Ruthless Pres win in style - Kilkenny People Sport
Presentation Kilkenny 8-10 Coachford (Cork) 1-9
Presentation Kilkenny sailed into the final of the All-Ireland PPS Camogie final on Saturday, beating a brave Coachford (Cork) in emphatic fashion in front of a jubilant home support.
Presentation confidence appeared to be at an all-time high on the day, with their defeat of near-rivals Loreto in the Leinster Final, their first provincial success in over 50 years, egging them on to create even more history.
After a slow start in which both teams felt each other out, David Maher’s side eventually found their rhythm with a Niamh Drennan goal in the sixth minute setting the game alight for the Kilkenny school, leaving Coachford watching on as their All-Ireland dreams went up in smoke.
Complimented by a sturdy Pres defence, the team’s potent forwards proved to be too hot to handle as spearheaded by Niamh Drennan (4-3), they carved open goal opportunities time after time.
The local team went on a blistering run from the 11th to 19th minutes, bagging 4-3 without reply to catapult themselves into a commanding 5-4 to 0-4 advantage as Emily Phelan and a hat-trick of goals from Niamh Drennan had them clear on the scoreboard.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Munster champions though, as Lexi Manley responded in kind with three points and despite very little to shout about on the day, the corner-forward was a notable positive.
The Presentation were marginally contained in the second half with scores proving hard to come by in the early stages.
However, the city school’s class eventually shone through once more as Amy O’Shea and Liza Fitzpatrick continued to be pests for the Coachford corner-backs, with the latter netting early in the second half.
Meanwhile, Taylor Aylward’s steadiness at centre-back was noteworthy and meant nothing snuck through the back door, but in truth, every player made their own mark on the game.
Presentation Kilkenny Scorers: Niamh Drennan (4-3); Emily Phelan (2-3); Amy O’Shea (1-4); Lisa Fitzpatrick (1-0)
Presentation Kilkenny: Clodagh Galway; Moya O’Shea, Hannah Tennyson, Anna Morrissey; Carragh Brennan, Taylor Aylward, Ada Bambrick; Ellen Treacy, Clodagh O’Callaghan; Kate Dalton, Emily Phelan (C), Katie O’Shea; Amy O’Shea, Niamh Drennan, Lisa Fitzpatrick.
Coachford: Anna O’Connell; Saidbhin Carey Lynch, Isabelle O’Callaghan, Holly Dineen; Ava Murphy, Sarah Foley, Rachel Jones; Lea Meillouin, Grace O’Connell; Sophie McCarthy, Hannah Cooney, Cornelia Buckley; Chloe Hubbard, Alanah Murphy, Lexi Manley.