Draw feels like a defeat for Juniors

CAMOGIE: Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Junior Championship Group 2 Round 3

Tipperary 1-14

Clare 2-11

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Aoife McLoughney (Shannon Rovers)

SCORERS – Tipperary: Aoife McLoughney 1-10 (0-6 frees, 0-1 45); Grace Moloney 0-2; Claire Stakelum, Sinead Meagher 0-1 each.

Clare: Shauna Canny 1-5 frees; Regan Conway 1-1; Grace Carmody 0-2; Kate O’Gorman (free), Niamh Mulqueen, Aoife Anderson 0-1 each

Despite this All-Ireland Junior Championship game between Tipperary and Clare ending in a draw on Saturday at the Ragg, it felt more like a defeat for Tipperary.

This is because they led by four points with two minutes of normal time remaining. Having already suffered a loss to Cavan in the opening round, a win was a necessity for the Tipperary side who recorded a good victory over Mayo in the second round.

They brought this momentum into Saturday’s encounter and led at half time 0-8 to 0-7 with Aoife McLoughney to the fore from placed balls and Amy Crosse excellent at wing back. Tipp could have been further ahead at the break but faded as half time approached and Clare cut the deficit to one thanks to frees from Kate O’Gorman and Shauna Canny.

Clare had the advantage of the breeze in the second half but it was the home side who got off to the perfect start with a goal in the 31st minute. A mix-up from a short puckout led to quick reaction from Lisa O’Connor who gathered possession and fed the onrushing Aoife McLoughney who made no mistake in firing the ball past Lauren Solon in the Banner goal.

Clare responded well with a point three minutes later and both sides continued to exchanged points before a great move in the 41st minute led to a Clare equaliser. A cross field pass by corner back Sinead Hogg found Sinead O’Keefe who went on a brilliant solo run right through the heart of the Tipperary defence. She passed to Olivia Phelan who picked out Regan Conway inside and she supplied the finish to make it 1-9 apiece.

It was Tipperary, however, who were spurred on by the goal and they proceeded to score the next four points on a trot while Clare failed to hit the target for almost fifteen minutes. Sinead Meagher scored a monster point from midfield while the excellent Aoife McLoughney also got in on the scoring act.

Shauna Canny registered a point from a free in the 54th minute to curb Tipperary’s dominance. This put three points between the sides again, 1-13 to 1-10. From the puckout Tipperary went on the attack and the also busy Ciara Cummins linked up with Grace Moloney who fired over her second point of the hour to give Tipperary a four point lead once again.

At this stage, Tipperary looked the more balanced outfit and most present would have predicted them to go on and win it from here. But Clare had other ideas and with 58 minutes gone Shauna Canny caught everyone off guard by hitting a rasper of a free to the back of the net from thirty metres to the delight of the travelling Clare supporters.

The next few minutes were frantic as Tipperary desperately went in search of another score. Clare eventually gathered possession and found Niamh Mulqueen inside. The full-forward, despite her lightening pace, had failed to score but found herself baring down on goal. A goal was on the cards but she elected to take her point and fired over to make it 1-14 to 2-11. Tipperary again went on the attack but to no avail as the ref awarded a free out for over carrying before sounding the final whistle.

It was a disappointing result for Tipperary who looked the better side at different stages of the game but could never put Clare out of sight. The result means that Tipperary need to beat Waterford in the final group game on July 2nd but also need other results to go their way to have any chance of qualifying for an All-Ireland semi-finals.

TEAMS - Tipperary: Ciara Holohan (Burgess/Duharra); Meabh Ellie Ryan (Cashel King Cormacs), Aisling Sheedy (Portroe), Niamh McCormack (Thurles Sarsfields), Amy Crosse (Cashel King Cormacs), Rachel Maher (Nenagh Eire Og), Emer Fogarty (Shannon Rovers), Clodagh Horgan (Boherlahan-Dualla), Ciara McKeogh (Burgess/Duharra), Grace Moloney (Cashel King Cormacs), Claire Stakelum (Holycross/Ballycahill), Sinead Meagher (Kiladangan), Ciara Cummins (Thurles Sarsfields), Aoife McLoughney (Shannon Rovers), Lisa O’Connor (Boherlahan-Dualla).

Sub: Alison O’Mahony (Brian Borus) for Moloney.

Clare: Lauren Solon, Emma Kennedy, Michelle Powell, Sinead Hogg; Rebecca Crowe, Kate O’Gorman, Sinead O’Keeffe; Rachel Kelly, Abby Walsh, Grace Carmody, Shauna Canny, Aoife Anderson, Regan Conway, Niamh Mulqueen, Olivia Phelan

Subs: Caoimhe Lally, Rosin Powell, Siobhan Lenihan.

Referee: Bernard Heaney (Meath)