Camogie- O’Shea points the way in victory for the Kilkenny Minors

A wet and windy day in MW training centre Dunmore, saw Kilkenny’s minor A camogie team take on Waterford.

Following Kilkenny’s loss to Waterford in last years All-Ireland campaign, the Kilkenny Kittens were eager to get a win here.
Katie Brennan got Kilkenny’s first point of the day and she soon followed up with a second score as the Cats made a bright start.

Waterford then hit back with a free by Maggie Gostl as she sailed the sliotar between the posts.

It was Kilkenny who were still making all the early running however and Ciara Dunne duly extended her side’s lead to three points (0-4 to 0-1).

Ciara O’Shea then converted her first free of the day for Kilkenny and when Ciara Dunne also pointed from play, the home side looked well on track for victory.

Gostl kept Waterford in touch with three points on the bounce before Ciara O’Shea steadied the Kilkenny ship with a score that gave her side a 0-7 to 0-4 lead.

Waterford’s Emma Fitzgerald got the opening score of the second half via a free and another one followed minutes of later to leave just the minimum between the two neighbours.

After a long period of play with no score from either side, Kilkenny broke the deadlock with sub Julie Lennon getting her name on the scoresheet.

Katie Brennan and Ciara O’Shea then converted successive scores for the Cats and time looked to be running out for Waterford.

It wasn’t long till it was game on again though as Eimear O’Neill snuck in past the Kilkenny defence and whipped the ball on the ground into the bottom corner of the net.

With just five minutes remaining on the clock, the result was very much still in the balance and the free taking exploits on both sides came to the fore going down the straight.

Ciara O’Shea scored five points in total for Kilkenny and she added two from placed balls late on as the Cats did enough to run out two point winners (0-12 to 1-7).

Teams and Scorers

Kilkenny – Ciara O’Shea (0-5, frees); Katie Brennan (0-3); Ciara Dunne (0-2); Aisling Browne, Julie Lennon (0-1 each).

Waterford – Maggie Gostl (0-5, frees), Eimear O’Neill (1-1), Emma Fitzgerald (0-1).

Kilkenny – Rachel Moloney, Rachel Phelan, Una Duggan, Orlaith Kirwan, Caoimhe Power, Anna Doheny, Angela Carroll, Emily Smith, Ciara O’Shea, Ciara Dunne, Shona Ruane, Aisling Browne, Laura Doherty, Katie Brennan, Niamh Davis.

Subs: Julie Lennon for Shona Ruane, Amber Laherty for Niamh Davis, Louisa Gilmore for Caoimhe Power, Aoife Shealy for Laura Doherty, Tara Roche for Katie Brennan, Jenny Saunders, Lucy Boyd, Ava Dermody, Megan Kenneally, Aoife O’Shea, Michelle Killeen, Jill O’Brien, Ellen Murphy, Molly Conroy, Oonagh Malone.

Waterford – Aisling Bonnar, Alex Healy, Anna McGoldrick, Cara Cantwell, Katie O’Neill, Holly O’Sullivan, Abbir Burrows, Hannah McGrath, Ali Ferguson, Molly Kearney, Eimear O’Neill, Katelyn Lyons, Maggie Gostl, Niamh Ryan, Emma Fitzgerald.

Subs: Rebecca Farrell for Katelyn Lyons, Ameila Quanne for Molly Kearney, Chloe Morrissey for Holly O’Sullivan, Clodagh Alverd, Aine Groves, Aoife Ryan, Caoimhe Walsh, Emily Foran, Emma Walsh, Hannah Godkin, Mya Kelly, Olivia Flynn, Rebecca Mason, Aoife Connelly.

Referee – Cathal McAllister (Cork).