McGrath’s fine display gives Tipp the edge
THE day did not begin well for Eimear McGrath but it got a whole lot better, after she ran riot at The Ragg to provide all bar three points of Tipperary’s tally, as Denis Kelly’s side defeated champions Galway for the second season in a row in Division 1A’s Very National Camogie League, by 3-10 to 1-13.
The home team played most of the second half with 14 players after Róisín Howard was sent off for a second yellow card offence but having plundered 2-4 in the first half, McGrath’s third goal was crucial and Siobhán Gardiner’s injury-time major came too late for Galway.
McGrath arrived at The Ragg directly from the All-Ireland senior A Corn na Sceilge post-primary schools’ final, having watched the Ursuline Thurles squad she is a selector and coach of, lose to Loreto Kilkenny.
Entrusted with the responsibility of leading the attack in the absence of the totemic Cáit Devane, who is getting married next month, the Drom-Inch star was on fire.
‘A lot of the hard work is done out the field,’ said the Very player of the match. ‘I was on the end of them to finish them.
‘We were very disappointed with our performance last week (in the loss to Waterford). We just wanted to come out today and rectify some of them wrongs.’
Kelly was very pleased with the manner in which his players responded to last week’s loss to Waterford and then to Howard’s dismissal.
And with Cork the only team with full points, it is all to play for when the action resumes the weekend after next.
‘We felt that bit of a buzz during the week in training,’ said Kelly. ‘We gave them a fair bit of stick after last weekend but we got a great response. Going to 14 so early in the second half, a lesser team would have folded but the girls dug in well.’
The presence of long-time attacking contributor Nicole Walsh in goals has added a new dimension to the Tipp play. Walsh was absent for a period after giving birth to her first child but her high skill level was notable on Saturday.
Galway manager, Cathal Murray pointed to the calendar for context. Carrie Dolan was top scorer with eight points but defensively, the Maroons were not at their best.
While preferring to win, Murray, who has overseen the Maroons to overall success in the competition for the last two seasons and three times in all, to go with two All-Irelands, was happy with much of what he saw.
‘We’re disappointed all right but we’re not going to get carried away about it either,’ declared the Sarsfields man. ‘It’s the 24th of February, but certainly there will be some things we’ll be disappointed with. Overall, I think we played well, just probably weren’t clinical enough.’
Cork are on top of the table as they repeated their All-Ireland final triumph over Waterford but new Déise manager Jerry Wallace, who was plotting against his native county and many of the players he stewarded to four AllIreland minor titles, will have been pleased with the competitiveness of his charges in a 1-6 to 0-6 loss at SETU Arena.
A first-half Orlaith Cahalane goal was the key score in a game made extremely difficult by the wind, and during which defences held the upper hand.
Kilkenny registered their first victory to keep their League hopes alive as they defeated Clare by 1-19 to 1-9 at Nowlan Park.
A goal from Aoife Doyle and some excellent point scoring by Steffi Fitzgerald, Katie Nolan and Aoife Prendergast pulled the Stripeywomen clear after Lorna McNamara had given Clare an early lead and also given them hope by goaling from a penalty.
John Carmody’s side were outgunned, however, and as the only team without a win, must now find a victory somewhere to avoid relegation.
“We wanted to rectify some of the wrongs”