Waterford headed to Ennis to begin their Camogie Munster Senior Championship campaign earlier.  

Waterford made four late changes before throw-in with Abby Flynn, Mairead O’Brien, Annie Fitzgerald and Maggie Gostl all starting. 

The Déise played with the breeze in the first half with Lorraine Bray opening the scoring in the early stages with Áine O’Loughlin replying for Clare. Mairead O’Brien then scored from play for Waterford with Niamh Rockett adding a free. 

An injury to talismanic midfielder Orla Hickey threatened to disrupt the Waterford flow as she left the field injured to be replaced by Allanah O’Sullivan but two points from play in as many minutes from Abby Flynn looked to have settled things down. 

However, a goal from Clare’s Andrea O’Keeffe brough the Clare side roaring back into the contest with 20 minutes played in the first half.  

It was nip and tuck from there to the finish with the teams finishing level on the full-time whistle Clare 2-12 v 0-18 Waterford.  

And so it was two ten-minute periods of extra time required in Ennis to try and find a winner and it was Waterford who looked to have secured the win. The Déise taking a three-point lead into the final minute of injury time in extra time. 

Clare were not going to go quietly into the night however, and an Aisling Cooney goal looked to have levelled things up again for the Banner with time almost up. There was one chance left and it was Waterford’s Roisin Kirwan who took it.  

The St Anne’s sharpshooter firing over a point from play in the dying moments to secure a one-point win for Waterford in what will go down as an epic to all who were privileged to witness it. 

Mick Boland will certainly have learned something about the character of his players today in what was a massive test both physically and mentally for this Waterford team.  

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