Brave Down set up all-Ulster final
DOWN manager Derek Dunne was a happy man after watching his charges battle to a Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship Semi-Final defeat of Meath by 0-14 to 0-8 at St Tiernach’s Park. The Mournewomen will play Antrim in an all-Ulster decider on December 5, after their neighbours cruised to a 0-14 to 0-3 triumph over Laois in Inniskeen. Down always held the upper hand over Meath, who had played at Senior level the past two seasons. ‘It was a tough, tough match’, said Dunne. ‘We knew what we were coming in for. Meath are a good side, a couple of years up in the Senior, coming down. They were going very well, they were the team to beat in the Championship.’ The 2018 runners-up lost to this year’s Senior sensations Westmeath at the Clones venue 15 months ago, with a point separating them from the subsequent champions, but having enjoyed success there before, there was no fear of bad memories impacting on them on this occasion, Dunne explained. ‘It was funny. I remembered we won the Ulster Championship on one side and we lost to Westmeath on the other. We went on the other. Listen, you can’t be thinking like that. It’s about the preparations and trusting the girls. ‘There’s very little you can do on the line when you’re in a game like that. In fairness, they took the game themselves and drove on with it. ‘It was a dogged battle and it was who stood up the fittest got us over the line.’ Down led by 0-6 to 0-2 at halftime, with Fionnuala Carr, Niamh Mallon, Saoirse McCartan and Paula O’Hagan prominent and they gave little away in the second half, McCartan, Sara
Louise Graffin, O’Hagan and Mallon among the scorers. It was more comfortable for Antrim, who held Laois scoreless in the second half of their SemiFinal. Maeve Kelly and Catherine Dobbin shot three points apiece from play as the Saffrons led by 0-9 to 0-3 at the change of ends. Nicole O’Neill slotted three frees in the second half to bring her tally to five as Laois tried hard but were just outgunned. The Liberty Insurance AllIreland Premier Junior Final will be an all-Ulster affair as well on December 5, after Cavan beat Roscommon by 2-16 to 1-6 and Armagh came from behind to eke out a 2-10 to 3-4 triumph over Tyrone.
WICKLOW manager Mark Murnaghan praised his side’s ruthless finishing as they beat Antrim 7-11 to 3-10 to set up a TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship Final against Fermanagh. Clodagh Fox struck a hat-trick for Wicklow, while her fellow full-forwards Meadhbh Deeney and Marie Kealy added another 3-8 in an emphatic display. ‘We scored 7-11 in an All-Ireland semi-final so you’d want to be happy,’ said Murnaghan. ‘We have been working on goals in training and the players brought that into the game. We have a few things to touch up on but it was a good team performance.’ Three goals before the interval put Wicklow 4-4 to 0-5 ahead, and although Antrim hit back with goals from Aoife Taggart, Cathy Carey and Bronagh Devlin, Wicklow – who had Aoife Gorman sin-binned in the final quarter – made sure of the win as Fox completed her treble. ‘We have a job to do in two weeks,’ added Murnaghan. ‘They won’t get carried away.’ Fermanagh reached the final by beating Limerick 4-10 to 4-3. Eimear Smyth’s two first-half goals got Fermanagh off to the kind of start they needed. Joanne Doonan and Roisin O’Reilly also hit the net for Fermanagh but Amy Ryan hit two goals for Limerick, while Aine Cunningham and Andrea O’Sullivan also hit the net, but an excellent goalkeeping display from Shauna Murphy kept Limerick at arm’s length. Smyth finished with 2-6 and manager Jonny Garrity praised her dedication. ‘She’s never let us down. She’s got the best mindset, we’re blessed to have her,’ he said.