CHAMPIONS AWAIT CATS

KILKENNY captain Shelly Farrell was barely able to speak such was the level of exhaustion she felt after her side ground out a 1-10 to 1-7 victory over Galway in a rousing Liberty Insurance AllIreland Senior Camogie SemiFinal at Semple Stadium. Drenched in sweat after 67 minutes of battle, Farrell was just relieved that she would get to lead her teammates out at Croke Park on September 9, where they will face reigning champions Cork who overcame the challenge of Tipperary. ‘Unreal. Ourselves and Galway have had some battles over the last few year. It was unbelievable out there, you didn’t get a minute,’ Farrell said. Denise Gaule hit three frees as Kilkenny led by 0-6 to 0-4 at half time but Galway thundered into the fray with Niamh Kilkenny and Ailish O’Reilly particularly prominent and Carrie Dolan slotting three frees conceded by an increasingly under pressure Kilkenny defensive unit. Those scores moved Galway in front, though Julianne Malone quickly equalised and the game turned on Katie Power’s 48th-minute goal. Though Rebecca Hennelly drilled a 65th-minute penalty to the net, time ran out on Cathal Murray’s team, who had given everything but just fallen agonisingly short once more. Cork are waiting in the final after they comfortably saw off Tipp 0-21 to 0-9. A second-half power play by the champions meant the tie was over as a contest with a quarter of an hour remaining. The 12-point margin does scant justice to Tipperary’s efforts however, and it was probably a combination of tiredness creeping in from their workrate and Cork stepping through the gears that contributed to the Rebels’ increase in scoring rate.