Camogie: Kerry and Offaly book intermediate final date

by Daragh Ó Conchúir

Kerry and Offaly will play in the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland intermediate camogie final after coming through two rip-roaring semi-finals at Cedral St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge.

Both sides were beaten at this stage of last year’s championship and were up against it when attempting to clear the penultimate hurdle this time, playing the two teams relegated from the senior championship 12 months ago, Antrim and Down.

A 36th minute goal from Mairéad Teehan helped Offaly turn a half-time lead of two points to a seven-point advantage and that was critical as the Faithful held off Antrim to prevail by 1-16 to 2-12 in the first leg of a mouth-watering double-header.

Two goals in under a minute, also in the third quarter, turned the tide in Kerry’s favour against Down, with the Patrice Diggin planting a penalty in the 40th minute on her way to scoring 1-7, before Jackie Horgan popped up with a brilliant score.

Hard though they tried, there was no way back for Down and it was the green and gold booking a date to Croke Park on a 3-12 to 0-16 scoreline.

Goals have been the key to Offaly’s success this year but they showed they had other strings to their bow when outpointing Antrim in the battle of the Very League champions.

The Ulster crew were marginal favourites, given that they had beaten three senior sides to win the Division 1B title. But Offaly had impressed in garnering the Division 2 crown and were only two points in arrears when the teams met in the group stages.

Antrim scored their first goal in the 15th minute, starting with good defensive work to thwart a dangerous looking Offaly attack. They countered quickly and Róisín McCormick won the long delivery well, then popped the sliotar to the onrushing Annie Lynn.

Lynn didn’t have to break stride before in turn feeding Caitrin Dobbin, and while her shot was saved brilliantly by Emer Reynolds, the Loughgiel sniper managed to scramble the rebound over the line.

David Sullivan’s crew responded well with Grace Teehan leading the resistance. She took over freetaking duties and quickly brought her tally to four points, finishing with a wonderful score from play just before the break to send her side in leading 0-10 to 1-5.

Antrim had the wind in the second half however, and the hope that they could get Róisín McCormick into the play even more, the Loughgiel ace scoring all of her team’s points in that opening period.

The sides shared four points early on in the second half but after Grace Teehan converted another free from a tight angle, Offaly made the definitive burst thanks to a sublime goal by her cousin Mairéad.

The Moneygall maestro, denied by a tremendous Caitriona Graham save in the first half, executed a lightning quick pick-up and took the direct route, cutting back expertly inside to lose two defenders in a blink before blasting off her left to the roof of the net.

That put six between the teams and the margin quickly became seven with all the momentum in the Faithful’s direction.

It was McCormick who provided the fuel injection Antrim needed six minutes after Teehan’s major. Kate Molloy did the donkey work on this occasion, somehow emerging from a ruck with possession. She offloaded to McCormick and she did the rest, slaloming into space before unleashing an unstoppable shot from close range.

It was nip and tuck from there to the end, Offaly wasting a few chances to extend their advantage and Antrim chipping away to reduce the deficit to the minimum with points from McCormick (free) and Dobbin.

Offaly defended well in the last two minutes of injury time however and it was the midlanders progressing to HQ.

There had been nothing between Down and Kerry in the group stages either – two points again – so no one was surprised that this also went down to the wire.

Defences had held sway on that occasion and this was no scorefest either for a long while before the game really opened up as both outfits threw off the shackles with everything on the line.

Playing with the breeze, Down started with real intent and had four points on the board in less than ten minutes.

Paula O’Hagan, back from injury, had three of those and the Mourne women led by four after 13 minutes, Beth Fitzpatrick also landing a monster.

The legendary Diggin drove Kerry forward and shot a fantastic point into the wind but a very lucky goal from Amy O’Sullivan seemed to knock Down for six, briefly at least. O’Sullivan twisted and turned to make space and let go for a point, but the sliotar dropped into the corner of the net and suddenly the teams were level at the end of the first quarter.

The scoring rate dropped thereafter and Jackie Horgan showed her trademark strength to make space and point just before the break, sending Kerry in leading by 1-5 to 0-7.

Down are a side with plenty of experience and they used the interval well to steady down. They resumed in similar fashion to how they started the first half, hitting four points to go one in front but the game was turned on its head by those two goals in under a minute.

Diggin dispatched a penalty to the corner in the 40th minute, after Ann Marie Leen was fouled in the square and before Down knew what had happened, Horgan was rampaging in from the corner, having shown good pace to go with her strength to get away, shortening her grip and making enough of an angle to finish expertly.

Down never gave up but they had given themselves too much to do and in the end it was Diggin who had the final say with a pointed free from distance to spark wild celebrations.