National Camogie League Division 1A final: Galway 0-13 Waterford 0-11
Camogie’s new terms of engagement were put on display to the country on Sunday in Nowlan Park, where RTÉ’s cameras were on hand to broadcast a game that was far more physical and competitive than anything seen before the overhaul of the sport’s rules during the winter.
A new game, perhaps, but a familiar story on the podium as All-Ireland champions Galway edged out Waterford, denying the Déise a first National League title.
Getting to half-time on level terms after playing into the breeze was the foundation for Galway’s win, though they had to endure a few nervous moments as they stuttered rather than surged through a disjointed second half, eventually claiming their win thanks to late points from Carrie Dolan and Caoimhe Kelly.
In both halves Waterford brought the individual moments of magic while Galway brought the structure. The scoreboard only outlined the story.
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Beth Carton’s two scores at each end of the first half were utterly sublime, Keeley Corbett Barry flashed one over the bar after opening up the defence with a quick give-and-go with Abby Flynn, and in both halves Mairéad O’Brien was capable of unlocking the Galway defence with a simple explosion of pace and deceptively clever finishing.
Galway’s trump card was their cohesiveness. Not for the first time, Dervla Higgins was a primary source of inspiration and perspiration in the back line, but on a day when a 40m puck into the wind was a solid strike, Galway’s control and accuracy in the opening half were impressive.
Dolan struck three of their first-half tally of 0-7 from frees. Their sharpness was on display when she set up Rachael Hanniffy from a quick free, and approaching half-time a brilliantly cohesive team move that featured Dolan, Katie Anna Porter and Aoibheann Barry, culminating in Niamh McPeake splitting the posts.
Perhaps due to an innate sense of conservatism or maybe due to increased defensive tenacity from a Waterford side for whom Vikki Falconer and Corbett Barry marshalled the full back line with authority, Galway never really built on that platform and the contest evolved into trench warfare, enabled by referee Liz Dempsey following the spirit of the new rules and letting contact happen.
Waterford became aggrieved at this approach when Lorraine Bray drove through on goal and Róisín Black collided with her in an agricultural fashion, right on the 13m line. Déise fans bellowed for a penalty, perhaps expecting a free as a consolation prize, and got neither.
They had their moments of benefiting from the laissez-faire refereeing too, and with Galway struggling to find the right chemistry in the forward division, Waterford hung in and two excellent O’Brien points kept the game in the balance.
That reliance on players finding a way to produce moments of brilliance continued to hamper Waterford’s bid to break new ground, however. Those simple, direct scores that Galway were able to engineer weren’t matched at the other end, where good possession often turned into a useless delivery, sent straight down the throat of Ciara Hickey, now functioning as the Galway sweeper.
Maggie Gostl’s emergence from the sideline to join the action drew the biggest roar of the day. Róisín Kirwan was also thrown into the fray by manager Michael Boland in an attempt to break the impasse, but neither managed to have the desired effect.
Instead Kelly emerged as the sub who changed the game, as she popped up with two points, including the insurance score in the third minute of stoppage time.
Niamh Niland also delivered an assist for Dolan’s lead score to ensure a fourth league success out of seven consecutive finals for the Tribeswomen. But Dolan lifting the trophy in a manner that was perfunctory rather than exhilarated made it clear this was viewed by the group as a stepping stone rather than cause for celebration in its own right.
Camogie may have a new script, but for the moment anyway, the lead actors remain very familiar.
GALWAY: S Healy; K Manning, R Black, D Higgins; KA Porter, J Hughes, R Hanniffy (0-1); A Donohue, C Hickey (0-1); N Mallon, N McPeake (0-1), M Dillon; C Dolan (0-7, 0-5f), A Barry, S Corcoran (0-1). Subs: C Kelly (0-2) for Barry (41), N Niland for Corcoran (54), N McInerney for Mallon (60).
WATERFORD: B O’Regan; A McNulty, V Falconer, K Corbett Barry (0-1); L Forrest, C Carroll, L Bray; O Hickey, R Walsh; B Bowdren, B Carton (0-2), E O’Neill (0-1); A Flynn (0-1), M O’Brien (0-3), N Rockett (0-3f). Subs: C Sherlock for Bowdren (half-time), M Gostl for O’Neill (41), R Kirwan for Flynn (45), A O’Sullivan for O’Brien (60).
Referee: Liz Dempsey (Kilkenny).
