Sigerson holds her nerve to level as Cork book final slot
CORK are headed for the Littlewoods Ireland Division 1 Camogie league final after Chloe Sigerson’s 55-metre free in the fourth minute of stoppage time made it 1-8 each and gave the Rebels the draw they needed against Kilkenny at Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday.
Kilkenny picked off the opening score through Miriam Walsh after 14 seconds and with Katie Power also on the mark, they surged 0-4 to 0-1 ahead in the opening quarter.
However, Cork responded with a fine point from Aisling Thompson to leave them just 0-5 to 0-4 in arrears at the break.
Four minutes into the second half the Rebels were in front for the first time thanks to a Katrina Mackey goal.
But Kilkenny responded and when Mary O’Connell was dragged to the ground inside the square in the 52nd minute, Denise Gaule converted the resulting penalty to put her side 1-7 to 1-6 in front.
The sides traded points, Gaule bringing her tally to 1-3 for the afternoon with what looked like the winning score until Mackey was deemed to have been fouled by Claire Phelan with the last attack of the game, and Chloe Sigerson stepped up to send her team through to the league final with a clinical dead ball finish to make it 1-8 apiece.
Either Tipperary or AllIreland champions Galway will be Cork’s opposition in the final after a powerful first quarter gave Tipperary enough cushion to withstand a strong second half-showing from Dublin at the Ragg.
It finished 1-12 to 1-8 in favour of the home side, with Dublin scoring first through a wonderful Kerrie Finnegan point before Cáit Devane, Grace O’Brien and Claire Hogan struck back with some excellent points.
Casey Hennessy netted the game’s opening goal after 14 minutes to make it 1-4 to 0-1.
Dublin raised a green flag themselves through Kerrie Finnegan and were just 1-9 to 1-5 down at halftime. Scores dried up for both sides on the restart and the Dubs were unable to make up the ground to salvage the tie
At the other end of the table, Down had a heroic effort to come from two points behind at the interval to pick up a 2-11 to 3-6 win over Offaly.
In what was effectively a relegation semi-final given the results elsewhere, 2-4 from Niamh Mallon was the vital contribution for the Mourne County, while Offaly will hope that their fortunes can improve when they welcome back their AllIreland winning St Rynagh’s contingent for the demotion decider against Limerick.
It looked for all the world as if it would be Clare who would be condemned to finish bottom of their group and fight it out with the Faithful County when Limerick led 0-11 to 1-5 in the final quarter at the Gaelic Grounds. However a point from Zi Yan
Spillane in the 55th minute kickstarted a run of five scores in a row for the Banner girls, who picked up their first win over the season on a 1-10 to 0-11 scoreline.
Áine O’Loughlin found the net for Clare in the first half but Limerick used the wind well and were 0-9 to 1-2 up at the break.
A low-scoring third quarter suggested that Clare weren’t going to be in a position to reel in their neighbours, but Spillane’s score was followed up by points from Claire Grogan, Eimear Kelly and Chloe Morey to snatch the victory.