Murray satisfied as Galway battle to end
GALWAY manager Cathal Murray hailed the spirit of his squad of players, as the points from Carrie Dolan and Ailish O’Reilly in the seventh and ninth minutes of injury time snatched victory from Waterford’s grasp in dramatic fashion, 0-13 to 0-12 at Loughrea. With Cork trundling to a 1-15 to 1-6 triumph over Clare at Páirc Uí Rinn, thanks to Hannah Looney’s goal early in the second half, and Tipperary maintaining their brilliant form of recent weeks with a comfortable 2-12 to 1-6 win over Kilkenny at Nowlan Park, it looks like next weekend’s clash between the Tribeswomen and the Rebels will be winner takes-all with a place in the Division 1A Very Camogie League final up for grabs. A draw would be enough for Galway however, who have a superior score difference. A share of the spoils would enable both to progress if Tipp were to lose to Clare but with John Carmody’s young Banner outfit still without any point, it would be a shock should Denis Kelly’s side fail to end a 15-year wait for the Premiers to reach a national senior final. Galway led by six points at half-time but Waterford, who went into the weekend action top of the division on score difference, roared into the fray in the second half, aided by a strong wind and a dominant Beth Carton. Two pointed frees by goalkeeper Brianna O’Regan pushed the Déise into the lead in injury time but Galway dug it out. ‘Fair play to the girls,’ said Murray to Galway Bay FM. ‘We knew Waterford would come at us in the second half. ‘They’re a super team. We never lost heart. It was about winning hard ball and there was loads of hard ball won in that last ten minutes.’ Áine Keane excelled for the Tribeswomen.’ Cork lacked economy in the shooting department with the elements in their favour in the first half against Clare, but once Katrina Mackey set up Looney to raise the green flag, the result they needed was assured even though the visitors never stopped battling. The return of Saoirse McCarthy had a notable impact, the Courcey Rovers star missing out as the Leesiders suffered their first defeat of the campaign to Tipperary.