Glen Dimplex Camogie All-Ireland Senior Championship
Group 1:
Limerick 2-17 Antrim 3-12
Antrim Camogis have been relegated after three seasons in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior championship! A brave second half fightback, when they came from eight points down at one stage, just came up short, and they now drop back down to Intermediate level next season.
Limerick needed the win to stay up, a draw would have been good enough to see Antrim through, but a goal conceded in first half injury time saw the Ulster champions’ hopes dip.
They trailed by 2-7 to 0-6 at the turnover and, ten minutes into the second half, the visitors hadn’t made any headway with a gap of eight points between the teams.
However goals from Róisín McCormick and Annie Lynn saw them draw level at 2-11 each and they even went a point up when McCormick despatched a 53rd minute penalty.
Limerick though responded and tagged on enough scores to get over the line and stay up.
Róisín McCormick was the star of the Antrim attack and scored five of their six first half points; the other was scored by Dervla Cosgrove.
Earlier though Limerick were already 0-3 to 0-2 ahead when Caoimhe Lyons pounced on a defensive mistake to claim the first of her two goals in the 11th minute. Her second came two minutes into added time when Caoimhe Costelloe broke the tackle and found Lizanne Boylan. Boylan’s effort was well saved by Catriona Graham but Lyons was on hand to spoon the rebound into the net.
Costelloe and McCormick divided the first six points of the second half between them with only one of those from a dead ball. When Lyons made it 2-11 to 0-9 in the 42nd minute, Limerick looked safe.
However McCormick buried a goal in the 45th minute and added a point with her club-mate Annie Lynn firing home an equalising goal two minutes later.
Limerick responded with points from Delea and Costelloe before Antrim earned a penalty in the 53rd minute. When McCormick’s shot hit the net, the Saffrons were a point up. But they couldn’t hold on with Costelloe pointing three successive frees to bring the game into added time with her side two up.
McCormick responded with a free that was immediately cancelled by Lyons and, despite the referee adding on nearly eight minutes, Limerick held out to gain revenge for a league defeat in Ballycastle in March. The result sends the Saffrons down to next season’s Intermediate championship.
Antrim: R McCormick 2-10, 1-0 pen, 0-6 frees, A Lynn 1-1, D Cosgrove 0-1.
Limerick: C Lyons 2-2, C Costelloe 0-9, 5 frees, O Kelleher and N Ryan 0-2 each, L Fennelly and R Delea 0-1 each
Antrim: C Graham, D Dobbin, M McKenna, C McKillop, E Coulter, E Martin, A Boyle, E Johnston, F Kelly, M Kelly, R McCormick, D Cosgrove, J McIntosh, C McArthur, C Dobbin.
Subs: A Lynn for F Kelly (35), L McNaughton for E Johnston (34), S Fyfe D Cosgrove (43)
Limerick: C Mulqueen, C Ryan, M Quaid, A Nelligan, C O’Riordan, S O’Callaghan, A Larkin, M Creamer, O Kelleher, L Fennelly, R Deale, L Boylan, N Ryan, C Lyons, C Costelloe.
Subs: S Woulfe for C Ryan (HT), M Ryan for O Kelleher (38), Á Reynolds for L Fennelly (53), N Brennan for R Delea (60 + 2).