Unbeaten start puts Kilkenny in pole position to qualify in All-Ireland Camogie Championship
Sarah Barcoe and Jimmy Meagher gave their reaction after victory over Dublin last weekend
Under the new structure of the Glen Dimplex All-Ireland senior camogie championship, with just two quarter-final spots on offer for the six teams in Group Two of the championship, the margin for error is rapidly disappearing for several teams already.
Kilkenny and Clare are in control of the group with two wins from two after they overcame Dublin and Wexford on Saturday afternoon, leaving their opponents bottom of the table with no points on the board.
Kilkenny’s 2-16 to 1-12 win over Dublin in Parnell Park was comprehensive, with the Cats taking an 0-9 to 0-2 early lead and then wrapping up the win through two Sarah Barcoe goals in the second half.
“There’s not much to say when the backs are doing all the work hitting the ball in low and the ideal ball, there’s no excuse to not get it in my hand!” Barcoe told Kilkenny Community Radio, hailing the team spirit in what is one of the youngest groups in the senior championship.
“We’re such a close group of girls and we all back each other to the ground and I think that’s the main thing behind why we’re going well. We don’t doubt each other at all.
“It’s great to see the minors having that fantastic win and then the under-16s getting to the final, there’s young girls coming up and there’ll be the people driving it on in the future so it’s nice to look after our end!”
Kilkenny boss, Jimmy Meagher said that they changed tactic to bypass the Dublin sweeper but he also hailed the performances of his goalkeeper and full-back line, who were on course for a clean sheet until Aisling Maher’s late penalty.
“Dublin had a good few goal chances in that first half and if one or two had to go into the net, it could have been very different,” he said. “I thought Aoife Norris was brilliant, some last-ditch defending as well from Maria Brennan and Michelle Teehan, Maria’s rock solid back there, her use of the ball is excellent.
“We just felt Dublin were getting a bit of a run at us in the first half around the middle with their overlap and we just tried to crowd it out a small bit, bring Asha (McHardy) and Laura (Murphy) back into that middle third.
“The instruction was to go route one in on top of Sarah, and she produced some great finishes.”
The big guns in Group One join the action this coming Saturday with Galway hosting Cork in a repeat of last year’s All-Ireland final while Waterford will entertain Tipperary in Azzuri Walsh Park on Sunday afternoon.