Thursday 11th August 2016
Liberty Insurance Intermediate Camogie Championship Group 1
Kilkenny vs Laois
Venue: Tullaroan 7pm Referee: Aidan O’Brien (Wexford)
The Kilkenny Intermediate team will hope to continue their good run of form and make it four wins from four when they finish their All-Ireland group stages with a home tie with Laois on Thursday.
Both sides are going into this tie with semi-final spots almost certain. Kilkenny have qualified for the semi-finals last weekend without pucking a ball with Antrim defeating Tipperary, while Laois are almost certain of a semi-final spot, but if they lose by more than 18 points Antrim could leapfrog them.
Laois are having a mixed campaign. They began the series with two wins on the spin over Antrim 4-09 to 2-06 and Wexford 2-12 to 1-08. They suffered a defeat to Tipperary 2-13 to 0-14 points a fortnight ago. A loss to Kilkenny by more than eighteen points will mean Antrim will progress through and Laois’s All-Ireland ambitions for 2016 are over.
Laois have some talented players among their ranks with Sarah Ann Fitzgerald and Niamh Dollard showing impressive form in the All-Ireland series to date. The last time the sides met was in the league when Laois edged the Cats 0-09 points to 1-02 in a game that was a dead rubber for Kilkenny but a must win for Laois.
I feel Kilkenny are displaying some very impressive form so far and I feel they may prove too strong for Laois on Thursday and should claim victory, but I expect a tough encounter.
