Dolan sets up replay with a late point
CORK and Meath will have to do it all over again on October 1 as 63 minutes of play were unable to separate them in the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie final.
The magnificent Megan Thynne was on the attack for Meath and in the throes of unleashing a shot at glory when referee Liz Dempsey called time on the play, allowing Cork supporters to breathe a sigh of relief.
The Rebels would have been extremely disappointed had they let it slip for a second consecutive year however, as they led for the majority of proceedings and wasted a couple of gilt-edged opportunities with some dreadful wides in the final quarter in particular.
It would have been hard on Meath to lose out too though, as they showed tremendous grit to drag themselves back level after falling four points behind in the first-half, and then recovering from the concession of a goal just before the break to reel in a similar deficit in the second period.
The second-half lacked the fluidity of the first, although it had a rip-roaring start, with Amy Gaffney pointing directly from the throw-in, and then Meath’s Kristina Troy blasting a goal just over a minute later.
Player of the match Finola Nevile and Rachel O’Shea moved Cork ahead quickly, but the Leesiders failed to score in the last 26 minutes.
Jane Dolan halved the gap in the 52nd minute but it wasn’t until the second minute of injury-time that she was able to hit the leveller, just after Katelyn Hickey had been sent off for a second yellow card. CORK: A Lee; L Weste, S Harrington, N Ní Chaoimh; R Kileen, S Buckley, L Callanan; F Neville, J Barry; K Hickey, K McCarthy, M McCarthy; R O’Shea, L Collins, C Sugrue. Subs: M Buckley for M McCarthy (46), S Fahy for O’Shea (60). Scorers: R O’Shea (1f), K McCarthy (2fs) 0-3 each; K Hickey 1-0; F Neville, L Collins, C Sugrue 0-1 each MEATH: E Mangan; E Coffey, C Coffey, E Burke; Á Keogh, A Maguire, L Donoghue; C O’Brien, M Thynne; A Gaffney, K Troy, A Minogue; C Quinn, J Dolan, S Hackett. Sub: A Slattery for Quinn (43). Scorers: J Dolan 0-5(fs); K Troy 1-0; S Hackett 0-2; A Gaffney, A Minogue (f) 0-1 each. REFEREE: L Dempsey (Kilkenny).