The Waterford Senior Camógie team travelled to Kenny Park in Athenry, Co. Galway this afternoon to face the tribeswomen in their final group two game in this year’s All-Ireland Championship.
A win for the Déise would allow them to bypass the quarter-finals stage and advance straight into the final four as Group 2 winners.
A loss on the other hand would see Waterford finish as group runners-up and provided with a quarter final tie against the side which finished third in group one.
It was Galway who garnered the opening score of the game with a free from Carrie Dolan which Niamh Rockett responded to with a set piece of her own to level matters in the early stages of the clash.
The St Anne’s attacker was in blistering form as she added a point from play shortly after to give the Déise their first lead of the day just after ten minutes of play.
The first real goal opportunity fell the way of the home side as Aoife Donohue latched onto a loose ball twenty metres from the Déise goal but Brianna O’Regan stood firm with a fantastic save. The Tribeswomen duly dispatched of the resulting forty-five to level matters after a quarter of an hour of play.
It was Dolan vs Rockett on the day as Galway’s midfielder added her third and fourth scores of the day midway through the opening period.
A long distance free from Rockett continued the battle as the Kilmacthomas All-Star kept the Waterford scoreboard ticking.
Niamh Mallon became just the third scorer of the day with a point from play at the twenty minute mark before Dolan added yet another score for Galway.
Annie FitzGerald of Gailltír became Waterford’s second scorer of the day to fight back against Dolan’s scoring display, aided by another Rockett free that raised a white flag.
And the Déise restored parity just before half-time thanks to another Annie FitzGerald score.
But up stepped Dolan yet again to ensure the home side stopped the Déise wave.
However, the response was immediate from Waterford as a lovely cross field pass from Beth Carton found Annie FitzGerald who ensured the Déise would go in level at half time with seven points apiece.
And the second half started in a similar vein to the first as Dolan restarted the scoring with a long distance free which was added onto by Niamh Mallon which left the Déise three points adrift of their hosts with just over twenty minutes remaining.
The Déise got their first score of the second half through Rockett who steadied the ship with Waterford’s first score of the half in the forty-third minute.
But Mallon restored the Tribeswomen’s three point lead shortly after to keep Waterford chasing their hosts and the current group leaders.
Niamh Rockett added her sixth point of the day from a free to bring the deficit down to two points with just over ten minutes of normal time remaining in the crunch group two encounter.
And De La Salle attacker Beth Carton got in on the late Waterford fight back as she added a superb long distance point to make it a one score game to setup a nail biting finish in Athenry.
And Waterford brought parity with less than five minutes remaining as Eimear O’Neill feinted one away to lose her marker before expertly sending her shot between the posts.
But it was Dolan again who put her county on her shoulders to regain the lead for the Tribeswomen.
Aoife Donohue, Carrie Dolan, Ailish O’Reilly and Tegan Canning then extended the gap to six points on a scoreline of 0-17 to 0-11 as time ran out for Waterford.
Galway: Sarah Healy, Shauna Healy, Dervla Higgins, Rachael Hannify, Ciara Hickey, Emma Helebert, AnnMarie Starr, Ally Hesnan, Carrie Dolan (0-09), Niamh Mallon (0-04), Olwen Rabbitte, Aoife Donohue (0-02), Mairead Dillon, Sabina Rabbitte, Caoimhe Kelly
Substitutes: Laura Freeney, Alannah Kelly, Reitseal Kelly, Katie Anna Porter, Katie Manning, Siobhan Gardiner, Joanne Daly, Ava Crowe, Jennifer Hughes, Tegan Canning (0-01), Ava Lynskey, Ailish O’Reilly (0-01), Niamh Niland, Laura Kelly, Niamh McInerney, Aoibheann Barry
Waterford: Brianna O’Regan, Rachael Walsh, Kate Lynch, Alannah McNulty, Bevin Bowdren, Keeley Corbett Barry, Orla Hickey, Eimear O’Neill (0-01), Lorraine Bray, Niamh Rockett (0-06), Beth Carton (0-01), Abby Flynn, Mairéad O’Brien, Maggie Gostl, Annie FitzGerald (0-03)
Substitutes: Noelle Murphy, Iona Heffernan, Niamh Aherne, Alannah O’Sullivan, Tara Power, Vikki Falconer, Clodagh Curran, Jordan Scholtz, Molly Comerford, Aoife Landers, Sarah Morrissey, Clara Griffin, Katelyn Gardner, Alex Healy, Onelia Whelan
