Sars serve notice with Duharra win

GAA: FBD Insurance County Senior Championship Group 1 Round 4

Burgess-Duharra 2-17

Thurles Sarsfields 5-13

Report: Thomas Conway in Kilcolman

Thurles Sarsfields are rapidly establishing themselves as dark horses for the County Senior Camogie Championship following another impressive showing in beating Burgess/Duharra on Saturday.

The Mid side travelled to Kilcoleman in anticipation of a stiff challenge, and that was exactly what awaited them. Really and truly, this game was an absolute firecracker - heavy on goals and full of fast frenetic camogie.

To a large extent the play revolved around each side’s respective queen-pins - Karen Kennedy for Sarsfields and Jenny Grace from Duharra. Kennedy, who has translated her impressive inter-county form into this club championship, delivered an absolutely enthralling display, snatching 3-3 from play and tearing the Burgess/Duharra defensive system to shreds with her explosive on the ball running.

Grace, on the other hand, barely featured from play, but contributed much of her team’s end total from placed-balls with unerring accuracy. Another inter-county in Burgess colours, one Caoimhe Maher, was similarly influential, contributing 1-4 and looking every bit as refined as she did in a Tipperary shirt over the preceding months. Ultimately however, it was Thurles’ superior edge and clinical goal-scoring ability which pushed them over the line. This game was hard fought and at times even rugged, but there was also a sprinkling of sleek, sharp camogie. Both sides contributed, both sides strained hard, but in the end, it was Thurles who prevailed, completely turning the tables on last year, when they had been comprehensively defeated by Duharra in the same surroundings.

Drom & Inch remain clear favourites to land yet another county title this autumn, but with Kennedy in such fine form and the likes of Caoimhe & Sarah Stakelum also firing off all cylinders, one cannot dismiss Sarsfields as outside contenders for a county title. They have the maturity, the elegance, and also the physicality to match any of the top sides, as they proved definitively in Kilcoleman last Saturday afternoon.

Burgess, on the other hand, are still sitting pretty in the group and assured of a berth in the knock-out stages. Write Paul Henry’s side off at your peril. They’re likely to bounce back from this setback and hope for better in future battles, and if they can tweak their defensive mechanics ever so slightly, they may have in them to feature deep into this year’s competition. Drom are already the champions elect, but others, such Sarsfields and Duharra, are circling above their heads. A rip-roaring conclusion to this championship is almost certainly guaranteed.

Player of the Match: Karen Kennedy (Thurles Sarsfields)

Burgess-Duharra: Ciara Holohan, Katie O’Flaherty, Fiona Kirwan, Iris Grace, Katie Grace, Aisling Cremin, Gemma Grace, Ciara McKeogh (0-1), Jenny Grace (0-9, 8f), Kaitlin O’Halloran (0-2), Amy Kennedy (0-1), Róisín Duffy, Caoimhe Maher (1-4), Caoilfhionn Maher, Laura Reid (1-0).

Subs: Grace O’Dwyer for Caoilfhinn Maher (41); Alice Slattery for Reid (45); Laura Kennedy for Duffy (53).

Thurles Sarsfields: Katie McCormack, Leanna Coppinger, Eimer Kennedy, Rebecca O’Mara, Robyn Fanning, Laura Loughnane, Emma Carey, Ciara Cummins, Karen Kennedy (3-3), Aoife Dwyer (0-3), Nichola Loughnane, Lucy Purcell (0-2), Sarah Stakelum (1-2), Andrea Loughnane (0-1), Caoimhe Stakelum (1-2).

Subs: Ciara Maher for O’Mara (HT); Róisín Bambrick for Fanning (HT); Anna Darby for S Stakelum (45), Maria Ralph for Dwyer (58).

Referee: Mike Ryan (Nenagh Eire Og).