynn (0-1). Subs. – Alannah O’Sullivan for Tuohy (46).
LORETO: Lara O’Shea (Glynn-Barntown); Caitlin Carroll (St Ibar’s), Anna Hennessy (St Martin’s, joint-capt., 0-2 frees), Mikaela Lanigan (St Ibar’s); Ciara Banville (Taghmon-Camross), Ciara O’Connor (St Martin’s, joint-capt.), Aoife O’Connor (St Martin’s); Ella O’Connor (St Martin’s), Ann Marie Bennett (St Anne’s); Amy O’Leary (St Martin’s, 1-0), Rachel Bennett (St Anne’s, 0-2), Sarah Harding Kenny (St Ibar’s); Ciara Butler (Glynn-Barntown, 1-0), Lettie Whelan (St Martin’s, 0-4, 3 frees), Amy Cousins (Kilmore). Subs. – Ciara Banville (St Ibar’s, 0-1) for O’Leary (38), Aoife Dempsey (St Martin’s) for Cousins (58).
REFEREE: Conor Quinlan (Galway).